This is the Queen of Sheba's farewell to Solomon from the third act. Will the sun forget to streak Eastern skies with amber ray, When the dusky shades to break He unbars the gates of day? Then demand if Sheba's queen E'er can banish from her thought All the splendour she has seen, All the knowledge thou hast taught.
I wonder if the literature tells us anything about a similar parting that Handel himself experienced. In any case, he (and Ann Hallenberg) have the gift of expressing deep emotion in simple and elegant lines of music, without bombast, pathos or irony, and this despite the undeniably precious lyics.
I like Hallenberg as the Queen of Sheba, particularly in this aria. I'm not sure how much I like her singing the music from act 1. In "Bless'd the day when first my eyes," I miss the lightness and radiance you hear when a true soprano sings it. But Hallenberg sings it well enough.
Elle est si belle, en plus !!!
Do yourself a big service, fellow Handelians, and listen to all four of these new postings. You'll be glad you did.
This is the Queen of Sheba's farewell to Solomon from the third act.
Will the sun forget to streak
Eastern skies with amber ray,
When the dusky shades to break
He unbars the gates of day?
Then demand if Sheba's queen
E'er can banish from her thought
All the splendour she has seen,
All the knowledge thou hast taught.
I wonder if the literature tells us anything about a similar parting that Handel himself experienced. In any case, he (and Ann Hallenberg) have the gift of expressing deep emotion in simple and elegant lines of music, without bombast, pathos or irony, and this despite the undeniably precious lyics.
I thought Sarah Connolly had the best recorded version of this, but I love Hallenberg's tone just as much. Both beautiful musicians..
I like Hallenberg as the Queen of Sheba, particularly in this aria. I'm not sure how much I like her singing the music from act 1. In "Bless'd the day when first my eyes," I miss the lightness and radiance you hear when a true soprano sings it. But Hallenberg sings it well enough.
FaustinaBordoni She is a mezzo, hence her voice is different from that of a soprano's
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@FaustinaBordoni
I yield to your judgment on "Blessed the Day". Faustina Bordoni would know best.