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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Excessively rare autograph manuscript of a draft of an aria "Non tardar amato bene," written for "Le ...
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Description
Working handwritten manuscript of a portion of one of Mozart's "Da Ponte" operas: "Le Nozze di Figaro" (The Marriage of Figaro), one of Mozart's greatest achievements and a landmark of Western civilization
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Excessively rare autograph manuscript
of a draft of an aria "Non tardar amato bene," written for "Le
Nozze de Figaro" (The Marriage of Figaro) K. 492. No place, no
date [but Vienna, circa 1785-1786]. Four pages, oblong folio
measuring 12 x 8.75 inches, on conjoined 12-stave manuscript paper
with the water-mark of six crescent moons. Minor edgewear, creased
along old folds, slight spotting.Comprising an early form of Susanna's aria in Act Four, later replaced by "Deh vieni non tardar," the working manuscript, laid out for full score, but only containing material for soprano and instrumental bass-line, notated in brown ink, on two staves without clefs or time-signature, but including marks of expression and phrasing, and with space left for the addition of the other instruments, twenty-nine bars in all.
Mozart's first collaboration with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte in 1786 was an operatic version of Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais's controversial banned play critiquing the aristocracy, La folle Journée ou le marriage de Figaro from 1784. Performance of the play was not allowed in Vienna, but the operatic version was supported by Emperor Joseph II. A critic writing in the Realzeitung in Vienna observed that "what is not allowed to be spoken is sung." Mozart's portrayal of his lower-class characters as the more clever characters enhances the social and political stature of his works. This is reflected in his treatment of the role of the chambermaid Susanna, who helps foil the plans of her powerful employer, Count Almaviva.
This working manuscript comprises part of the draft for the "Scena con Rondò" that Mozart originally wrote for Susanna to sing in the final scene in the garden. Dressed as the Countess, she sings this aria to arouse the jealousy of Figaro, whom she knows to be listening. The opening line of text of the aria is "Non tardar amato bene" ("Do not delay, my beloved"). In the final version of the opera, this Rondo was replaced by "Deh vieni non trader," a ravishing principal solo aria sung by Susanna, who otherwise appears mostly in ensemble. It is preceded by a recitative "Giunse il momento alfin/Che godro senz' affanno..." ("The moment finally arrives/when I'll enjoy with haste"). The present manuscript contains the largest known surviving part of the Rondo itself, showing the poetic text complete. There exists a related sketch for the recitative and opening seven bars of the aria (an autograph bifolium of 12-stave paper mentioned in Köchel 6, p. 541 and described and illustrated in part in the sale catalogue of Liepmannssohn, no. 55, lot 24, and most recently in the auction catalogue of Aristophil Collections, Drouot Online, November 20, 2020). The opening material is brought back on the third page of the present draft, after a central section based on the second stanza. Mozart's manuscript breaks off at the end of this recapitulation; possibly he would have completed the "Rondo" with the second stanza, had he continued with this early version. This draft is not simply a sketch, but was evidently intended to be a complete orchestral score, which Mozart has begun by entering the vocal line, with its text complete, and with indications of phrasing. To this vocal part the composer has added the bass-line, without harmonic figuration, but nevertheless with phrasing and dynamic markings. The manuscript needs careful examination in order to assess the order in which the different parts were notated. Space has been left for the other instruments, but Mozart decided to set a different text before anything further was added. The draft reveals that the melodies were first conceived both with their words and with their phrasing essentially complete.
Why did Mozart not complete this aria? The material is distinguished and full of the heart-rending chromaticism and harmonic subtlety for which the composer is renowned. Lorenzo de Ponte recycled the unused text for the Rondo in a different opera from this time for which he was librettist, Vincenzo Righini's Il demogorgone. It seems likely that Mozart abandoned the aria for dramatic reasons. Susanna is dressed as the Countess and is impersonating her. The music of the aria embodies the nobility and vulnerability of the Countess's "Porgi amor" and "Dove sono." "Deh vieni" succeeds because there is no such musical impersonation: we see the "Countess," but we hear Susanna.
This manuscript assumes special importance since it documents an intriguing aspect of Mozart's creative process in the final act of The Marriage of Figaro, alerting us to the value of adjustments in the familiar order of recitatives and arias in the complex nocturnal garden scene, in which Susanna (disguised as the Countess) arouses Figaro's jealousy. The autograph score of this part of the opera is not complete in Mozart's hand; Figaro's recitative "Tutto è disposto" appears in the hand of a copyist. With the libretto already printed, and Susanna's "Non tardar" replaced by "Deh vieni," it was perhaps impossible to have Lorenzo Da Ponte make adjustments in the text when Figaro responds to what he falsely believes is confirmation of Susanna's infidelity. A convincing solution, as in the Archiv Produktion DVD conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, is to split Figaro's recitative "Tutto è disposto" into two halves, placing its second part after Susanna's "Deh vieni," leading into his explosive aria "Aprite un po' quegli occhi." Thus the fascinating manuscript for "Non tardar amato bene" preserves evidence related to a part of Mozart's masterwork that was never quite finished.
Special thanks to William Kinderman, Professor and Leo and Elaine Krown Klein Chair of Performance Studies, Herb Alpert School of Music, University of California, Los Angeles.
This item is protected by Heritage's NFTrust+ , a digital fingerprint that photographically authenticates it as the original, recorded permanently in our archives and in an NFT.
Auction Info
2022 July 16 Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction #6258 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2022
16th
Saturday
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