THE SONGBIRD: Born in Bedfordshire, British soprano Rebecca Bottone studied opera at the Royal Academy of Music. She has sung Charmeuse in "Thaïs" in Paris, Adelaide di Borgogna at the Edinburgh Festival (recorded for Opera Rara), and Constance in "Dialogues of the Carmelites" with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Other roles include Blonde, Nannetta, Tytania, Yniold, Ilia, Giunia, Despina, Elisa in "Il re pastore," and Gilbert and Sullivan ingenues including Yum-Yum, Mabel, Patience, and Casilda in "The Gondoliers." Bottone has several world premiere productions to her credit including Birtwistle’s "The Minotaur," Jonathan Dove’s "Pinocchio," and Rufus Wainwright’s "Prima Donna."

THE MUSIC: Mozart's opera "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" (which I refer to in its English translation) premiered in Vienna in 1782, with Mozart himself conducting. It is considered the best work of the German "Singspiel" format: an opera with spoken dialogue between musical set pieces instead of musical recitatives. The opera contains two roles for high soprano: Konstanze, the leading role and a lyric/dramatic coloratura, and Blonde, her maid who is a soubrette. (Blonde is occasionally referred to as "Blondchen" in programs because Blonde's beloved Pedrillo addresses her as "Blondchen," the German diminutive form of her name.) The role is often sung by light coloratura sopranos party because while the score does not require any florid music for Blonde, it does ask for three High E6s in her first aria "Durch zärtlichkeit und schmeicheln" and those extremely high notes are usually the domain of the high coloratura soprano. The role was written for Theresia (Therese) Teyber (1760-1830), a Viennese coloratura soprano who made her debut in 1778 and retired in 1791. She sang in concert with Mozart, appeared as Zerlina in a revival of "Don Giovanni" in 1788, and was the intended soprano for the role of Metilde, a virtuoso singer, in Mozart's abandoned work "Lo sposo deluso." This aria has been sung in different versions over the years: a version that employs temporary cuts Mozart made to the score, and a longer version that restores those cuts, which has been a trend in contemporary performances and recordings.

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