G F Handel - Rinaldo "Cara sposa" Andreas Scholl

George Frideric Handel
Rinaldo, HWV 7
"Cara sposa"
Rinaldo's aria from act I, sc.7
Premiere Cast, February 24, 1711:
Rinaldo: Nicolo Grimaldi, castrato
Eustazio: Valentino Urbani, castrato
Armida: Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti, soprano
Almirena: Isabella Girardeau, soprano
Goffredo: Francesca Vanini-Boschi, contralto
Argante: Giuseppe Boschi, bass
In this video:
Andreas Scholl, countertenor
Accademia Bizantina
Direction: Ottavio Dantone
Live performance from Festival de Musique de Dresde, 12 May, 2008
Rinaldo sings this aria after his fiancee Almirena is abducted by the sorceress Armida.
"Rinaldo was first produced at the Queen's (later King's) Theatre in the Haymarket on 24 February 1711. It was Handel's first opera for London, and also the first Italian opera specifically composed for the London stage. The concept of opera as a wholly sung musical drama was still new in Britain, and through the first successful production was an English version of Giovanni Bononcini's Camilla in 1706, the popularity of Italian singers - especially the sensational castrati - swiftly established opera in the Italian language as the standard form.
...
Synopsis
The action is set at the time of the First Crusade (1096--99). Christian forces led by Goffredo (Godfrey of Bouillon) are laying siege to the city of Jerusalem, held by the Saracen king Argante. With Goffredo are his brother Eustazio and his daughter Almirena, who is in love with the Christian knight Rinaldo. Argante is supported by Armida, Queen of Damascus and a powerful sorceress.
...
Rinaldo's own aria of lament in Act One, 'Cara sposa', is even more intense, its brooding power sustained by the fully worked and occasionally chromatic counterpoint of the string accompaniment. " - Anthony Hicks
"Like Handel's other operas, Rinaldo fell into oblivion for two hundred years. However, starting in the 1970s, it has been revived regularly and has become part of the standard operatic repertoire. Several arias from this opera, such as 'Lascia ch'io pianga' and 'Cara sposa', have become recitalists' favorites." -Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Original text:
Cara sposa, amante cara,
dove sei?
Deh! Ritorna a' pianti miei.
Del vostro Erebo sull'ara
colla face del mio sdegno
io vi sfido o spirti rei!
Translation: (by Kenneth Chalmers)
My dear betrothed, my dear one,
where are you?
Come back at my tears!
Evil spirits, I defy you
with the fire of my wrath
on your infernal altar.

[@josecaamano5638]

Scholl, the best

[@williamstephens9945]

For those commenting ont he discrepancy between the written and sounding keys- Handel heavily edited the score of Rinaldo in the 1730's at which point he transposed this aria down 1 tone into d minor. In this video, the performance is of the d minor version (played at a=415) yet the score is that of the earlier e minor version.

[@kiltedboy1950]

My favorite rendition of this aria...the harpsichord ends it all so beautifully and Andreas Scholl almost always knocks me out...Baroque Blues at its best and my compliments to Civileso for the taste level.

[@SonicPhonic]

Thank God there is still some good taste in music!

[@carinethimister9320]

Wonderful A. Scholl, wonderful G.F. Haendel.

[@bethabelle100]

The character Rinaldo's lover has just been kidnapped by the evil sorceress and he is singing in both confusion and despair, wondering where she is and heartbroken about the idea of never seeing her again... and then of anger at the sorceress! One of the most exciting and heartwrenching arias ever. Hope that helps :)

[@anaislekapene752]

Yeah, Armida was a scheming sorceress.

[@anaislekapene752]

Poor Rinaldo and Almirena

[@CountertenorJ]

@counterman69 This sung key (d minor at A=415) is the correct key for the 1731 revival for the castrato Senesino (from which this recording comes -- Arias for Senesino). The version that is in the video is the 1711 version written for the (mezzo) soprano castrato Nicolino.

[@valentinkostadinov9286]

Magnificent masterpiece! Played by amazing artist as Andreas Scholl Maestro and Academia Bizantina with theirs antique instruments sound and performance too!

[@taekomatsutaka3087]

i am enjoying sing along ! very, very happy.

[@hapt-di1pq]

Me too!..

[@Buba8773]

Splendido, commovente.

[@civileso]

As I said in the video description, this one is a live performance from Festival de Musique de Dresde, 12 May, 2008. It was broadcast on radio.

[@monster0129]

Andreas Scholl is the King!

[@Rinny1976]

my name is Rinaldo as is my father and his father before him and my son who was just born tusday is Rinaldo the IV long live Rinaldo

[@goticoamyla]

My name is Armida as my mother and my grandmother. It's a nice coincidence

[@anaislekapene752]

Almirena is also a lovely name...

[@anaislekapene752]

The men in your family were named after a Crusader Knight, how badass 😃

[@judithd66]

Quelle voix superbe

[@sergeciccone2657]

Merci pour ce partage… Bravo Monsieur Scholl !!!

[@martinwright4526]

wonderful and exciting.

[@karenronan4825]

Exquisite!!

[@catherineterrillon8322]

Un air splendide !

[@jeanclaudepesci1255]

SUBLIME

[@bambidoll888]

Amazing voice, really beautiful ! It really fits aria as well.

[@ayrtonfreitas159]

👏👏👏👏

[@civileso]

I added the quick synopsis on the video description. Thanks for reminding :)

[@musiclanguage9680]

I love it! Such a beautiful voice! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@TFreckle]

Well - I'm actually a clear follower of the "theory/idea/thought" that different keys have different characters. And C# minor is a very melancholic/bitter minor - interpretationally fitting for this aria I think:)

[@kiltedboy1950]

I need to know what cd has this EXACT rendition. Does anyone out there know??? I have it on the Senesino cd, but this rendition knocks me out. I love how the harpsichord gets the last word. It's Baroque Blues at its best!!! And no one does it like Andreas Scholl.

[@OscarMicaelsson]

vintage da capo, love it!!

[@bazookallamaproductions5280]

for a different take on baroque opera, try igorrr, tout petit moineau, or evanescence, lacrymosa (music taste changes gradually, and these gently bridge the gap between metal and baroque opera. maybe youll like it :) i never heard baroque before those two songs because im typically a metalhead.)

[@Fifixo]

@aravis123 I wrote that badly. What I meant was there was no set pitch then so "A" would be different in each town. For example, it has been said that as one went further north in Italy- and subsequently further away from the Pope- the pitch of "A" got sharper. But interesting that Handel had perfect pitch; I didn't know that!

[@HerrWarja]

@luxdeo I belive you are right! I think this is french baroque-tuning and the original key is d-minor. Händel rewrote this aria to times. First for a italian soprano castrato and then for Senesino and his darker alto-voice. What the score says is wrong.

[@lauracompagnoni1239]

This voice is like the Cupids arrow.

[@delpechphilippe4404]

Le maître absolu de la respiration avec un timbre unique. Sublime.

[@singingorpheus]

@counterman69 This is because there is a second version which is a tone lower that the score we see. But it is an official Handelian version written for a later performance with a different castrato singing Rinaldo. And then in 415 you get a transposituion that sounds a minor third lower than what you see here.

[@KarrotKun1]

Apparently, this was one of Handel's favorite arias.

[@azulyrojo89]

yep it is but in baroque music its normal, a lot of music was composed for determinated instrument or voices , for example , i wanna sing this sing and i am baritone so the orchestra transpose and adapt to me cause i will be confortoble with the tone :D

[@AlfredSteiner70]

Can someone explain, why in the notes one sees "si" and the singer is singing "la" flat? I like Andreas Scholl's interpretation and wonderfuls singing. Just noticed, that most singers sing either "si" flat or "la" flat instead of traditional "si" (for mezzo-soprano) in this aria.

[@starbreez3]

HAHAHA couldn't say any better. Agreed.

[@civileso]

Hehe, you are not reading! She is taken captive by the sorceress. Don't worry she is not dead, Rinaldo shall prevail :))

[@anaislekapene752]

yes. and Armida will accept christianity :)

[@Fifixo]

@counterman69 there's no such thing as a 'normal' 'early music' pitch... it was all relative...

[@Fifixo]

@aravis123 You're welcome :)

[@Senira322]

@Fifixo ahahaha thanks for replying without being "mad"

[@chiaramessina6126]

May attention To The vocal e (è)

[@TetyanaA]

He is a great singer for sure, but in this particular performance what I like most is the orchestra. No wonder, I have a look who plays - an it is a wonderful Academia Bizantina. As far a the aria itself for this, my preference is by Daniel Taylor.

[@achantus1]

I prefer Carolyn Watkinson, A sadly underestimated singer.

[@Senira322]

how come i listen to it as a C sharp??@_@

[@bolitram]

Scheaner Stimmenwexl, ...gratuliere

[@OscarMicaelsson]

@counterman69 again, baroque pitch :)

[@Senira322]

@Fifixo oh nooo... handel had perfect pitch

[@eustazio]

i'm sorry to ask this but what happened to andreas' low notes ? was he ill ? is there something else ?

[@erictellez]

@lordvampyr555 The last castrato in history died around 1910. He si not castrato.

[@robertbenzi]

You are totally right Eric! Also this aria is not written for castrati which means a different range and voice structure. :-)

[@ALostClassic]

The only one I can sing...

[@filippozaccaria6944]

Come sempre Scholl ha una voce magnifica, ma avrei preferito se c'avesse messo un po' più di "patetismo"

[@davidenigro585]

Dove è andata la sposa? Che vuol dire " a pianti miei?"

to my cries

[@anaislekapene752]

pianti como en "piangere"

[@anaislekapene752]

la sposa lei ha rapisco la strega Armida

[@Nemorino80]

It's true he starts with a G# instead of B

[@joshdaniels2363]

The key is different in the sheet music. Audio sounds like it's been transposed down at least a whole tone.

[@angharadlewis7426]

of course, it is at Baroque pitch!

[@joshdaniels2363]

Oh, yeah. Duh...

[@yrrab46]

Does anyone know if David Daniels has recorded this? He, too, is amazing.

[@Emerson4Vet]

@Emerson4Vet Never mind..... I should learn to read the information XD

[@solomonjones429]

This is in a different key surely?

[@Ed_UKation]

Not just Baroque tuning?

[@luksbro]

Andreas tornou a ária pesada, sem a leveza que Daniels ou Jaroussky imprimiram. A orquestração também não cooperou, pontuando excessivamente a linha vocal

[@eustazio]

I mean 3:52 is "normal" for him but 2:58 is definitely unusual :/

[@efortlight]

Can a normal tenor sing that rep?? Well, i'm singing it in recitals, any comments??

[@ellis51773]

efortlight and 8 years later, someone finally replies....

[@ellis51773]

Hahaha did you do well?

[@violatione]

It's more like a G natural. In modern times we push the A higher in order to gain power and project. But we lose fluidity and gain harshness for our efforts.

[@Emerson4Vet]

Question: Is this a man or a woman singing???? I honestly can't tell half the time!

[@imweird2895]

its a man

[@CountertenorJ]

I do not believe he is ill here. I believe that this piece is rather low, even for him to take without adequately using the modal register. This piece is sitting a minor third below what is written in the manuscript in the video. That's just low for most any mezzo-ish countertenor.

[@travelservice3425]

The harpsichord sounds rude with soft voice

[@achantus1]

@elias12186 Who cares? Just enjoy the music. These baroque operas are just nonsense anyway, but beautiful and delightful nonsense!

[@WBFbySteefen]

No. This isn't working for me: too staccato, no feeling, not romantic, this cara sposa.

[@darchir2079]

WBFbySteefen possibly being German doesn't help?

[@anaislekapene752]

I also noticed the staccato. The first time I heard this aria was the version from the movie "Farinelli il castrato", by Jarousski, and you are right, the legatto makes it sound lighter, more ethereal and romantic. This version is not half bad, but now that you talked about that, we can't hear the feeling of romance in this the same way in Jarousski (not sure if I spelled the name right) I'm not any expert, this is my humble opinion :)

[@joern2842]

@@anaislekapene752 Jaroussky never sang in Farinelli's film, you "expert" with donkey ears. This aria was performed by Derek Lee Regan in the film. As for Jaroussky, he is the most soulless and stupid countertenor of our time. Everything he sings sounds the same and is generally a piece of soulless crap. He will not achieve the emotionality of Andreas Scholl’s performance even after 10 rebirths.

[@richardfactory]

Hm this music is not in the right key as Andreas Scholl...

[@user-gh3it9fm4x]

Такое ощущение,что вокалист постоянно опаздывает, а музыканты его догоняют...

[@kkkjjgbbhjh1510]

а это для кого For those commenting ont he discrepancy between the written and sounding keys- Handel heavily edited the score of Rinaldo in the 1730's at which point he transposed this aria down 1 tone into d minor. In this video, the performance is of the d minor version (played at a=415) yet the score is that of the earlier e minor version.

[@piro5150]

Prefiero a Jaroussky

[@badbubu0904]

ich liebe mehr andreas scholl. jaroussky singt zu hoch für meinen geschmack.man hört nicht mehr, dass er mann istl. das ist bei scholl anders. er ist einfach unübertroffen.........

[@evelinepeterhans4873]

Da kann ich nur zustimmen.

[@joern2842]

Jaroussky is the most soulless and stupid countertenor of our time. Everything he sings sounds the same. and is generally a piece of soulless crap. He will not achieve the emotionality of Andreas Scholl’s performance even after 10 rebirths.