Cilea proved with this opera that he possessed a great sense of drama and showed himself to be a gifted melodist.
The performance aria of Adriana- “Io son l’umile ancella”
Various scenes of this opera are a play within a play. This is an interesting effect that Cilea’s contemporary Leoncavallo already made use of in “Pagliacci”. Adriana presents herself as a sincere artist who performs with the same depth of feeling in the theater as she does in real life for Maurizio the man. Critics occasionally dismiss this aria as a “pining” piece, but it gives the artist an outstanding opportunity to fill the role with her personality.
Probably the best Adriana of the beginning of the 21st century is / was Anna Netrebko. With a darker matured voice, Anna Netrebko delighted audiences in New York and Salzburg in 2019, especially in the lyrical passages of this opera.
Io son l’umile ancella – Netrebko
Maurizio performance with the beautiful aria “la dolcissima effigie”
The part of Maurizio is not one of the A roles for tenors. Admittedly, the role has very beautiful arias, but musically and dramatically it offers the tenor little opportunity to show his skills..
We hear Carlo Bergonzi. He was a lyric tenor with a beautiful voice and great technique. The recording inspires with great musicality and the flow of the voice.
La dolcissima effigie – Bergonzi
Adriana is desperate – the morbid mood of “Poveri fiori”
“Poveri fiori” is a melancholic piece, more so Cilea writes in the score the tempo designation “andante triste”. Two stylistic elements characterize this aria. On the one hand, the frequent octave leaps of the voice (for example, “Poveriꜛfiori”) create the mood of Adriana’s despair, and dissonant chords in the orchestra on heavy meter (“primo”) in the middle section create a morbid mood.
We hear an interpretation of this aria. We read an apt description of Magda Olivero’s Adriana by Kesting: “Her voice has the effect of a heavy perfume, an aesthetic aroma. It never makes an attempt to assume the most difficult of all poses: that of naturalness. When she sings “poveri fiori,” the target notes are no longer gestures, but affect poses like a ballerina dancing the dying swan.”
It is the interpretation of a diva (by all means meant in a positive sense), “the tragedienne of verismo,” who puts her personal stamp on the aria.
Poveri fiori – Olivero
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