Friday, October 9, 2009

The Barber of Seville (by Rossini)

Hello class,

This week, you will listen to two videos to the right. They are each different arias from The Barber of Seville. When you discuss the videos, DO NOT call them "video 1" and "video 2," as some of you have in the past. Please refer to them as "Figaro's Aria," "Largo al factotum della citta" or refer to the singer.

Write one paragraph about Figaro's Aria, and another about Rosina's aria. In each paragraph, explain how the words/stories are displayed in the way that the singer's (Kathleen Battle and Pietro Spagnoli) act and sing.

Figaro's Aria (Largo al factotum della citta) Translation:

Make way for the factotum of the city, Hurrying to his shop since dawn is already here. Ah, what a fine life, what fine pleasureFor a barber of quality!
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo! A most fortunate man indeed! Ready to do everything Night and day, Always on the move. A cushier fate for a barber, A more noble life, is not to be had.
Razors and combs, Lancets and scissors, At my command Everything's there. Here are the tools Of my trade With the ladies...with the gentlemen...
Everyone asks for me, everyone wants me, Ladies, young lads, old men, young girls: Here is the wig...the beard is ready...Here are the leeches...The note is ready...Here is the wig, the beard is ready, The note is ready, hey!
Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!, etc. Ah, what frenzy! Ah, what a crowd! One at a time, please! Hey, Figaro! I'm here. Figaro here, Figaro there, Figaro up, Figaro down,
Swifter and swifter, I'm like a thunderbolt: I'm the factotum of the city. Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo, You'll never lack for luck!

Io sono docile Translation:

I am docile, I am respectful, I am obedient, sweet, loveable

I am held down, I will take control, But if they hold me back where I have a partiality

If I’m thwarted, I will be a viper and have a hundred tricks

Before giving up I will make fools of them. Yes, yes, I will win him. If I at least will be allowed to have the chance.

Rubric:

20 pts. You wrote a blog!

30 pts. You described the acting and singing in Figaro's aria.

30 pts. You described the acting and singing in Rosina's aria.

20 pts. You used good grammar when writing.

Please write and submit your post for this assignment by Monday, October 19 for full credit.

In case you can't watch the videos to the right, here are the URL's for the videos:

Figaro's Aria (sung by Pietro Spagnoli) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=012dIqLM_qo

Rosina's Aria (sung by Kathleen Battle) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8LFUDwZhvQ

17 comments:

Ariana Williams said...

Figaro's Aria (Largo al factotum della città), this performance was joyful and energetic.Pietro Spagnoli did a great job of acting like he was looking for something at the begining of the viedo. He speaks very loud and high when the intruments are loud,Then when he talks lower the orchestra is playing low. I can tell that he's a very important person in this performance because when he stood up on something, made him higher than everyonelse, the people below him, seem like they want autographs, when they wave their papers. The place he's in in this video at the begining is clean, white and empty. He and one other person is there. Figaro's aria is sings very fast, like he's in a rush.

Rosina's Aria (Io sono docile), she sings very high when the music is so low that you can barely hear it. I think that this was purposely
done to hear her voice clearly and to hear her sing this high note. In this aria Rosina acts like she's a princess and that if she doesn't get her way, she will play trick on people, which is what she will do before she gives up.

Aleya Washington said...

In Figaro's aria the way the singer sings and the actors respond helps tell the story. You can tell when the singer was telling the people to hurry to his shop because they began to run and the dynamics of his voice was loud. As he tell about his life his voice seem more calm and soft. However, when he commands for the razors and scissors the tempo becomes faster and the timbre of his voice is harsh and choppy.

In Rosina's Aria the way the singer sings help tell the story. When she sings her characteristics she pauses in between and changes the pitch of her voice. When she says "she is held down," she takes a seat and holds the pitch. Also the singer pulling the feather out of the box helps shows the trick that she says she will have .

Monique Carpenter said...

Figaro's Aria is talking about a barber who is opening is shop in a hall. The singing man is looking for costumers.The singing man sounds pretty serious and happy about his cutting.I think his name is Figaro.


Rosina's Aria is content and sounds happy. She sounds in emotional in some high vocals technique and she moves around a lot in the video to show it was very busy like she was rushing for something. But I didn't know what she was talking about.

Devon Dobbs said...

In Largo al factotum della citta it was a very happy song. All of the performers has smiles on their faces, so you can tell that they wern't sad. The way he was showed that he was in a good mood. The words show that he is a famous barber. The man really likes what he does for a liveing.

In lolo docile the lady was also in a good mood.She talked about herself in the words,like in the beginning she was saying she is docile,respectful,obedient,and so on.There was a happy feeling to the song by the way she sang the song.She had a nice stans, she song very high. Usally when the song is sad it is song very low.

donald said...

The barber sounds as if he is a very popular person in his community. It seems that he likes to cut hair very much. The orchestra only played when Figaro sung making the orchestra purely accompanied. The piece is energetic and has a good feeling to it.



Rosina's aria seemed to be a happy one. She looks like she's about to get married and is telling everyone about it. The orchestra provided somewhat of an introduction to the piece because the music was playing before the woman started to sing.

Adontis Larry said...

In Figaro's Aria there was some terrance dynamics. In this piece he was singing about how his life was busy and how everybody wanted things from him as if he was a very well liked man. The mood of the song was joyful. Howevr the timbre sometimes seemed unfoucused.

In Rosina Aria the song was very gradutal and i really didnt like it that much. She talked about how she was great was sweet and loveable. Also the mood of this was happy

armani kelly said...

In Largo al factotum della citta the singer is very enthustastic.He is a barber opening his brand new barber shop. The singer frolics on the stage as if he were a child.He uses his words in a very happy manner. The music sounds familar to my ears. The singer had alot of energy.
In lolo docile the singer is in a cheerful mood. The singer prances around the stage very joyful. When I read the translation the singer sang tricked me.The lady as if she was sweet the whole time. A person wouldnt be able to tell that she was talking about men tricking her and if they did she woud become a viper.

Ashanti Smiley said...

Figaro's Aria was a very energenic opera. In this opera the singer, Pietro Spagnoli played an very important part which meant the singer was more important than the orchestra. He did a great job with his vocals and outstood everyone else which told me he was important. He also allowed me to see that when you sing in operas you have to know how to sing and acted bacause he had great acting skills.

In Rosina Aria, Kathleen Battle had less of her orchestra playing than Pietro. She also had alot of facial expressions making the meaning of her words stronger. Not only that but the pitch of her voice changed a few times.

riane nuby said...

In Figaro's aria (Largo al factotum delta citta)the singer was very energetic and I could tell he was more important than the other performers because, the way he carried himself and how he dressed. In this opera I was able to tell singing was more important than the instruments.

In Rosina's Aria the introduction begins off with flutes. The mood is happy, I also think singing is more important than the instruments, because, in some pieces of the song she would sing high pitched and the orchestra would stop playing.

Markita Kirkpatrick said...

Figaro's Aria was very energetic along with the acting.By the acting,you could tell what the song and story was about, especially when the guy sat down in th barber chair.The other actors accompanied Pietro really well.
In Rosina's Aria,you could tell she was really happy and excited by her facial expressions.She held a note in her hand,which must have been important to her because she held on to it throughout the song.Toward the end of the song, the dynmaics sped up and the actor started to prance around the stage as she kissed the note.

~FUISCHA~ said...

Figaro's aria was very loud and energetic. Pietro was a very important person in this opera because he stood out amongst the crowd. The way Pietro's voice ranged from loud to soft, movements, and expressions portrayed his actions very well. Because Pietro was a great actor and singer, you were able to understand a little of what he was doing without the translations. His voice was loud and bashful,which created a clear sound. Pietro's voice played along with the orchestra well, because when the instruments were loud so was his voice, and when the instruments were soft so was he.

In Rosina's aria, Kathleen's voice changed pitches numerous times, which helped portray her feelings. When she was excited she sang loud and high. Kathleen's voice is more important than the orchestra in this opera.

Torry Walker said...

Spagnoli's aria began in a happy and joyous mood. You can see this my the expressions on his face which match the words. He seems to be overjoyed at the beginning and walks about in a happy way. His expressions seems worry-free and doesn't have anything to worry about because he is a famous barber.
Kathleen Battle begins singing in a soft voice that's appealing because the words are describing things that men find attractable about women. She stays this way most of the aria. Toward the end, her voice got stronger demonstrating the power and determination she has according to her situation in the lyrics. Her body language changed also as she became more free to express this.

Aaron Booth said...

In Figaro's Aria(Largo al factotum della citta) the singing was absolutely great. Pietro Spagnoli is an incredible actor and singer. When Pietro wants to emphasize something the orchestra plays louder to accompany his emotions. When Pietro sings low the orchestra follow his lead and plays low. When Pietro is standing up,it shows his importance in the performance.
In Rosina's Aria (lo sono Docile) the singing was ok because her voice had to much vibration in it.The acting on the other hand was excellent, I enjoyed it. The orchestra's introduction showed that the plot would be mischievous. All throughout her singing except for a couple parts the volume and tempo was the same. In generally it was an enjoy performance.

Montanna Ross said...

In the video of Figaros aria i found that song to be my favorite. When he sang the lyrics and his voice matched. When he was singing of how they call him he sang with pride and happyness. The sound of the orchestra and his voice were capturibg each others talents. When he was high the orchestra would get high as well. I could easly see how much he wonted to do his job abd how he felt ot me needed. Also the singer was able to draw me into the famous and my favorite part, "figaro, figaro, figaroo". (how he would drand the last figaro.)
In Rosinas aria the woman shows how she feels towards the man and others through her movement. Also the pitch of her voice and the orchestra was in tune, she was high they wrose. When she sang i could see how she was hurt and how she wonted revinge. Also when i watched her sing she sang with diffrent facial expressons that showed her sorrow. She had a nice loud clear voice. Yet sometimes her high pitch was to high.

Quentin Pittman said...

In figario's arias he sang good. He shows much emotion when he sings. He appears to be happy. It has a pretty fast tempo to it. The singing to me is very upbeat and confident.

The second piece also starts off happy as it shows her skipping. She sings very well and has a loud voice. She does not sing as fast as rossini. She stretches out a lot of words making them long and loud. Also when singing it seems her voice shakes a little.

D'Angelo Hooks said...

In the opera Figaro's Aria the piece had a happy mood to it. The singer Pietro Spagnoli had a great singing voice and gave the opera its happy mood. It seemed as if he was a barber that was very famous in the town and everyone wanted him to cut their hair.
In Rosina's Aria the singing ok compared to the singing in Figaro’s Aria. In the performance the actress used a lot of body language to express herself in the piece. When she was happy her voice got higher and the music accompanied her when her voice rose. The mood of this piece was also a happy mood

Tashnequa said.. said...

In Flgario Aria is perfomance was outstanding. Through his performance he enduranced the music and many types of ways. As he begain to sing louder than the orchestra followed his lead. His music was very happy and energtic like. Also he was a great performance becuse he embodied his emotion's on how he was singing.
In Rosina's Aria her performance was okay but she changed her voice picth way to many times. But she showed that she could express her self very well in her perfomance.

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