The Composer’s aria from Ariadne auf Naxos is one of the great soprano arias in Strauss. Soprano? But it is usually sung by mezzos, isn’t it? In recent years, yes. However, Strauss himself, who tends to be very specific, identifies the Composer as soprano (whereas he lists Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier as a mezzo). A passage such as the improvised song (at rehearsal 37), with its demand for soft, easy singing in the break, speaks for itself: this is a soprano tessitura. This is not to say that some mezzos cannot sing the part, but only that those who find the aria taxing should be wary of attempting the role.
The piece presents some metrical complications. At rehearsal 111, while the meter of the orchestral part changes to 6/4, the voice remains in 4/4. In other words, the eighth note of “jedoch” is slower than the eighth note of the orchestral melody. Wait a minute. Is the arithmetic really important, especially since the “je” syllable is unaccented? Well, no. But if the singer misunderstands the rhythm and rushes too much, it can create a significant problem. She is then likely (in the last bar before “Mut”) to get so far ahead as to place the second syllable of the final “jedoch” on the third rather than the fourth quarter note. The rests in the notated rhythm express the Composer’s groping for an elusive thought, and any alteration will weaken this feeling. “Mut ist in mir” is not a continuation of this previous thought — that music is more spiritual than words — but is, on the contrary, an outburst interrupting it. The Composer’s brief encounter with Zerbinetta (which impresses the innocent and idealistic youngster all too much!) has filled him with so strong a feeling of well-being and confidence that it forces itself out in the middle of his thought. This is not to say that one should separate the words “jedoch” and “Mut,” but rather that “Mut ist in mir” should emerge with a new, impetuous force. With the words “Was ist denn Musik?” the Composer returns to his interrupted idea that music is the holiest of arts.
Many find the bars before and after rehearsal 114 confusing in regard to tempo. How does one establish the “etwas ruhiger?” This marking (“somewhat calmer”), however, does not indicate a fresh tempo; this tempo is arrived at as a result of the poco ritardando. (Note that the “sehr schwungvoll” at rehearsal 111 is similarly the result of the poco accelerando preceding it.) As a practicing conductor, Strauss tends to prefer modulated transitions — bridges — to sudden, unprepared changes of tempo. The exaltation of the final phrase is enhanced when it is taken in a single breath. Isn’t this difficult, though? Possibly only due to circular reasoning: One slows down in order to take a breath before the high B flat, but quite likely the breath is needed only because of the habit of slowing. If you remain in tempo during the ascent, you may actually find it more comfortable vocally to continue the line rather than break immediately before the high B flat.
The piano score is, alas, disfigured by two gross misprints. Two bars before rehearsal 109, the orchestral melody should begin with E flat, not E natural. In the vocal part, two bars before rehearsal 116, the word “die” should be on D, not C. Wouldn’t you think that the publisher would have corrected these errors by now? Then again, wouldn’t you think that we would have tried to fix global warming by now?
