The aria, ‘Una Voce Poco Fa’ from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) may have been composed in 1816, but it remains popular to the present day – a showpiece for coloratura sopranos. It was certainly an often-performed solo in recitals by the early 20th century star about whom I’m writing at the moment. In the context of the original opera, it’s sung by Rosina, whose overbearing guardian wants to marry her. Of course, Rosina’s sights are set on a handsome young suitor. (Eventually the barber sorts it all out. Of course!)
The Lyric Opera of Chicago gives you the relevant details on a handy page about the work, here.
You can find a translation on the Opera Arias Database.
But what, exactly, draws both singers and audiences to this amazing piece? Jenna Simeonov has written a guide for sopranos learning the aria, on the Schmopera website, and her introduction gives a few clues as to why it would have appealed to a talented young soprano:-
This is a cornerstone aria for many young mezzos, and one of the few chances they have to show off coloratura and play a girl. It’s also an aria full of options.
‘How-to Aria Guides: Una Voce Poco Fa (14 October, 2015)
Sure enough, the woman I’m researching was very young, so the role of Rosina would have felt like one she could empathise with.
Simeonov gives a great deal of useful advice on singing the later coloratura part of the aria, helpfully with a marked-up score to show what she’s talking about. She gives more insight into singing it, from a performer’s point of view, than I could possibly have hoped for, but in her opening words, also advises working with a singing teacher.
The fast part
As we get into the coloratura bits, I can offer some general, if incomplete, advice. Help yourself by always finding the larger tune within the string of sixteenth notes, and stay nice and light. For more specifics, get thee to thy voice teacher.
Looking at the score – my goodness, talk about vocal acrobatics! Swooping scales, trills and other ornamentation, high notes, tricky fast passages that would challenge any soloist – and that’s before the conductor tries to keep an orchestra in synch with ‘Rosina’. Or it’s up to the pianist, in a recital context. No wonder ‘my’ singer was in the habit of noting if her allocated accompanist was good, bad or indifferent!
Here’s Kathleen Battle singing the aria – a beguiling, and impeccable performance:-
(Kathleen Battle – Rossini: ‘Una voce poco fa’, from the opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioacchino Rossini. Recorded in Antwerpen December 1984. From the TV show: Rene Kollo – Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein.
So, it really is completely understandable why it’s such a well-loved piece of the repertoire, isn’t it?!
Cover image from IMSLP: Editor Castil-Blaze (1784-1857)
Pub. Info. Paris: La Lyre moderne, n.d. Plate 346.
Copyright: Public Domain
Misc. Notes Biblioteca Fondazione Rossini Pesaro
Karen McAulay, Musicologist 