D'Egitto là sui lidi - Cavatina
a portion of No. 2 from Part I : Jerusalem of
Nabucco, an opera in Italian by
Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto :
Temistocle Solera (
English translation)
Let's begin with the summary provided by
The Aria Database.
- Role : Zaccaria, the High Priest of the Hebrews
- Setting : the Temple of Solomon, ancient Jerusalem
- Synopsis : The Assyrian army led by Nabucco has
defeated the army of the Hebrews and is now poised to enter the city and
defeat the Israelites once and for all. The Hebrews are scared of what
is to come and begin to pray for deliverance. Zaccaria comes along,
though, and revives their hope by telling them that Nabucco's daughter
is their prisoner. Besides, he goes on to sing, didn't the Lord bring
them out of Egypt safely? Likewise, God will defeat this army with the
same power and might.
- Translation and/or Aria Text : Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz.
- Recordings : Complete Opera Excerpts from Opera
- Where to Find It : Buy complete score online at Sheet Music Plus.
- Voice Part : bass Fach : lyric bass
- Range : A2 to F4. Tessitura : E3 to E4
Click the link to read other
aria analysis from Tom Kohn.
Overall, this first scene of the opera shows Zaccaria supporting the Hebrews at their immanent defeat by the Assyrians. Following a complex of emotions from a chorus of Hebrews, Zaccaria encourages their hope with a recitative
Sperate o figli.that has three distinct segments. Zaccaria's aria
D'Egitto là su i lidi is a cavatina that has a form of A, B, A, B, Coda-cadenza.
Composed for performance in 1842, the scene uses accompanied recitative and chorus, much like cantatas by Bach (1685-1750) and operas by Mozart (1756-1791). Verdi was composing solidly in the shadow of Donizetti (1797-1848), Bellini (1801-1835), and Rossini (1792–1868)—and hoping for a success to bring his craft to light. And indeed,
Nabucco was Verdi's first great success. It followed his first opera
Oberto (1839), which was a moderate success, and his second opera
Un giorno di regno (1840), which was a disaster. Nabucco established Verdi's reputation and catapulted him to the ranks of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini.
Of the three Italian composers, only Donizetti was still producing works for the opera house in 1842. In Germany, Richard Wagner had just premiered his third opera
Rienzi in 1840 and was completing his
Der fliegende Holländer for premiere later in 1842. In France, Meyerbeer's grand opera
Les Huguenots (1836) may have had great influence on Verdi's developing style. Works for the Opéra Comique by
Auber (
Le domino noir of 1837 and
Les diamants de la couronne of 1841) and
Adolphe Adam (
La rose de Péronne of 1840 and
La main de fer, ou Un mariage secret of 1841) may have been noticed by Verdi.
Although Verdi was an inheritor of the
bel canto style, his roles typically require a heavier tone to compete with the weightier orchestration. Perhaps to support the requirement for vocal production, both the recitative and aria hold to a limited tessitura and allow bravura high tones and low only in a few instances.
Recitative accompagnato
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| Page 21: recitative and chorus |
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| Page 22: recitative and chorus |
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Zaccaria's Cavatina follows a chorus that ends in an E-major
expression of fear of the Assyrians. His rejoinder to hope in God starts
with a recitative that moves from E major (pages 21
and 22) through B major, C-sharp, D major, and G major, which becomes the dominant seventh to his aria in C-major. The
orchestration moves from brass domination at the end of the chorus toward the aria that has a
gentler string orchestra mixture.
page 21—Recitative di Zaccaria: "Sperate o figli! Iddio del suo poter
die segnol ei trasse inpoter mio un prezioso pegno; del re nemico prole,
pace apportar ci puo." Chorus: "Di lieto giorno un sole forse per noi
spunto!"
Key
The recitative begins in E major and progresses over ten measures through four tone centers (B, C-sharp, D, and G) to C major.
Tempo
The recitative remains in common time throughout, though the bass has great opportunity to vary his declamation as needed, with and opening three measures unaccompanied followed by five paired measures of accompaniment that allow great freedom of expression. Only when the chorus interjects its hope does a conductor take charge, for a mere four measures. The bass resumes his soloist line to begin a small cadenza that includes the only points in the recitative where a single syllable of text has several tones—first with a C-major scale, and finally with an outline of the dominant seventh.
Length
The recitative has 24 measures, including a two-measure repetition of the tonic in the orchestra before the primary declamation starts. A typical performance takes less than two minutes.
Range
The recitative range spans A2 through E4.
Tessitura
The recitative holds primarily to a limited tessitura of G3 to B3 until it reaches the codetta. The codetta begins with a single tone above (C4) and few tones below the middle tessitura (A2 to C3). Most contours in the cadenza are of steps or of small leaps of a third or fourth.
The highest tessitura is reached over five measures, starting at F3, scaling from C3 to C4, then reaching D4, stepping to C4 and dropping to G3, and making a leap of a sixth to E4 before the line drops into the middle register again to outline the dominant seventh and end on C3.
Contour
The initial declamation holds strongly to repeated tones or to stepwise movement, with exceptions at the end of two phrases. The codetta has some larger leaps mixed with stepwise movement and small leaps of a third. The table provides a count of all movement other than repetitions and steps.
| Interval | Number of leaps up | Number of leaps down |
| Third | 3 | 3 |
| Fourth | 2 | 3 |
| Fifth | 2 | 1 |
| Sixth | 2 | 0 |
| Seventh | 1 | 1 |
| Octave | 1 | 2 |
| Ninth | 0 | 0 |
| Tenth | 0 | 0 |
| Eleventh | 0 | 0 |
| Twelfth | 0 | 0 |
| Thirteenth | 0 | 0 |
| Fourteenth | 0 | 0 |
| Double octave | 0 | 0 |
The phrase lengths average two measures until the codetta, where each phrase is more expanded to three measures.
Cavatina
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| Page 22: recitative and aria |
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| Chorus "Va pensiero" |
Zaccaria's cavatina is a dialog with the chorus. The
orchestration begins with a pizzicato bass underneath a flowing upper
string melody that exchanges thematic elements with Zaccaria's line. All
is set off by an occasional brass and woodwind commentary. Very subtly,
the melody has inflections that will become clear later in Part 3 of the opera, with
the famous chorus
Va, pensiero sull'ali dorate, when the Hebrews have been made slaves to the Assyrians.
page 22—Zaccaria: "Freno al timor! Freno al timor! v'affidi d'Iddio l'eterna aita."
Andante maestoso "D'Egito là sui lidi ...(Curb your fears! Place your trust in God's eternal help. There on the shores of Egypt...)
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Page 23: aria A and B sections, with
bassoon arpeggiation
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Zacccaria continues to express his belief and to urge the Hebrews to keep their hope. But a bassoon arpeggio joins him in the B section, as if to mock Zaccaria's assertion that God will support them, if their trust is pure.
page 23—"Egli a Mosè diè vita; di Gedeone i cento invitti ei rese
undi... Chi nell' estremo evento fidando in Lui, in Lui peri? (...
He procured Moses his life; once he made the hundred men of
Gideon invincible. Who, trusting in him, has ever perished in the hour
of extremity?)
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| Page 24: aria B section, chorus answer
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When the chorus answers Zaccaria with "Di lieto giorno un sole forse
per noi spunto!" (The sun of a more propitious day has perhaps arisen
for us!) their foreboding is lightened with a continuing woodwind run,
but cross-relations abound in shifts that aim toward both E minor in the winds over a steady C major in the string orchestra. At the return of the A section, the full melody in the chorus makes the relationship to
Va, pensiero even more explicit, though still veiled.
page
24—"chi nell' estreno, estreno evento fidando in Lui peri? fidando in
Lui, chi fidando in Lui peri?" Chorus: "Di lieto giorno un sole,"
Zaccaria: "Freno al timor!"
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Page 25: aria A' section, with chorus
also voicing the primary theme
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The return of the A section continues and provides an opportunity to repeat text from the recitative to this tune.
page 25—Chorus: "...di lieto giorno un sole," Zaccaria: "Freno al
timor!" Chorus: "...di lieto giorno un sole," Zaccaria: "...v'affidi
d'Iddio...
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| Page 26: end of A' with B'
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As the A' section closes, the bassoon arpeggiation returns, along
with Zaccaria's expression of his belief and urgings to keep their
hope.
page 26—"l'eterna aita." Chorus: "...forse per noi
spunto!" Zaccaria: "chi nell' estremo, estremo evento fidando in Lui
peri?" Chorus: "per noi spunto!" Zaccaria: "chi nell' estremo,
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Page 27: area of the flat third and a series
of soft cadences to C major, with G7cadenza
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As if the chorus needs to understand how extreme the circumstance can
become for them, Verdi jumps suddenly to a C-minor chord and then
to a cadence of the dominant seventh and tonic of E-flat before he resolves in favor of C major.
Zaccaria offers many times his exhortation "Curb your fears!" ending with a final mini-cadenza before the last cadence.
page
27—"estremo evento fidando in Lui peri? fidando in Lui, fidando in Lui,
chi fidando in Lui peri?" Chorus: "per noi spunto!" Zaccaria: "Freno
al timor!" Chorus: "per noi spunto!" Zaccaria: "Freno, freno al timor"
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| Page 28: final tonic
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The aria ends on its tonic, but with the added insecurity of the woodwind choir swirling around the third and fifth of the scale.
page 28—final tonic of C major that immediately shifts to A minor for
Ismaele to announce the coming of the Assyrian king, Nabucco.
Key
The cavatina begins in C major and remains in the same key with two repeated moments of tonal uncertainty. One moment occurs in E-flat major, for two measures that lengthen and soften a cadence that closes the B section. The other moment occurs in E major, for a swirling mordant that marks the recapitulation of the A section.
Tempo
The cavatina is marked
Andante maestoso in common time throughout, though each quarter note has a triplet figure in opposition to a dotted eighth. Thus, the overall effect is primarily 12/8.
Length
The cavatina has 42 measures, including a two-measure "vamp" in the orchestra before the primary motive occurs. At a rate of quarter = 60, the cavatina may be performed in less than five minutes.
Range
The range spans G2 through F4.
Tessitura
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| Aria vocal line for Zaccaria
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The aria
at first holds to a tessitura
of E3 to C4, and the opening motive outlines this range. Most of the aria lies comfortably centered on G3 through C4, which account for almost 75% of the tones.
The higher tessitura (D4, E4-flat, and E4) is exercised only for the tops of nine phrases through the middle parts of the aria, and the highest note (F4) occurs only once, in the cadence at the aria's end.
The lowest tessitura (G2 through D3) is used hardly at all, accounting for less than 10% of the tones. These low notes occur shortly after the highest note, in the final cadence.
Form
Zaccaria's aria
D'Egitto là sui lidi is a cavatina that has a form of
A, B, A, B, Coda-cadenza
The two-phrase A section (mm. 163-170) is followed by a three-phrase B section (mm. 171-180).
The A section and B section repeat with slight modifications. The coda-cadenza contains one phrase.
The primary motive is first stated in the orchestra as an introduction, then twice by Zaccaria. In the return of the A section, the motive is voiced four times by the chorus, and Zaccaria joins in part of the line only in the fourth occurrence. The first motive of the B section occurs only once each time the B section occurs.
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| Aria motif A
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The motivic structure of the aria depends greatly on a leaps of a third up and a sixth up. Indeed, the characteristic phrase is the opening statement, motif A, which consists of leaps of a third down, a sixth up, a sixth down, and a third up before a stepwise close.
This primary theme is first stated by the orchestra as introduction, then twice by Zaccaria (mm. 163 and 167). Then at the repetition of the A section, the chorus states it three times more (mm. 180, 182, and 184). Finally, Zaccaria states a portion at m. 185.
The two-measure answer to the primary theme (mm. 165-166), motif B, also emphasizes the leap of a third.
The closing answer to the primary theme (mm. 169-170), motif C, carries the voice to the dominant tone, and phrase outline becomes important as a source for the aria's final cadence motif.
In contrast to the leaps in the primary theme, the secondary theme (mm. 171-173, which coincides with section B in this discussion) is more compact in its use of leaps. The theme begins with a one-measure motif that is subdivided into two exact statements of a germ that incorporates one leap of a third up. The leap up to a sixth is delayed to the second measure, which is then resolved by six steps down.
The conclusion of a long tone followed by several steps down (motif E, m. 172) is a building block that has several other uses in the vocal line.
Its importance is noted by a repetition in the closing measure 173-174, motif F. In this use that begins with a leap of a third, we see that the leap of a sixth is not the only impetus for the stepwise resolution.
Verdi momentarily achieves tone painting with motif G, where ever greater leaps and a sudden excursion to E-flat depict the extremity of events that still should result in confidence in the Hebrew traditions.
Motif H completes the question of whom to hold confidence in with a set of three rising steps. This motif is curious in comparison to other treatments of the question that has been fundamental to the text. A typical inflection would be a rising phrase, as here. But this instance is uniquely tied to "in Lui peri?".
The use of the rising inflection serves to extend the melody with three opportunities to answer. First with motif J, which employs a statement of a third leap up, followed by a seventh leap down. The leaps both refer to the germinal element of construction—the third—and the potential destruction of extreme events—as signified by the seventh leap.
A second answer comes less reservedly in motif K with a third leap up and a stepwise resolution. More certainty is here with the element of construction alone.
The third and final answer comes most emphatically. Motif L (mm. 179-180) ends the secondary theme with a flowing cadence that relies on the melodic relationship of motif C.
The chorus of Hebrews takes up the primary theme, but with new text: "Di lieto giorno un sole, forse per noi spunto!" (The sun of a more propitious day has perhaps arisen for us!) In response, Zaccaria has the opportunity to quote his exhortation from the recitative, "Freno al timor! (Curb your fear!)
and, in motif N (mm. 186-187) "V'affidi d'Iddio l'eterna aiuta." (Place your trust in God's eternal help.)
With reference to god's aid, Zaccaria assures the Hebrews again with a repetition of the secondary theme and adds an emphatic charge to curb their fear (motif Q, a postive use of the questioning motif H).
Reiterated with his cadenza (motif R) to close the aria.
Contour
The initial statement of the melodic motive and its one repetion
by the bass constitute the primary example of a disjointed melody. The phrase that completes the initial motive has only one upward leap of a third, which is surrounded by steps. The answering phrase
is slightly more intricate and has the first use of the higher
tessitura. The A theme retains a focus on stepwise movement with a few
leaps a third up.
In contrast, the B theme revels somewhat in leaps. The theme's first phrase leaps up a major sixth, though the release is a generally stepwise descent to an octave. The leap relates to the minor-sixth leap in the initial motive of the A theme, though it is not emphasized with a second use.
The second, extended phrase includes leaps down an octave, up an octave, and then down a major tenth, followed by a leap back up the tenth and a release up an additional half step. The larger leaps emphasize the excursion to the most distant tonal center of the aria, to the major flat third. The two-measure excursion to E-flat major coincides with the text that reveals the greatest conflict, where Zaccaria admonishes confidence in the most extreme events.
The table provides a count of all movement other than
repetitions and steps.
| Interval | Number of leaps up | Number of leaps down |
| Third | 14 | 11 |
| Fourth | 5 | 7 |
| Fifth | 2 | 0 |
| Sixth | 6 | 2 |
| Seventh | 0 | 2 |
| Octave | 2 | 2 |
| Ninth | 0 | 0 |
| Tenth | 2 | 2 |
| Eleventh | 0 | 0 |
| Twelfth | 0 | 0 |
| Thirteenth | 0 | 0 |
| Fourteenth | 0 | 0 |
| Double octave | 0 | 0 |
