Vorrei spiegarvi, K. 418
Aria for soprano with 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns and strings
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
In 1783, Mozart's sister-in-law Aloysia Weber Lange was to make her Vienna debut in Pasquale Anfossi's opera Il curioso indiscreto, but she found that the arias for her character did not suit her dramatically and did not make use of her unusually beautiful high register. Mozart was therefore asked to provide new arias that could be inserted into Anfossi's opera for her.
In Vorrei spiegarvi, the heroine Clorinda is betrothed to a nobleman who wishes to test her fidelity by sending a friend to court her. The aria begins with a beautiful duet between soprano and oboe, in which Clorinda muses on her attraction to the new suitor. Here Mozart features Aloysia Weber's cantabile singing, as well as her extended high register up to a high E. Eventually, though, the music becomes faster, more agitated and more virtuosic as she pulls herself together, rejects the suitor and sends him back to his own lover.
Over time, Mozart wrote a number of arias for her, and she appeared in his operas, including Don Giovanni, in which she sang the role of Donna Anna at the premiere.
Boston Baroque Performances
Vorrei spiegarvi, K. 418
March, 24, 25 & 27, 2025
Performed in the concert, “Beethoven & Mozart.”
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
GBH Calderwood Studio, Brighton, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Erin Morley, soprano
May 11 & 13, 2000
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Lynette Tapia, soprano