Qual nave smarrita (Handel) Joyce DiDonato

"Qual nave smarrita"

from Handel's opera Radamisto (1720)

Joyce DiDonato
Il Complesso Barocco under Alan Curtis

RADAMISTO:

"Qual nave smarrita
tra sirti e tempeste,
né luce, né porto
gli toglie il timor.

Tal io senz'aita,
fra doglie funeste,
non trovo conforto
al misero cor."

[Like a ship lost
among shifting sands and tempests,
no light, no harbor
rids it of fear.

So I, without help,
in my deadly sufferings,
find no comfort
for my grieving heart.]
OPERA TRIVIA:

The role of Radamisto was created by/for Margherita Durastanti, but in a revival of the opera in 1721 the famous castrato Senesino assumed the tile role, and it was the first of many great Handel roles he would sing.

In this second version of the opera, the role of Zenobia, wife of Radamisto, was now played by Durastanti, a soprano. (In the first version Zenobia was a contralto).

Durastanti was one of Handel's most versatile singers, and she sang several great Handel roles. In addition to Radamisto, she was Agrippina and Sesto in Giulio Cesare. Clearly, she inspired some of Handel's best music.
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CD available from Virgin Classics:

http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Radamisto-George-Frideric/dp/B000B668ZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1274885480&sr=1-1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radamisto_(Handel)

http://www.joycedidonato.com/

Artwork by Russian artist
IIvan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Aivazovsky

Видео Qual nave smarrita (Handel) Joyce DiDonato канала Jeffrey Stivers