The dramatic mezzo shares many qualities with her sister, the dramatic soprano, possessing the same attributes that make the voice dramatic – i.e. a full dynamic range, stamina and power. Like the roles for soprano, the dramatic mezzo roles require a singer of some fortitude. Many are found in the Russian repertoire, Marina in Boris Godunov, Evgenia in Tchaikovsky’s Charodieika (The Enchantress), the Kitchen Maid in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. We also find her in Erda and Waltraute in Wagner’s tetralogy of Der Ring des Nibelungen, or as Ortrud in Lohengrin. In Verdi operas we encounter superb roles for dramatic mezzos: Amneris in Aida,Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Eboli in Don Carlos and, possibly the ultimate challenge, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. It is this role that I consider to be the dream role of a dramatic mezzo.
The greatest challenge in singing this role comes from the sheer size of the role. Not only is she one of the most evil creations in opera, and must be seen to be the dominant force driving Macbeth to his ultimate fall, but vocally she must be capable of such sudden bursts of power as to be the devil incarnate, and yet possess a voice with the ability to suddenly sing pianissimo. (One of the greatest interpreters of this role in recent years has been Shirley Verrett, who has a voice of great dramatic power.) Her first entrance, (Act One, scene two), finds her reading aloud Macbeth’s letter with the prophecy of the witches in sotto voce, followed by a huge outpouring of ambition and power. Shortly after, she has the duet with Macbeth, where he tells her that King Duncan will arrive, and here she sees the chance to eliminate all that stands in the way of Macbeth’s rise to power. In the Finale of Act OneI, she should dominate the vocal line, as she and Macbeth convince the others of their “horror” at the King’s brutal murder.
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Act Two is one of the hardest sections of the opera, with an aria and duet with Macbeth, a short break, and the Banquet Scene in which the ghost of Banquo appears to “haunt” Macbeth. In Act Three she has another duet with Macbeth, where she tries to convince him to carry on with their plans. However, in the Sleepwalking Scene, we suddenly see a change in character, as she begins to lose her strength, and is desperate to wash the blood from her hands. This beautiful aria must be sung with line, agility and subtlety, showing off the dramatic mezzo’s ability to colour the voice. It is, after all, her last appearance onstage, and it must leave the audience in no doubt that the crimes she has committed will cause her to lose her mind and eventually lead to her death. Although she has been the driving force behind Macbeth’s ambition to become King, we now see the terrible price she has paid for sustaining him in this position. Yet Macbeth would not have achieved his dreams of power, as he is weak without her influence and drive.
This uniquely evil and psychologically complicated character, coupled with some of the finest music in all opera, makes Lady Macbeth the ultimate role for the dramatic mezzo – so much so that even dramatic sopranos have ventured into it. (This is not as mad as it may seem, as Verdi originally wrote it for a soprano, but in later revisions he re-wrote some of the arias which brought it into the mezzo repertoire. There are sections of the opera which are daunting to a mezzo, whilst the soprano will find much of the lower writing extremely challenging!)
Ian Wilson-Pope
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