"Bella mia fiamma," K. 528
Soprano with 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in C, and strings
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
In the fall of 1787, Mozart traveled to Prague for the premiere of his Don Giovanni and, while there, stayed with family friends Franz Xaver and Josepha Duschek. Both were accomplished musicians. Franz Xaver Duschek was a composer and pianist, and Josepha was a soprano, for whom Mozart had once written a concert aria and for whom Beethoven would later write "Ah! Perfido." It was for her, five days after the premiere of Don Giovanni, that Mozart wrote the present aria, "Bella mia fiamma." It is a beautiful, complex and difficult work written by a master at the height of his powers for a gifted singer and personal friend.
Mozart took his text for this aria out of a libretto about a version of the Proserpina myth that had been set some years earlier by the Neapolitan composer Jommelli. Proserpina's mortal lover Titano has been separated from her and condemned to die by Proserpina's mother, the goddess Ceres. In this dramatic recitative and aria, he addresses himself alternately to multiple characters, as he sings of his grief and anguish.
Boston Baroque Performances
"Bella mia fiamma," K. 528
October 25 & 27, 2019
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Amanda Forsythe, soprano