Program Notes

Poema en forma de canciones
Joaquin Turina Perez
9 December 1882 – 14 January 1949

I have always wanted to perform a full song cycle in Spanish because it is the native language of the person who first taught me how to sing. The lush and orchestral qualities of Turina’s music appealed to me. The cycle begins with Dedicatoria, an impassioned piano solo that weaves themes that unfold throughout the cycle. Ramón María de las Mercedes Pérez de Campoamor y Campoosorio authors the texts of this set. These poems maintain the structure of a miniature, and the voice alternates between an observing narrator and the first person as much as the music itself oscillates between major and minor. 

Tre sonetti di Petrarca
Franz Liszt
22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886

These three songs are filled with a magical quality and a deep sense of yearning. Francesco Petrarca, often referred to as Petrarch, was a fourteenth century Italian poet and an early humanist. Throughout the cycle, the conversational moments between the piano and the singer perfectly illustrate the dialogues Petrarch would have had with Laura. These are just a few of the over three hundred sonnets Petrarch dedicated to Laura during his lifetime.

One of the highlights in my time at UCLA has been coaching all things bel canto with Lucy Tucker Yates. I joined Lucy’s studio while preparing to sing Adina in last year’s production of L’elisir d’amore, and she spent ample time coaching me on Tre sonetti di Petrarca.

Selections from Ariettes Oubliées
Claude Debussy
22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918

Debussy’s work is iconically atmospheric, and this cycle in particular evokes impressionist scenes. Texts by Paul Verlaine were set to these meandering mélodies that sew together snapshots of different lives. They depicts us all, from the gentle aliveness of the natural world, to the cacophony of a circus. To me, Ariettes Oubliées uses glimpses of the mundane to illustrate existential and profound parts of the human experience. 

“Nichts,” “Cäcilie” & “Aber der Richtige…”
Richard Strauss
11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949 

The buoyant, flirtatious qualities of “Nichts” caught my attention. The poem, written by Hermann von Gilm, is extroverted and confrontational, a mood that is matched by Strauss’ piano part. Strauss used texts authored by this poet for his 8 Gedichte aus 'Letzte Blätter', Op.10. The cycle was originally intended for tenor voice, but Strauss’ wife performed the songs on several occasions and they were adopted by other voice types.

“Cäcilie” is the second song of the 4 Lieder, Op.27. It is documented that Strauss wrote this song before the day of his wedding, and the full cycle was a wedding gift to his wife, Pauline. The words were written by poet Heinrich Hart for his own wife, Cäcilie.

“Aber der Richtige…” is the Act 1 duet from the opera Arabella, a comedy about confused love, and a dysfunctional family dynamic that tries to use its daughters to secure its financial future. The opera premiered in 1933 in Dresden, but did not make its American debut until 1955 when it was performed at the Metropolitan Opera with Eleanor Steber in the title role. This duet features two different types of soprano voices.  My dear friend Leela Subramaniam is an incoming doctoral student at UCLA, and sadly, we will not overlap in our studies. Naturally, we chose to perform this together tonight.

I felt compelled to include Strauss in this program due to how much I have returned to his repertoire throughout my vocal development. Strauss’ songs also happened to be the catalyst for my collaborations with Dr. Lent this year. I was acquainted with Dr. Lent on account of my participation in the UCLA Chamber Singers, but we did not become collaborators until he jumped in and sight-read Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder for me in a last-minute audition. I am grateful to have had the help of Dr. Lent and Professor Gondek throughout this process.