La Lucrezia
La Lucrezia
O Numi eterni is the first recitative in La Lucrezia, one of the most famous cantatas, written by Handel from his days in Italy between 1706 and 1709. Secular cantatas had a far greater following in Italy than in Handel’s native Germany and the story of the Rape of Lucretia from Livy’s The Early History of Rome would have been widely known, Livy being one of the most read authors of the 17th century. The Rape of Lucretia was a favourite theme among musicians, poets and visual artists. The survival of an unusually large number of manuscript copies of La Lucrezia suggests that this was one of Handel’s most popular chamber music pieces during his lifetime.
Livy’s account of the Rape of Lucretia is as the catalyst for the overthrow of the early kings of Rome and the establishment of the Republic. King Tarquin the Proud had a son, Sextus, who raped Lucretia while her husband was away at war. When her husband returned she summoned him and her father, confessed what happened and then committed suicide. It is a part that allows a soprano to show off her powers, both musical and dramatic.
La Lucrezia is a miniature operatic scene for soprano solo and is a masterpiece of characterisation. We are led by the impassioned singing of Lucretia as she vacillates between rage and vengeance, and self-condemnation and shame. The drama takes place just before her suicide and the final verses describe the act itself. The opening O Numi eterni is a prayer oh eternal Gods! Oh stars who strike down impious tyrants, answer my prayers. The prayer calls for divine vengeance. Lucretia’s furious words are captured by the almost frantic nature of the melody, full of leaps and strongly accented notes.
The first aria is smoother and decidedly more plaintive and sorrowful. In this aria we see the foreshadowing of the dramatic and vocal powers required for the part as the soprano hits the climactic high note for the word Fate.
Next Lucretia expresses guilt and fear that the gods will not heed her prayers because of what has happened. This is where we begin to see Lucretia’s feelings move from rage at Sextus to recriminations against herself. But these are put aside for a classic vengeance aria, one of the most impassioned verses in the piece.
The drama continues with Lucretia’s intention to commit suicide the steel to which I fearlessly grasp. The music reflects the tragedy of her situation and her self-loathing, summed up in the single line arioso Brings to the faithless body its punishment, and the time given to this one line encapsulates Lucretia’s state of mind. An instrumental solo closes the verse.
As the end approaches she is no longer addressing the gods, but her father and husband. She declares once more her intention to put the family’s honour above her life and hopes that doing so will bring forgiveness. The second arioso is when we can imagine, were we watching an opera, the action would have taken place and Lucretia kills herself. It is quickly followed by the finale, full of sorrow and vengeance. The music is sorrowful, but agitated with heavily accented bowing in the accompaniment that seem to reflect the uneven final heartbeats of Lucretia.
Helen Dawson
