This rich collection of 23 soprano-range opera arias ranges from the dawn of Italian opera through the late 1800s, featuring early opera arias by Caccini, Campra, and Bononcini; works by eighteenth-century composers Rameau, Pergolesi, Gluck, and Mozart; and selections by nineteenth-century composers, including Beethoven, Weber, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, and Bizet. This edition features a detailed and scholarly preface by musicologist Henry E. Krehbiel and a new Introduction by Roelof Oostwoud. Soprano-range vocal majors, vocal instructors, classically trained professional singers, and enthusiasts of vocal music will appreciate this well-chosen and modestly priced compilation.
Wild woodland creatures = Fère selvagge / Caccini -- Graceful butterfly = Charmant papillon / Campra -- Since 't is glory to adore you = Per la gloria d'adorarvi / Bononcini -- Nightingales passion-stirred = Rossignols amoureux / Rameau -- On Serpina think with pleasure = A Serpina penserete / Pergolesi -- Ye awful Stygian powers = Divinités du Styx / Gluck -- Chide, oh, chide me = Batti, batti / Mozart -- Accursed one, where leads thy haste? = Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin? / Beethoven -- How friendly sleep was to me = Wie nahte mir der Schlummer ; Echoing bell-tones = Glöcklein im Thale / Weber -- Light-flitting shadow = Ombre légère / Meyerbeer -- At last Hope's cheering way = Bel raggio lusinghier / Rossini -- I hear the breathing = Il dolce suono / Donizetti -- Ah, must ye fade = Ah! non credea mirarti ; Oh, recall not = Ah! non giunge ; Chaste enchantress = Casta diva, che inargenti / Bellini -- Delightful bird = Charmant oiseau / David -- Behold Titania = Je suis Titania / Thomas -- Ah! was it he = Ah, fors è lui ; Ave Maria / Verdi -- Ah! the joy past compare = Ah! je ris de me voir / Gounod -- As falls the moonlight gently = Où va la jeune Indoue / Delibes -- I say that by fear I'm not haunted = Je dis, que rien ne m'épouvante / Bizet
