Keywords
oppure (alternative score options), high-note interpolation tradition, È la solita storia del pastore 1957 recording variation
Abstract
On occasion, a composer will place an additional musical staff above a solo singer’s staff so that the singer can choose which version he/she wishes to sing. Sometimes it is a difference of just a few notes, but can also completely change the melodic line, as I’ll illustrate towards the end of this article, with a Björling and Corelli example, after first mentioning a few “oppure” choices (generally abbreviated in scores as “Opp.”).
What oppure is not, is when due to tradition, or for some other reason, a singer takes it upon himself/herself to add something to an aria, duet, ensemble, etc., which had not been written in the score by the composer. I believe that conductor Riccardo Muti does not allow singers to take such liberties, even if tradition is such that the (usually high-note substitution) is expected. Sometimes, – again, not oppure, – there is even a high-note interpolation where no note is even written in the score. An example, is Jussi’s 1957 recording of “È la solita storia del pastore” (Lamento di Federico) from Cilea’s L’arlesiana, where a high B natural (B♮ ) “Ah” is added before the ending phrase “Mi fai tanto male! Ahimè!” so that it then becomes “Ah! Mi fai tanto male! Ahimè!”
Recommended Citation
Buchalter, Allan
(2022)
"Singer’s Choices:,"
Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK: Vol. 30:
No.
1, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jussibjorlingsociety/vol30/iss1/9