By Milan Sekulic
Born is 1854, Alfredo Catalani’s final opera, La Wally, ensured his lasting legacy as a short lived but influential composer. Today the opera may not be as frequently preformed as many others of Puccini’s but its most famous aria, Ebben? Ne andrò lontana, continues to resonate in the culture today, featured in film such as Diva (1981) and Philadelphia (1993). First performed in La Scala, Milan in 1892, the opera’s libretto is based on a piece by the writer, Wilhelmine vin Hillern, who wrote about part of the life of Anna Stainer-Knittel, an Austrian painter.. Ebben? Ne andrò lontana, heard more often today as a stand-alone piece, comes from Act 1, when Wally proclaims to leave home, “Well, then? I’ll go far away”. Wally is strong and heroic figure, and this strength can be heard in the timbre of the aria.
The Italiana Orchestra’s annual performance, ‘Opera Italiana is in the Air’, at Central Park’s Naumberg Banshell is an opportunity for New Yorkers to listen to a selection of classical music and opera pieces, aimed to highlight Italian influence and contribution to classic music. Co-founded and led by Alvise Casellati the New York Italiana Orchestra first formed in 2017 is composed of members of the MET Opera, New York Philharmonic, Julliard, Manhattan School of Music and other ensembles. In a few short years, Opera Italiana is in the Air, has expanded to Washington DC, Miami, Naples, Rome, and Milan. With its success it manages to attract not only the incredibly talent musician that make up the Orchestra but also but great opera stars for the arias.
On the 24th of September, accompanied by, the 3-time Grammy Award winning soprano Latonia Moore, the orchestra continued this tradition on picturesque fall evening. Held at Central Park’s Naumberg Bandshell, Moore, sang Ebben? Ne andrò lontana, and with the assistance of a microphone, her voice carried over the hum of the city. Over the last decade New York is used to seeing Moore star in roles at the MET Opera with highlights being her portrayal of Serena in the 2019 Porgy and Bess, with the production winning Best Opera Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the starring roles in the MET’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, and Champion. It is gift to have the chance to listen to one of the country’s most renowned sopranos, for free, in Central Park.
Ebben? Ne andrò lontana was played as the fourth piece of the evening, allowed the audience time to settle into the concert, and the crowd to build. The orchestra and Moore moved and built in the piece with emotion and feeling that resonated with the crowd. A piece that may not have the immediate recognition, in contrast to others by Puccini’s and Mozart’s later in the evening, has the risk of getting lost in the lineup but with a mix of power and restraint it managed to shine and elicit a great ovation. With the benefit of translation, a more complete meaning of the piece would have been better conveyed to the audience and I hope in future performances this could be incorporated either via projection or as part of the flyer that was handed out.
Opera Italiana is in the Air has a mission of the educating people of the importance of Opera as not only an art form but an expression and embodiment of the values of society. With completing forms of art and entertainment opera’s popularity has waned over the last century. To continue to revive the popularity and enrich opera as an art form, Opera Italiana has done more than their part and we should all be in the first-row next year to experience this gift to New York.
Works Cited
Wikipedia contributors. “La Wally.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 May. 2024. Web. 6 Dec. 2024.
“Who We Are.” Opera Italiana Is in the Air, www.operaitalianaisintheair.com/who-we-are. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
