Da Capo Aria Analysis

The da capo aria is the perfect aria for a singer to show off their virtuosity. The better the singer is, the better they will do ornamenting the aria. The da capo aria is in ternary form, ABA. The first A section is typically not performed with many variances from the originally written piece, the B section follows with slightly more ornamentations. However, it is the second A section that can be the most decorated, and this is where the singer can show off what they can do. One of the sources I will be using to determine which ornamentations are appropriate in each section is Martha Elliott’s Singing in Style. Using this work I will examine the use of appoggiaturas, trills, cadenzas and the frequency of their appearance in the da capo aria and how I can implement that in my performance …show more content…
If appropriate, they may be performed in the middle of the aria. However, these are moreso seen at the final cadences of all sections. The most dramatic cadenza should be performed at the final section of the da capo aria. Cadenzas can be composed of any sort of modifications the singer is capable of performing, but should maintain the character of the piece. With this in mind, the singer may restate any important motives of the aria and embellish that. Cadenzas usually happen in one breath, but some singers like to breathe in between to have more time to show off their virtuosic capabilities. While cadenzas are not written in the score, they are not always improvised. Sometimes they are pre-written, however, this occurs more for double cadenzas which involve cadenzas between either two singers or a singer and an instrumentalist. Due to my lack of experience with ornamentation, I will be pre-writing my cadenza and practicing it. Since the piece is also not too long, I do not think I will be utilizing the cadenza at the end of each section, but most likely just the final A