Mozart - Il Popoli di Tesaglia - Edita Gruberova

This long, dramatic recitative and aria are almost never sung in performances, because of the incredible difficulty of the vocal line. The demands on the singer are even more stunning when one recalls that Aloysia Weber, the soprano for whom Mozart wrote the piece, was only 18 when it was written.

This work is an insertion aria for Gluck's Alceste. In this piece, Alceste, Queen of Thessaly and Admetus' wife, speaks to the people of the kingdom, and joins them in their prayers to the gods that Admetus not die.

The music introducing the recitative immediately sets the mournful tone of the piece. The recitative requires considerable vocal agility and the ability to change dynamics (volume) quickly and gracefully. The aria itself makes the same demands, and includes two top Gs, which are beyond the reach of most of even the highest soprano voices. Alceste's decision to die to save the life of her husband is hinted at in the steady, determined "Non comprende i mali miei, ne il terror che m'empie il petto, che di moglie il vivo affetto, che di madre il cor non ha, " (One who does not have the lively feelings of a wife, or does not have a mother's heart, cannot comprehend my sorrows, or the terror that fills my heart) and then the aria returns to its brilliant coloratura. ~ Anne Feeney, All Music Guide