Word: aria
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There is a duet written on a theme and variations with the words, "This duet is a set of variations based on a very short theme." The soprano embarks upon a classical slow-fast aria whose lyrics explain, "I sing this aria twice, the first time I sing it slowly in order that I may display my lyrical quality...the second time so I can display my virtuosity." A busy quartet has the baritone declaiming, "This is the quartet"; the contralto rejoicing, "I have a nice theme"; the soprano warbling, "I just sing la, la, la, la" and the tenor...
...brilliantly-played trumpet parts. Richter varied his tempi quite a bit though they were generally fast by standards of only twenty years ago (such as on the Scherchen recording of 1952). Richter had the courage to vary the tempi quite a bit to his taste. The bass aria Quoniam tu solus was taken very slowly. The horn playing in the obbligato solo to this aria is the best that might ever be expected. The soloist exhibited a precision of control that allowed for the most subtle variation in tone, dynamics and attack while preserving melodic integrity. Even his placement...
...water in the face, stones accidentally falling on innocent toes, police as easily misdirected as the Keystone Cops: it's all there. And in the only specifically aural gag, Chaplin swallows a whistle to create a hilarious variation of the hiccupping concert-goer who can't stop when the aria begins...
...fine English translation of the libretto did not help Elisabeth Phinney as Donna Elvira. Her diction in arias was mediocre. She was perfectly clear through the recitative so the problem is obviously not insoluble. She was at her best in Ah, Fuggi il Traditor, a Handelian rage aria complete with dotted rhythms, large interval leaps, and distinct bass line. In the peasant-girl Zerlina's role, Lisbeth Brittain was properly ingenuous and sang with a bright, light soprano voice...
...trumpeted nine soaring high Cs, all in one aria, provoking the Met audience into a howling, stamping ova tion. But the high point of the evening for many buffs came at the end, when retired Soprano Ljuba Welitch. 58, her flame-red hair blazing, her gestures still full of the pantherish passion that made her Salome a legend two decades ago, strode onstage for a brief speaking role. Oldtimers responded with a tear ful hand-clapping tribute in memory of the past...