Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano Pei-Yao Wang, pianist
La regata veneziana: Tre canzoni in dialetto veneziano.....................................................Gioacchino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Anzoleta avanti la regata Anzoleta co passa la regata Anzoleta dopo la regata Selections from Les Nuits d’Été, Op. 7..........................................................................................Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869) Villanelle La spectre de la rose Absence L’Ile inconnu INTERMISSION Non so piu cosa son from Le nozze di Figaro Deh per questo istante solo from La clemenza di Tito.......................................Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Losing My Mind Take me to the World.................................................................................................................Stephen SONDHEIM (1930) One Life to Live Wie lange noch?.............................................................................................................................................Kurt WEILL (1900-1950) Program subject to change YOUNG CONCERT ARTISTS, INC. 250 West 57 St., New York, NY 10107
program notes La regatta veneziana: Tre canzoni in dialetto veneziano (The Venetian Regatta) Gioacchino Rossini Born on Feb. 29, 1792 in Pesaro, Italy Died on Nov. 13, 1868 in Passy, France Gioacchino Rossini began writing operas as a student at the Bologna Academy. He was commissioned to write operas and eventually his fame spread throughout Europe. In 1825, he was appointed as composer to King Charles X and moved to Paris. When Charles was dethroned in the 1830 revolution, Rossini left Paris for Italy. During the next 19 years, he wrote three religious works and only a few other pieces. He moved back to Paris in 1855 with his second wife and quickly became the center of the Parisian artistic and intellectual life. He began
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to compose again and wrote lighthearted and witty works to be performed in his home during social gatherings. La regatta veneziana is a set of three canzonettas in Venetian dialect that he wrote for this purpose. The text comes from poems by Count Carlo Pepoli, an Italian poet and librettist. The poems are about a Venetian girl named Anzoleta, whose lover, Momolo is participating in a gondola race. In the first song, Anzoleta cheers her lover on as the race begins. The agitated theme at the beginning of the second song portrays Anzoleta’s anxiety as the race progresses and then relaxes at the end as she realizes that Momolo has won. The third song reflects the excited Anzoleta boasting about Momolo and kissing him. This cycle of three songs was published in 1835 and is catalogued as Les soirées musicales: no. 9.
Translation La regata veneziana: Tre canzoni in dialetto veneziano Music: Gioacchino Rossini Texts: Francesco Maria Piave
The Venetian Regata: Three songs in Venetian dialect
Anzoleta avanti la regata Là su la [machina] xe la bandiera, varda, la vedistu, vala a ciapar. Co quela tornime in qua sta sera, o pur a sconderte ti pol andar. In pope, Momolo, no te incantar. Va, voga d’anema la gondoleta, né el primo premio te pol mancar. Va là, recordite la to Anzoleta che da sto pergolo te sta a vardar. In pope, Momolo, no te incantar. In pope, Momolo, cori a svolar
Anzoleta before the regatta There on the “machina” is the flag, look, can you see it? Go for it! Come back with it tonight or else you can run away and hide. Once in the boat, Momolo, don’t gawp! Row the gondola with heart and soul, then you cannot help but win the first prize. Go, think of your Anzoleta, who’s whatching you from this balcony. Once in the boat, Momolo, don’t gawp! Once in the boat, Momolo, fly.
Anzoleta co passa la regata I xe qua, i xe qua, vardeli, vardeli, povereti i ghe da drento, ah contrario tira el vento, i gha l’acqua in so favor.
When the regatta passes They’re coming, they’re coming, look, look at them, the poor things! They row hard! Ah, the wind is against them, but the tide is running their way.
El mio Momolo dov’elo? ah lo vedo, el xe secondo. Ah! che smania! me confondo, a tremar me sento el cuor.
My Momolo, where is he? Ah! I see him, he’s the second, ah! I’m in a fidget! I get confused, I feel my heart trembling.
Su, coragio, voga, voga, prima d’esser al [paleto]1 se ti voghi, ghe scometo, tutti indrio ti lassarà.
Come on, row! Row! Before you reach the pole, if you keep on rowing, I’ll lay a bet you’ll leave all the others behind.
Caro, caro, par che el svola, el li magna tuti quanti meza barca l’è andà avanti, ah capisso, el m’a vardà.
Dear boy, he seems to be flying, he’s beating the others hollow, he’s gone half a length ahead, ah, I understand: he looked at me.
Anzoleta dopo la regata Ciapa un baso, un altro ancora, caro Momolo, de cuor; qua destrachite che xe ora de sugarte sto sudor.
Anzoleta after the regatta Have a kiss! Another one! Dear Momolo, from my heart; rest here, for it’s high time to dry this sweat.
Ah t’o visto co passando su mi l’ocio ti a butà e go dito respirando: un bel premio el ciaparà,
Ah, I saw you when, as passing, you threw a glance at me and I said, breathing again: he’s going to win a good prize,
sì, un bel premio in sta bandiera, che xe rossa de color; gha parlà Venezia intiera, la t’a dito vincitor.
indeed, the prize of this flag, that is the red one; the whole Venice spoke: she declared you the winner.
Ciapa un baso, benedeto, a vogar nissun te pol, [de casada, de tragheto] ti xe el megio barcarol.
Have a kiss, God bless you! No one rows better than you, of all the breeds of gondoliers, you’re the best.
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Villanelle La spectre de la rose Absence L’Ile inconnu From Les Nuits d’Été, Op. 7 (Summer Nights) Hector Berlioz Born on Dec. 11, 1803 in La Côte-Saint-André, France Died on March 8, 1869 in Paris, France Hector Berlioz was the leading musician of his generation in France. He struggled for acceptance throughout his life as a composer, critic and
conductor. Berlioz wrote this song cycle in 1841 and based it on a setting of six poems from the collection La Comedie de la Mort (The Comedy of Death) published in 1838 by Theophile Gautier. It was originally written for piano and either baritone, contralto or mezzo-soprano. The texts are some of the most magnificent that Berlioz ever set—all Romantic poetry and dealing with texts such as young lovers gathering strawberries, the smell of faded rose blossoms, et cetera. Berlioz later changed the vocal line to be appropriate for a soprano voice and then arranged it for orchestra. Les Nuits d’Été became the first orchestral song cycle ever written.
Translation Les Nuits d’Été, Op. 7 Text: Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier Villanelle Quand viendra la saison nouvelle, Quand auront disparu les froids, Tous les deux nous irons, ma belle, Pour cueillir le muguet aux bois.
Villanelle When verdant spring again approaches, when winter’s chills have disappeared, through the woods we shall stroll, my darling, the fair primrose to cull at will.
Sous nos pieds égrénant les perles Que l’on voit, au matin trembler, Nous irons écouter les merles Siffler.
The trembling bright pearls that are shining, each morning we shall brush aside; we shall go to hear the gay thrushes singing.
Le printemps est venu, ma belle; C’est le mois des amants béni; Et l’oiseau, satinant son aile, Dit [ses] vers au rebord du nid.
The flowers are abloom, my darling, of happy lovers ‘tis the month; and the bird his soft wing englossing, sings [carols sweet] within his nest.
Oh! Viens donc sur ce banc de mousse, Pour parler de nos beaux amours, Et dis-moi de ta voix si douce: Toujours!
Come with me on the mossy bank, where we’ll talk of nothing else but love, and whisper with thy voice so tender: always!
Loin, bien loin égarant nos courses, Faisons fuir le lapin caché, Et le daim, au miroir des sources Admirant son grand bois penché;
Far, far off let our footsteps wander, fright’ning the hiding hare away, while the deer at the spring is gazing, admiring his reflected horns.
Puis chez nous, tout heureux, tout aises, En paniers, en laçant nos doigts, Revenons, rapportant des fraises, Des bois.
Then back home, with our hearts rejoicing, and fondly our fingers entwined, lets return, let’s return bringing fresh wild berries wood-grown.
Le spectre de la rose Soulêve ta paupière close Qu’effleure un songe virginal! Je suis le spectre d’une rose Que tu portais hier au bal. Tu me pris encore emperlée Des pleurs d’argent de l’arrosoir, Et, parmi la fête étoilée, Tu me promenas tout le soir. Ô toi qui de ma mort fus cause, Sans que tu puisses le chasser, [Toute la nuit] mon spectre rose À ton chevet viendra danser;
The ghost of the rose Open your closed eyelid which is gently brushed by a virginal dream! I am the ghost of the rose that you wore last night at the ball. You took me when I was still sprinkled with pearls of silvery tears from the watering-can, and, among the sparkling festivities, you carried me the entire night. O you, who caused my death: without the power to chase it away, you will be visited every night by my ghost, which will dance at your bedside.
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Mais ne crains rien, je ne réclame Ni messe ni De Profundis. Ce léger parfum est mon äme, Et j’arrive du du paradis.
But fear nothing; I demand neither Mass nor De Profundis; this mild perfume is my soul, and I’ve come from Paradise.
Mon destin fut digne d’envie, [Pour avoir un trépas] si beau, Plus d’un aurait donné sa vie; [Car j’ai ta gorge pour] tombeau, Et sur l’albâtre où je repose Un poëte avec un baiser Écrivit: “Cigît une rose, Que tous les rois vont jalouser.”
My destiny is worthy of envy; and to have a fate so fine, more than one would give his life for on your breast I have my tomb, and on the alabaster where I rest, a poet with a kiss wrote: “Here lies a rose, of which all kings may be jealous.”
Absence Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée ! Comme une fleur loin du soleil, La fleur de ma vie est fermée, Loin de ton sourire vermeil.
Absence Come back, come back, my dearest love! Like a flower far from the sun, the flower of my life has drooped, removed from the charm of your smile.
Entre nos coeurs tant de distance ! Tant d’espace entre nos baisers ! Ô sort amer! ô dure absence ! Ô grands désirs inapaisés !
Between our hearts how long a distance! What a wide space our kisses divide! O bitter fate! O cruel absence! O longing vain, unsatisfied!
D’ici là-bas que de campagnes, Que de villes et de hameaux, Que de vallons et de montagnes, À lasser le pied des chevaux !
From here to there the countryside of cities and hamlets the valleys and mountains that weary the feet of horses.
Au pays qui me prend ma belle, Hélas! si je pouvais aller ; Et si mon corps avait une aile Comme mon âme pour voler !
To that far land where dwells my love, alas! if I could only go! If wings were tied to my body, as to my soul, then I would fly!
Par-dessus les vertes collines, Les montagnes au front d’azur, Les champs rayés et les ravines, J’irais d’un vol rapide et sûr.
Far away, above the green hill tops, the lofty mountains with peaks of blue, the meadows gay, the babbling rivers, with quick, sure wing I’d take my flight!
Le corps ne suit pas la pensée; Pour moi, mon âme, va tout droit, Comme une colombe blessée, S’abattre au rebord de son toit.
The body can’t keep up with thought! With me the spirit goes ahead, just like a poor dove that is wounded and lights on the roof of his cot.
Descends dans sa gorge divine, Blonde et fauve comme de l’or, Douce comme un duvet d’hermine, Sa gorge, mon royal trésor ;
Down into her divine throat blonde and shining like gold soft like a coverlet of ermine her throat, my royal treasure.
Et dis, mon âme, à cette belle : «Tu sais bien qu’il compte les jours! Ô ma colombe! à tire d’aile, Retourne au nid de nos amours.»
And say, my soul, to my sweetheart: O my own dove! Fly with all swiftness, back to the nest hallowed with love! You know well that he counts the days!
L’Ile Inconnue Dites, la jeune belle, Où voulez-vous aller? La voile [enfle] son aile, La brise va souffler. L’aviron est d’ivoire, Le pavillon de moire,
The Unkown Island Say, young beauty, where do you wish to go? The sail swells itself, the breeze will blow. The oar is made of ivory, the flag is of silk,
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Le gouvernail d’or fin; J’ai pour lest une orange, Pour voile une aile d’ange, Pour mousse un séraphin.
the helm is of fine gold; I have for ballast an orange, for a sail, the wing of an angel, for a deck boy, a seraph.
Dites, la jeune belle, Où voulez-vous aller? La voile enfle son aile, La brise va souffler.
Say, young beauty, where do you wish to go? The sail swells itself, the breeze will blow.
Est-ce dans la Baltique? Dans la mer Pacifique? Dans l’île de Java? Ou bien est-ce en Norvège, Cueillir la fleur de neige, Ou la fleur d’Angsoka? Dites, la jeune belle, Où voulez-vous aller? Menez-moi, dit la belle, À la rive fidèle Où l’on aime toujours! Cette rive, ma chère, On ne la connaît guère Au pays des amours.
Is it to the Baltic? To the Pacific Ocean? To the island of Java? Or is it well to Norway, to gather the flower of the snow, or the flower of Angsoka? Say, young beauty, where do you wish to go? Lead me, says the beauty, to the faithful shore where one loves always! This shore, my darling, we hardly know at all in the land of love.
Non so piu cosa son from Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 Deh per questo istante solo from La clemenza di Tito, K. 621 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born on Jan. 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria Died on Dec. 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria
Cherubino sings of his love for all women, particularly the Countess.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had already achieved great fame as a composer by the time he began work on the opera buffa (comic opera), The Marriage of Figaro, in the fall of 1785 with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. It was performed for the first time at the Burgtheater in Vienna in May of the following year and audiences immediately loved the work. There is a certain amount of controversy, even today, over whether there were specific political undercurrents to the opera but more likely, it is simply a comedy of domestic drama — although one that likely reflects the ideas of the time regarding class and gender. The Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot from The Barber of Seville and takes place several years later in the palace of Count Almaviva. The Count has given Figaro a job as the head of his servant staff but is very interested in Figaro’s bride-to-be, Susanna. The Count shamelessly chases after Susanna and tries his best to delay their wedding, set for that very day. Figaro, Susanna and the Count’s wife, Rosina, conspire together to expose the Count’s plan. The Count tries to interest Figaro in another woman, old enough to be his mother—and, as it turns out, she is his mother! In the end, Figaro and Susanna are happily married, the Countess forgives the Count and all is well again. Non so piu cosa son is sung by Cherubino, the Count’s page, and is a role that is often sung by a mezzo-soprano rather than a young boy.
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Mozart was commissioned to write a coronation opera to celebrate the crowning of Leopold II in 1791. He composed La clemenza di Tito for this purpose. Originally, Salieri was asked to do the commission but when he refused, Mozart was asked. There was not enough time to write an entirely new libretto for the opera so Metastasio’s La clemenza di Tito, 1734 was used. The text was arranged by Caterino Mazzolà, who cut much of the original dialogue and composed several new arias, duets, trios and ensemble for the opera. It is an opera seria (serious opera) based on the life of the Roman Emperor Titus. Vitellia, the daughter of deposed emperor Vitellius, wants revenge against Titus. She convinces Titus’ friend Sextus, who is in love with her, to turn against him. However, Vitellia finds out Titus has sent Berenice of Cilicia away, whom he was likely to marry. She tells Sextus to wait, hoping that Titus will choose her to be his empress. Instead, Titus summons her sister, Servilia. Servilia, however, is in love with Annio, a friend of Sextus’ and tells Titus this. Instead of forcing her to marry him, Titus thanks Servilia for her honesty and decides to allow her to marry Annio. Vitellia does not yet know any of this and is angry that Titus has chosen her sister. She summons Sextus and sends him on his way to assassinate Titus. In the meantime, Titus summons Vitellia, planning to ask her to marry him. She then feels very guilty for what she has asked Sextus to do, but there is no way to stop him. Sextus, meanwhile, stabs the wrong person and is arrested. Sextus takes the blame for the assassination attempt. Ultimately, Vitellia confesses her role in the assassination attempt and Titus pardons both her and Sextus.
Translation
Non so piu cosa son Cherubino’s aria from Le Nozze di Figaro Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio, Or di foco ora sono di ghiaccio, Ogni donna cangiar di colore, Ogni donna mi fa palpitar. Solo ai nomi d’amor di diletto, Mi si turba, mi s’altera il petto, E a parlare mi sforza d’amore Un desio ch’io non posso spiegar. Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio, Or di foco ora sono di ghiaccio, Ogni donna cangiar di colore, Ogni donna mi fa palpitar. Parlo d’amor vegliando, Parlo d’amor sognando, All’acqua, all’ombra, ai monti Ai fiori, all’erbe, ai fonti, All’eco, all’aria, ai venti, Che il suon de’ vani accenti Portano via con se. E se non ho chi m’oda, Parlo d’amor con me!
I no longer know what I am
Deh per questo istante Solo from La clemenza di Tito Deh per questo istante solo Ti ricorda il primo amor. Che morir mi fa di duolo Il tuo sdegno il tuo rigor. Di peitade indegno e vero, Sol spirar io deggio orror. Pur sareti men severo, Se vedessi questo cor. Disperato vado a morte; Ma il morir non mi spaventa Il pensiero mi tormenta Che fui teco un traditor! (Tanto affanno soffre un core, Ne si more di dolor!)
Ah, for this moment only!
Losing My Mind from Follies Take Me to the World from Evening Primrose Stephen Sondheim Born on March 22, 1930 in New York City, N.Y. Stephen Sondheim is likely the most well-known name in American theatre because of his numerous and highly successful Broadway shows. His songs are demanding of their singers, but the wit and pacing of his lyrics has created demand for long runs of his shows. His most famous works as a composer/lyricist include: Sweeny Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods, to name a few. He is compared, musically, to Ravel and Copland but uses popular music idioms in his works from pop and jazz to create a style uniquely his own.
Losing My Mind was written by Sondheim for the 1971 musical Follies. The musical is set during a reunion for all of the previous cast members of Weismann’s Follies, a musical revue that ran between World Wars I and II. The show takes place in the old, decrepit Broadway theatre where the production was originally performed. The musical follows two couples, all four of whom were part of Weismann’s Follies. Both marriages are having problems and each person involved remembers their younger selves as everyone at the reunion performs old numbers and reminisces about their early years in show business.
I no longer know what I am or what I do, one minute I’m on fire, the next I’m frozen, every woman changes my color [makes me blush] every woman makes my heart beat faster. At the mere mention of love, of delight, I become disturbed, my heartbeat changes, I try to speak of love I feel a desire which I cannot explain. I no longer know what I am or what I do, one minute I’m on fire, the next I’m frozen, every woman changes my color [makes me blush] every woman makes my heart beat faster. I speak of love awake I speak of love in my dreams, to the water, the shadows, the mountains, to the flowers, the grass, the fountains, to the echoes, the air, the winds, that the sound of vain accents speech is carried away with itself. And if nobody listens, I speak of love to myself!
Ah for this moment only, remember the affection we once felt for it causes me to die of sorrow, your disdain and firmness. It is true I am unworthy of mercy, and that the sight of me must inspire horror, yet you would be less severe, if you could see this heart. Desperate I go to death but dying does not frighten me the though that torments me is that I have betrayed you. Ah that a hear can suffer such anguish and not die from the pain.
Take Me to the World is from Evening Primrose, a television adaptation of John Collier’s short story by the same name. Sondheim collaborated with John Goldman on the adaptation for ABC. Unfortunately, the series did not click with viewers
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and did not have a long run. It is the story of a poet, Charles, who renounced the world to go live in a department store and write poetry. After living there awhile, he discovers a secret society of people who have lived in the store for years. He is
told that if anyone from the society tries to return to the outside world, Dark Men come from the mortuary to take the person to the surgical supplies department. When the Dark Men leave, there is another mannequin in the clothing display.
Text Losing My Mind Music and text: Stephen Sondheim
Take me to the World Music and text: Stephen Sondheim
The sun comes up - I think about you The coffee cup - I think about you I want you so, it’s like I’m losing my mind The morning ends - I think about you I talk to friends and think about you And do they know it’s like I’m losing my mind? All afternoon doing every little chore The thought of you stays bright Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor Not going left - not going right I dim the lights and think about you Spend sleepless nights to think about you You said you loved me, or were you just being kind? Or am I losing Losing my mind? All afternoon doing every little chore The thought of you stays bright Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor Not going left - not going right I dim the lights and think about you Spend sleepless nights to think about you You said you loved me Or were you just being kind? Or am I losing my mind?
Let me see the world with clouds Take me to the world Out where I can push through crowds Take me to the world A world that smiles with streets instead of aisles Where I can walk for miles with you Take me to the world that’s real Show me how it’s done Teach me how to laugh, to feel Move me to the sun Just hold my hand whenever we arrive Take me to a world where I can be alive Let me see the world that smiles Take me to the world Somewhere I can walk for miles Take me to the world With all around things growing in the ground Where birds that make a sound are birds We shall see the world come true We shall have the world I won’t be afraid with you We shall have the world I’ll hold your hand and know I’m not alone We shall have the world to keep Such a lovely world we’ll weep We shall have the world forever for our own
One Life to Live from Lady in the Dark Wie lange noch? (How Much Longer?) Kurt Weill Born on March 2, 1900 in Dessau, Germany Died on April 3, 1950 in New York City, N.Y.
community. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943 and rarely spoke or wrote in German again. He was upset with the change that his country had undergone and believed that the work he had left behind in Germany had been destroyed during the war. In the remaining years of his life, Weill became one of the leading composers in the development of musical theatre. He died in New York City in 1950 from a heart attack.
Kurt Weill was born into a Jewish family living in Dessau, Germany in 1900. He completed his musical education in Germany and quickly became recognized for his talents in the early 1920s. By 1929, Weill was able to completely withdraw from teaching private theory and composition lessons, and collaborating as a radio contributor in order to devote himself entirely to composition. When the Nazis began to take Germany in the early 1930s, his works were gradually excluded from performances in most German theatres because of his Jewish heritage. Weill fled Germany for Paris in March of 1933, taking with him only a few of his belongings and the sketches for his Second Symphony. He decided to stay in the United States after traveling to New York in 1935 to help with the production of his work, The Eternal Road, commissioned by members of New York’s Jewish
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One Life to Live is one of the numbers from Weill’s 1941 musical, Lady in the Dark. The musical included lyrics by Ira Gershwin and was directed by Moss Hart. It ran for less than a year and a half on Broadway but was adapted to film in 1944, although most of the Weill/Gershwin songs from the musical were cut out of the movie. The plot centers around Liza Elliott, an unhappy editor of a fashion magazine that is undergoing psychoanalysis. Almost all of the music is heard in the context of three dream sequences that Liza has, creating the effect of essentially having three small operas in one long play. Wie lange noch? was composed by Weill in the spring of 1944. The poem was written by Walter
Mehring, a German author and poet who was a prominent satirist in the Weimar Republic and who fled Germany when he was banned during the Third Reich. The poem is about Hitler’s destruction of Germany, disguised as a melancholy song
of love betrayed. It was commissioned by and recorded for the U.S. Department of War Information to use in radio broadcasts behind enemy lines. Program notes by Mary Elizabeth Thompson-Meyer
text and Translation One Life to Live Text: Ira Gershwin There are many minds in circulation Believing in reincarnation In me you see one who doesn’t agree Challenging possible affronts I believe I’ll only live once And I want to make the most of it If there’s a party, I want to be the host of it If there’s a haunted house, I want to be the ghost of it If I’m in town, I want to be the toast of it I say to me every morning You’ve only one life to live So why be done in? Let’s let the sun in And gloom can jump in the riv. No use to beat on the doldrums Let’s be imaginative, Each day is numbered No good when slumbered With only one life to live Why let the goblins upset you? One smile and see how they run
And what does worrying net you? Nothing, the thing is to have fun All this may sound kind of hackneyed But it’s the best I can give Soon comes December So please remember You’ve only one life to live Just one life to live What you collect at the grindstone Becomes a millstone in time This is my thesis: Why go to pieces? Step one while you’re in your prime You may say that I’m an escapist But I would rather by far be that Than be a red tapist Lead me, speed me, straight to the bar Just laugh at old man repression And send him into obliv. Then you’re the winner I’m off to dinner I’ve only one life to live Just one life to live
Wie lange noch? Music: Kurt Weill Text: Walter Mehring
How long after? Translation: Steven Blier
Ich will’s dir gestehn, es war eine Nacht, da hab ich mich willig dir hingegeben. Du hast mich gehabt, mich von Sinnen gebracht, ich glaubte, ich könnte nicht ohne dich leben. Du hast mir das Blaue vom Himmel versprochen und ich habe dich wie ’nen Vater gepflegt. Du hast mich gemartert, hast mich zerbrochen. Ich hätt dir die Erde zu Füssen gelegt. Sieh mich doch an! Wann kommt der Tag an dem ich dir sage: es ist vorbei! Wann kommt der Tag nach dem ich bange? Wie lange noch? Wie lange noch? Wie lange? Ich hab dir geglaubt, ich war wie im Wahn, von all deinen Reden, von deinen Schwüren. Was immer du wolltest, das hab ich getan. Wohin du auch wolltest, da liess ich mich führen. Du hast mir das Blaue vom Himmel versprochen und ich! Ach ich hab’nicht zu weinen gewagt. Doch du hast dein Wort, deine Schwüre gebrochen. Ich habe geschwiegen und hab mich geplagt. Sie mich doch an! Wann kommt der Tag an dem ich dir sage: es ist vorbei! Wann kommt der Tag nach dem ich bange? Wie lange noch? Wie lange noch? Wie lange?
How much longer? I’ll confess it to you: there was a night when I willingly gave myself to you. You took me, drove me out of my mind, and I thought I could not live without you. You promised me blue skies, and I cherished you like a father. You tormented me, you shattered me, and I would have laid the earth at your feet. Look at me! When will the day come when I can say to you: it’s over! When will that longed-for day arrive? How much longer? How much longer? How long? I believed you, caught in the delusion of all your talk, all your vows. I did whatever you wanted. Wherever you led me, I let myself follow. You promised me blue skies, and I never dared to weep. But you broke your word, you broke your vows. I kept silent and tortured myself for you. Look at me! When will the day come when I can say to you: it’s over! When will that longed-for day arrive? How much longer? How much longer? How long?
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SASHA COOKE
The fast-rising mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been acclaimed for opera roles, as soloist with orchestra, as well as in song recitals. Her 2009-10 season includes return engagements with the San Francisco Symphony singing Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Été with conductor Tilson Thomas, and the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe with conductor George Manahan. She also sings the role of Meg in Falstaff with the Seattle Opera and the role of Medea in Giasone with the Chicago Opera Theater. Cooke performs in song recitals at the Lied Center of Kansas, for the Marilyn Horne Foundation (N.Y.), SummerFest in La Jolla (Calif.), the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival (N.Y.), with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Festival of Song and at the Cosmos Club in Washington D.C. Upcoming engagements include appearances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Milwaukee, Colorado, Seattle, Modesto, Kansas City, San Diego and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, and with the Aspen Festival Orchestra under the direction of David Zinman. Last season, Cooke was presented by Young Concert Artists at Lincoln Center in Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Été with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s under Giancarlo Guerrero, and starred at the Metropolitan Opera in the premiere of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic, in the role of Kitty Oppenheimer, a part which she subsequently performed with the English National Opera in her European debut. She sang Handel’s Messiah with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall and Bernstein’s Opening Prayer with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. She sang the role of Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Evgeny Onegin with the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and participated in the 2009 Spoleto USA Festival and the 2008 Marlboro Chamber Music Festival.
As a first prize winner of the 2007 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Cooke holds the Lindemann Vocal Chair of YCA. She gave acclaimed debut recitals presented by the Young Concert Artists Series at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. Cooke performed with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in summer 2007, with the National Symphony Orchestra as Mercedes in a concert performance of Bizet’s Carmen, and as Aloes in Chabrier’s L’Étoile. Other recent notable appearances have included the premieres of Bastianello by John Musto and William Bolcom’s Lucrezia with the New York Festival of Song, a recital at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., a performance at the Bard Music Festival, Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer at the Miller Theater, for the Marilyn Horne Foundation’s 2007 Gala at Zankel Hall, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Mozart Academy of San Luis Obispo, and Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra (Texas). Cooke appeared as the Composer in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Endimione in Cavalli’s La Calisto at The Juilliard School. She sang Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther and Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Rice University, and Erika in Barber’s Vanessa with Central City Opera. Cooke won first prizes in the Sun Valley Opera Vocal Competition and the Bach Vocal Competition sponsored by the American Bach Society and The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rice University and her master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where she was frequently heard in premieres with the New Juilliard Ensemble. Cooke attended the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute and Central City Opera’s Young Artist Training Program. Cooke is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan Opera.
PEI-YAO WANG, PIANIST Pianist, Pei-Yao Wang made her official orchestral debut with the Taipei symphony Orchestra at the age of 8 and has since performed as soloist with the Stamford Symphony, Orlando Symphony and Taipei Philharmonic. She has also performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia at venues including Carnegie, Avery Fisher, Alice Tully and Merkin halls in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Salle des Varietes in Monte Carlo, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. As a chamber musician, Wang has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Orion, Chicago, Mendelssohn and Miró quartets and with other distinguished artists including Claude Frank, Hilary Hahn, David Shifrin and Mitsuko Uchida. She is
Sasha cooke
regularly invited to perform at festivals including Marlboro, Caramoor, Norfolk, La Jolla, Ravinia and Bridgehampton, and was a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Wang was the youngest pianist ever to receive the overall first prize in the Taiwan National Piano Competition, at the age of 8. Four years later, she was invited to study at The Curtis Institute of Music, where she worked with Seymour Lipkin and Gary Graffman. She then studied with Claude Frank at Yale University, where she earned a master’s degree in music, while also pursuing a concentration in architecture. She currently resides in New York City, where for several years she worked with Richard Goode.
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