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Is it appropriate to add extra embellishments/ornaments/coloratura to a 17th/18th Centrury Italian aria?

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#4

re: Is it appropriate to add extra embellishments/ornaments/coloratura to a 17th/18th Centrury Italian aria?

Yea, so don't Mariah it...
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>> “I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>> -whatever2
#5

re: Is it appropriate to add extra embellishments/ornaments/coloratura to a 17th/18th Centrury Italian aria?

I am a vocal performance major with an emphasis in Dramatic Opera and Musical Theatre, and yes it is appropiate if and only if you add embellishments that one remain true to the piece itself and secondly if the ornaments are the type you would have heard during that time period. No one wants to hear an updated version of these types of pieces but if you add to emphasis a part, show off you talent at the end of the piece, go for it as long as it remains true to the time period. No on wants to hear a punch of Britney Spears run at the end of a song. Good luck!
"Passion can drive you crazy but is there any other way to live"
#6

re: Is it appropriate to add extra embellishments/ornaments/coloratura to a 17th/18th Centrury Italian aria?

What arrangements of these songs are you using? Are you using the traditional 24 Italian Songs and Arias with the yellow cover? Or are you using the updated 26 Italian Arias with the purple or blue cover? If you're using the newer one, they have suggested ornamentation written in for each song. ( It drives me crazy trying to use the book to teach my students "Caro Mio Ben" because there is so much ornamentation added in small notes to the original tune!)

So...if you're not using the updated version, I'd suggest getting a copy of it!
#10

re: Is it appropriate to add extra embellishments/ornaments/coloratura to a 17th/18th Centrury Italian aria?

From a purely conceptual point of view, these songs were written *specifically* for the singer to show off his/her skills at ornamentation. Look at the score as a paint-by-number drawing that still needs the colour to make it work, then -- as others have pointed out -- as long as you dont go Mariah (or, as I prefer to think, American Idol) on it (I swear, singers on that show maneuver *around* the note instead of actually hitting it) and stay within the period, go for it.

*But* remember that the whole point of ornamentation is showing off what *you* can bring to the table, so make it your own and run wild with it. Good luck.
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