Repertoire for Students Part 3: Instead of this, try that.....

A recent discussion among teachers dipped into the perennial question: should teens and developing singers be encouraged to sing core 18th and 19th century operatic repertoire before their technique is fully developed? 

There is no one-size-fits-all answer - there are a handful of exceptional students who are ready to start building their operatic chops as teens, but  in general I personally come down on the side of "no".   I encourage these keen students to become familiar with the  dramatic stage works they love and  maybe even play around singing them for fun, but as performance and audition pieces?  "Not yet....".  They don't love me when I steer them away from O Mio Babbino Caro or Queen of the Night but, if they continue as serious singers, their 30-something selves will thank me for not letting them build youthful insufficiencies into what becomes their mature bread-and-butter repertoire!   

Beyond Handel and the 24/26/28, this still often leaves teachers sometimes scratching their heads to come up with solutions to let their students feel successful and sing the music they love, while still protecting their longterm growth.   Thankfully, there are a lot of great alternatives to choose from!   The availability of music online in the 21st century makes this an easier task than it was "back in the day", and there are a lot of easily obtained options to explore.   All  of the songs below are very "operatic" in feel and style, and most can be found at imslp or in fairly easily obtained collections. 

If your student loves le Nozze di Figaro and all things Mozart.....

• Mozart songs and lesser-known arias, especially: 
• Als Luise die Briefe for a really dramatic "scena" that sounds like something Donna Elvira might sing
• Un moto di gioia for an alternate aria from Figaro that is now seen more as an art song (and great for working on a moving descending scale through all registers!)
• Ridente la calma for the kind of sustained  legato line and range that his soprano roles typically require - available in multiple keys. 
• arias from his youthful work Bastien et Bastienne  - all the stylistic elements with fewer technical challenges. 
• Un marito donne care from La Finta Semplice  - terrific humorous aria that is great for a budding soubrette to work on Italian diction and acting chops.
• For a future Contessa or Fiordiligi, the concert aria Vado ma dove may be helpful  - most suitable for an undergraduate or an advanced teen as it is certainly not an "easy" piece!  It asks for some the same phrasing and technical skills as Dove Sono or Come Scoglio and can be a great training ground for those challenging arias.  
  
  
• The ariettes of Vincenzo Righini - same classical style, written with skills (and vocal range) well within the reach of advanced developing singers
• Songs of Louise Reichardt - beautiful, lesser-known songs suitable for a wide range of voices and abilities. These are becoming readily more available in new editions (check out Hildegard publishing). 

If a student is passionate about Italian bel canto? Verdi, Donizetti, and Bellini all  wrote beautiful "Canzone di Camera" which are entirely in the operatic style. There are many to choose from, but a few of my  favorites include:

• La Seduzione   (Verdi) - dramatic text and lots of the stylistic elements of his operatic cavatinas
• In solitaria stanza (Verdi) - great song for a young baritone to explore Verdi style and demands
• Ti sento sospiri (Donizetti) - not difficult, but some good bel canto phrasing elements to explore, as well as technical work in and through the passaggio 
• L'abbandono (Bellini) - an arioso recitative moving into an aria-like faster section
• Per pieta (Bellini) feels like the beginning of an aria cabaletta; good for stamina
• Dolente immagine (Bellini) legato and beautiful, and a great introduction to bel canto rubato
  
• Il fervido desiderio (Bellini) written ornaments, and an ABA style that is like a mini-aria
• Panseron Vocalises: these are indeed a set of textless technical vocalises, but they are a wonderful study in the stylistic gestures of bel canto, and can make lovely concert  as well as study pieces. 

For Rossini style, his collection of Serate Musicali can provide some fun aria-alternates,  and Paisiello selections are similar in style (but often lesser in technical demands).  The delightful collections of  "Canzoncine" by his wife, Isabella Colbran-Rossini, are also a wonderful way to explore bel canto operatic style. 

• Pastorella delli alpi (Rossini) - not an easy song by any means, but definitely easier than the arias a young coloratura might want to try,  and a great vehicle for technique-building arpeggios!
• La Regata Veneziana (Rossini) - another that isn't "easy", but a middle-lying song cycle within the scope of an advanced high school or undergraduate singer. Great for acting chops too!
• Gia la notte s'avvicina (Colbran-Rossini) - charming and not difficult 
• Chi vuol la Zingarella (Paisiello) - great acting piece, and good for patter
• Stizzoso, mio stizzoso (Pergolesi) - strictly speaking from an earlier era, but the humour and vocal demands are similar in mood  to Rossini style in many ways. 

For post-adolescent singers who are still not quite ready for the big Italian cavatina/cabaletta arias, but who crave the opportunity to sing a scena, look to the English language works of the same century: the Gilbert & Sullivan canon provides excellent examples, as do the works of Irish  Michael Balfe, including some of his songs.  

• If somebody there chance to be from Ruddigore is a great first aria for a teen, with a modest range and enjoyable text. 
• Josephine's The hours creep on apace from HMS Pinafore is an ideal training ground for a future Violetta
• Balfe's Come into the garden Maud is a real showpiece song for a young tenor    

Puccini and Mascagni both have small collections of songs, and  Puccini's Solo e amore may be just the thing for a budding Bohemian:  it is a study for Mimi in Act 3, with a lot of very recognizable melodies!   The marvellous late 19th and early 20th century songs of Tosti and Donaudy are another wonderful trove of operatic-style music to dig into (particularly for tenors).  Favorites from these composers: 

• La serenata (Tosti)  
• Ideale (Tosti)
• Sento nel core (Donaudy)
• O del mio amato ben (Donaudy)  
• Ah mai che cessate (Donaudy)  
• Spirate pur spirate (Donaudy)
• L'uccelino (Puccini)

Not to be left out, there is ample  French song literature too - many 19th Century French song composers wrote their salon pieces and songs in an operatic style.  

• Have a budding Carmen? Look at Ouvre ton Coeur by Bizet, which you could drop into the opera without it sounding remotely out of place.   
  
• A young coloratura who might sing the Thomas Ophelia some day? Any number of Ophelia song settings (of varying difficulty) by composers including Chausson, Berlioz, and Saint Saëns. 
• For a student who loves Samson et Dalila, Saint Saëns Aimons nous explores the same kind of sensuality, ascending wide-interval leaps, and soaring phrases as the arias (available in two keys - it sits high for a mezzo in the original, but is also published down). 

These are only a few of my favorite "aria alternates", and really only scratch the surface of what's out there, but I have found  all of these useful pieces.  It's also worth exploring arias from less-performed operas by the "famous" composers, as well as contemporaries whose works may be less part of  the standard repertoire. There is so much repertoire out there that will allow a student to feel successful without causing them technical grief down the line!