MI LUSINGA IL DOLCE AFFETTO . G.F. Handel . DOUGLAS VON EDELMANN . Tenor скачать в хорошем качестве

MI LUSINGA IL DOLCE AFFETTO . G.F. Handel . DOUGLAS VON EDELMANN . Tenor

From ALCINA . George Frideric Handel MI LUSINGA IL DOLCE AFFETTO . The Sweet Affection Flatters Me Tenor . DOUGLAS VON EDELMANN www.douglasvonedelmann.com/media RUGGIERO: Act II, scene iii. MI LUSINGA IL DOLCE AFFETTO Chi scuopre al mio pensiero, se tradito pur son, o s’odo il vero? Mi lusinga il dolce affetto con aspetto del mio bene. Pur chi sa? Temer conviene, che m’inganni amando ancor. Ma se quella fosse mai che adorai, e l’abbandono : Infedele, ingrato io sono, son crudele e traditor. THE SWEET AFFECTION FLATTERS ME Who discovers to my thought, if you are betrayed even though they are, do you know the truth? The sweet affection flatters me with the appearance of my good. Whom do you know? Temer agrees, that for loving I may be deceived. However, if she is the one I adored, and then abandoned; I would be seen as an unfaithful, ungrateful, and cruel traitor. NOTES: Alcina is a fantasy opera seria based on Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando Furioso (VII, 21-22). In 1735, at age fifty, Handel composed this opera for his premiere season at Covent Garden. This opera would be produced only once again in 1738 before its revival 190 years later in Leipzig in 1928. This stunning opera exemplifies Handel’s elegant vocal writing style, illuminating timeless human thought and feeling themes. The heroic Knight, Ruggiero, having fled the arms of his fiancé (Bradamante) on a flying horse (Hippogriff), lands on a magic island in the middle of the ocean. The island is inhabited by Alcina, a sorceress whose powers depend on illusion. Her companion/military leader (Oronte), protects the island and her sorceress sister (Morgana). When Ruggiero arrives, Alcina casts a spell on him, holding him captive as a servant to her heart. Unlike former Knights, who Alcina has seduced and later transmogrified into stones, animals, and plants, she truly falls in love with Ruggiero. In Act II, scene iii, Ruggiero is rescued from Alcina’s diabolical spell through a magic ring that his fiancé (Bradamate) delivers. The ring has the power to destroy Alcina’s powers of illusion. “Mi lusinga il dolce affetto” (I am filled with sweet affection), delineates how Ruggiero conquers the battlefield of his mind and convoluted perceptions, igniting his heroic ambitions illustrated through Handel’s melismatic melodic style. The ascending vocal line delineates Ruggiero’s elevated cognizance that releases him from Alcina’s enslavement. Still, Ruggiero initially believes that Bradamante may be another of Alcina’s illusions, and ponders the consequences of deciding whether she is a deception or real. He does not want to appear as an ungrateful, cruel traitor if he does not believe she is truthfully his fiancé. In the end, Ruggiero realizes Bradamante is not an illusion, and the ring she has brought him has broken Alcina’s spell.