Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Arias for Aloysia Weber
Cyndia Sieden (soprano)
Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century/Frans Brüggen
rec. 1998, Utrecht (Vredenburg), The Netherlands
Sung texts enclosed but no translations
Reviewed as download from press preview
Glossa GCDC81133 [51]

Besides the arias Mozart composed for his many operas, he also wrote a considerable number of independent arias, which can be divided in two groups: concert arias and insert arias. The former group was obviously for concert purposes, the latter group for insertion in other composers’ operas when, for instance, a singer asked for an aria better suited to her/his capacities. Most of these arias are of a high quality equal to his “normal” arias and fully comparable with them. The reason why they are not as well-known is simply that as they are independent from a full opera, listeners cannot relate to them in any particular context. 

I was lucky to discover some of these concert arias very early through a Concert Hall LP (MMS-2183) recorded in 1959, in which the Canadian couple Pierrette Alarie and Léopold Simoneau sang four duets from Mozart operas and two concert arias each. Ms Alarie’s arias were two of the seven arias Mozart wrote for his sister-in-law-to-be Aloysia Weber. Mozart met Aloysia in the winter of 1777/78 and fell in love with her or her voice – presumably both – and although it seems that his affection was unrequited, her voice, on the other hand, triggered him to write Alcandro, lo confesso –  Non so d’onde viene, a long and beautiful aria, preceded by a recitative. It was composed early in 1778. Aloysia was by then seventeen years old but obviously technically very advanced, which is even more manifest in Popoli di Tessaglia! – Io non chedo written a year later, in which she was required to climb up to a G above the staff. According to the Guinness World Records, this is the highest note demanded in the classical repertoire. High notes and glittering coloratura in abundance are typical for many of these arias, a sure-fire recipe for success on the concert platform. The remaining five arias were composed in the 1780s, after she had married Joseph Lange. From 1783, stems Mia speranza adorata and the aria Ah, non sai, qual pene, completed on 8 January and first performed three days later – Aloysia was evidently a quick learner. The same year Mozart wrote two arias for Pasquale Anfossi’s opera Il curioso indiscreto, because Anfossi’s arias “were not compatible with Aloysia’s specific talent”. The arias were No, no, che non sei capace and Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! The first of these and the previously mentioned Mia Speranza adorata (tracks 1 and 5 on this disc) were the two arias on my Pierrette Alarie disc, and as happens so often, the first recordings one hears become the benchmark. Good as Cyndia Sieden is, she can’t erase Alarie from my memory, and relistening the old recording – which I long ago transferred to CD  – confirmed its superiority. 

Of the remaining arias Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle, to a Metastasio text, was completed in 1788. It was based, according to the liner notes, on a draft from ten years earlier. Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner from 1782 is very special. It’s the only German language aria among the seven, and in it Aloysia, to quote the notes again, “thanks  her sponsors, as we would today label them, expressing herself in mild terms”. It is a lovely little piece, and it was probably sung as an encore, which it also is here. 

It should be mentioned that Mozart also composed the role of Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor (1786) for Aloysia and that she sang Konstanze in several productions of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Sesto in La clemenza di Tito. 

The America soprano Cyndia Sieden, born in 1961, studied privately with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and has had a long and diverse international career. She is well documented on CD, not least in a number of complete Mozart operas. In this programme, recorded in 1998 when she was at the height of her powers, she sports her well-schooled lyrical soprano to good effect. Her coloratura technique is secure and her effortless excursions upwards, including the high G, truly impressive. To what extent her voice has any likenesses with Aloysia Weber we will never know, but that she has the same technical ability cannot be called in question. Even though I could have wished that Glossa had offered English translations, this is still an attractive collection that no lover of Mozart will regret acquiring. It might also encourage some to explore this repertoire further. If so, a 5-CD collection from Decca with singers like Kiri Te Kanawa, Teresa Berganza, Edita Gruberova, Gösta Winbergh and others, originally issued in the 1980s, is a recommendable proposition.

Göran Forsling

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Contents
1 No, no, che non sei capace 4:13
(Wien, 6/1783; kv 419)
2 Recitativo Alcandro, lo confesso – Aria Non so d’onde viene 10:27
(Mannheim, 2/1778; kv 294)
3 Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! 6:24
 (Wien, 6/1783; kv 418)
4 Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle 7:19
(Wien, 3/1788; kv 538)
5 Recitativo Mia speranza adorata – Aria Ah non sai qual pena sia 9:07
 (Wien, 1/1783; kv 416)
6 Recitativo Popoli di Tessaglia! – Aria Io non chedo 10:48
 (München, 1/1779; kv 316 [kv 300b]
7 Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner 3:10
 (Wien, 4/1782; kv 383)