Search the archives
Download the House Programme
Serenissima – May 19, 1983 | Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Serenissima – May 19, 1983 | Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Songs in celebration of the city of Venice
date: May 19, 1983
Our material was taken from the vast amount of music written in celebration of one of our favourite cities, Venice; we were able only to dip a toe into the wide and deep lagoon of possible repertoire. Three versatile singers led us from the classicism of Schubert and Monteverdi through the delights of Romantic masters and finished on theatrical stages with Fauré, Cole Porter and Johann Strauss – a varied diet indeed! The literary extracts which formed our narration were taken from the works of Casanova, Goethe, Byron, Ruskin and Henry James, together with the reminiscences of that redoubtable patroness of all the arts, Winnaretta Singer, the Princesse de Polignac. This concert was repeated in our Walter Hall series in January 1995
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mignon: Kennst du das Land? D321 | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Schubert, Franz | Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von |
| La regata veneziana (Soirées musicales) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Rossini, Gioachino | Pepoli, Carlo |
| Gondelfahrer, D808 | Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Schubert, Franz | Mayrhofer, Johann |
| Venetianisches Gondellied, Op.57/5 | MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| Mysterious gondola (Death in Venice, Op.88) | MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Piper, Myfanwy |
| Anzoleta avanti la regata (La regata veneziana: Péchés de vieillesse) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Rossini, Gioachino | Piave, Francesco Maria |
| Anzoleta co passa la regata (La regata veneziana: Péchés de vieillesse) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Rossini, Gioachino | Piave, Francesco Maria |
| Anzoleta dopo la regata (La regata veneziana: Péchés de vieillesse) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Rossini, Gioachino | Piave, Francesco Maria |
| Sur les lagunes: Lamento, Op.7/3 (Nuits d’été) | Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Berlioz, Hector | Gautier, Théophile |
| Sérénade italienne, Op.2/5 | MacLean, James, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chausson, Ernest | Bourget, Paul |
| O come sei gentile (Madrigali: Libro VII) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Monteverdi, Claudio | Guarini, Giovanni Battista |
| Venetianisches Lied I, Op.25/17 (Myrthen) | MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schumann, Robert | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| Venetianisches Lied II, Op.25/18 (Myrthen) | MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schumann, Robert | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| Entr’acte, Op.57/2 (Shylock) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | n/a |
| Mandoline, Op.58/1 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | McLean, James, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| En sourdine, Op.58/2 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| Nocturne, Op.57/5 (Shylock) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | n/a |
| A Clymène, Op.58/4 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | McLean, James, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| Final, Op.57/6 (Shylock) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | n/a |
| The Tale of the Oyster | Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Porter, Cole | Porter, Cole |
| Sei mir gegrüsst, du holdes Venetia (Eine Nacht in Venedig) | MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss the younger, Johann | Zell, F. / Genée, Richard |
| Sei mir wilkommen, holde Nacht (Eine Nacht in Venedig) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss the younger, Johann | Zell, F. / Genée, Richard |
| Komm in die Gondel (Eine Nacht in Venedig) | MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Stubbs, Janet, mezzo; MacLean, James, tenor; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss the younger, Johann | Zell, F. / Genée, Richard |