Doretta’s Dream

Description

This aria appears in Act One of La Rondine, which is Puccini’s last completed full-length opera. Set in Paris in the 1860’s, the opera opens with a wealthy Parisian entertaining artistic and literary friends in the salon of his mistress, Magda. The poet Prunier regales the group with gossip and opinions, finally stating that romantic love is back in style. He notes that even the heroine of his latest work, Doretta, has been affected, and he has immortalized her in a new song, which the ladies clamor to hear. Magda ushers Prunier to the piano, where he begins singing this aria, Che il bel sogno di Doretta. He tells of a young woman’s dream in which a king asks a maiden (Doretta) to trust him, promising her all his riches in return. She refuses, saying gold cannot buy happiness. At this point Prunier cannot go on–there is no ending since he doesn’t know how to finish the song. Magda comes to the piano and makes up a second verse in which a student one day kisses Doretta so passionately that she now knows what true love is. This second verse lives today as a showpiece for sopranos.

Expressive playing is essential in this rendition for strings and harp.
Tempi are not fixed, and should be pushed and stretched in accordance with Puccini’s operatic style. The melodic lines need to be dynamically shaped and expressed as if being sung. In a departure from my usual practice, I have not furnished fingerings in this arrangement, hoping that the conductor and the players will experiment to find the most expressive and satisfying sounds that work for them.
The tempo should be slow enough allow the conductor to change between quarter-note and eighth-note beats to enhance the expressive characteristics of the melodic lines. The closing measures in 4/8 should be conducted in 4 at the tempo reached during the preceding rallentando. I recommend listening to several of the fine recorded performances and videos of this aria in order to become more aware of the style.

The arrangement is conceived for a large string orchestra capable of producing a big, rich sound without forcing at louder dynamic levels.

Published by: String Instrument Specialists