Basta vincesti . . . Ah non lasciarmi, K. 295a
Soprano with 2 flutes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns and strings
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
On their last trip together, Mozart and his mother stayed some months in Mannheim over the winter of 1777-78. There they frequently visited with the Wendling family, of which the father, Johann Baptist, was a much admired flutist and three daughters were sopranos. From Mannheim, the Mozarts went to Paris, where, meeting again with Johann Baptist, Mozart wrote the flute part of a Sinfonia Concertante for him. Of the Wendling daughters, two of them, Dorothea and Lisl, sang in the premiere of Mozart's Idomeneo several years later.
The scena Basta vincesti . . . Ah non lasciarmi, was written for Dorothea in February of 1778, during the Mannheim visit. The text comes from Didone abbandonata, a libretto by Metastasio on the story of Dido and Aeneas. Several composers had set the complete opera, but Mozart extracted this single recitative and aria as a musical offering for Dorothea. In it, Dido, the queen of Carthage, pleads with Aeneas not to leave her. It is a rarely performed but beautiful aria, and it says much about Mozart's regard for Dorothea's voice and her expressive style of singing.
Boston Baroque Performances
Basta vincesti . . . Ah non lasciarmi, K. 295a
May 1 & 2, 2009
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Hyunah Yu, soprano