Teresa Stich-Randall - Mozart: IL SOGNO DI SCIPIONE, Ah perché cercare deggio? 1964

THE SONGBIRD: American soprano Teresa Stich-Randall was discovered by Toscanini when she was 20 years old. He booked her for some symphony concerts and then cast her as Nanetta in his 1950 NBC radio performance of Verdi's "Falstaff," which launched her international career. She was a specialist in works by Mozart and Richard Strauss, and made many commercial recordings of their operatic works, plus discs of Handel, Bach, a variety of lieder and art songs, and even one of Italian bel canto arias (a stylistic stretch). Stich-Randall was especially welcome at the Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg festivals. She appeared over eight seasons at Salzburg from 1952 to 1967 and sang Fiordiligi and Donna Anna at The Met in the mid-1960s. This performance is conducted by John Pritchard. THE MUSIC: "Il sogno di Scipione" K. 126 is a dramatic serenade in one act. Mozart composed the work at the age of 15 for his patron, Prince-Archbishop Schrattenbach, who died before it could be performed. It is highly likely that is was never performed in its entirety in Mozart's lifetime, and was revived in 1979 at the Salzburg Festival for what may have been its first complete performance. The premise is that Scipio, a Roman general, must choose to live his life with either Fortuna (good fortune and wealth) or Costanza (constancy and loyalty), both sung by coloratura sopranos. Spoiler alert: he chooses the later. "Ah, perché cercare deggio?" is an aria that alternates between reflective lyric sections and sections of florid fireworks. However, it is actually not sung by either character -- instead Licenza appears at the very end of the opera and sings this piece to sum up the moral of the story and dedicate the work to the real hero, the Archbishop.