L'amero saro costante

THE SONGBIRD: Rita Streich (1920 - 1987) was born in Siberia and moved to Germany as a child (her father was German). She studied with Maria Ivogün and Erna Berger, and made her debut as Zerbinetta in a regional opera house in Bohemia in 1943. In 1946 Streich was contracted in Berlin where she started getting noticed, then shot to stardom in Vienna and Salzburg, becoming a fixture with those companies until the 1970s. International guest appearances included Sophie in Rome and San Francisco, Blonde at La Scala, Susanna in Chicago, and Zerbinetta at Glyndebourne. Streich was extremely prolific in the recording studio with at least a dozen solo recitals and many complete operas and concert works -- her long association with DGG began in 1952. This is a late-career recording; in 1974 Streich would have been in her mid-50s. Sidney Sax is featured in the violin solo.

THE MUSIC: Mozart's 1775 pastoral opera seria "Il re pastore" K.208 is one of my favorites. It was commissioned for a visit by the Archduke of Austria to Salzburg, where it had its premiere. The small cast has three sopranos (Elisa, Tamiri, and the leading role of Aminta, written for a castrato) and two tenors. The plot revolves around Aminta's discovery that he is more than a simple shepherd, but in fact the heir to the throne of Sidon, and how he is torn between fulfilling that royal duty and his love for the shepherdess Elisa. Aminta's simple, plaintive aria "L'amero saro costante," with its beguiling violin obbligato, is by far the most well-known piece from the opera. It has long been a favorite of sopranos who want to program an intimate, reflective moment in a recital or solo recording disc.