Here, again, there must be no scooping up an octave, but a clear rise of the octave, giving the sense of all, as it were, one piece. Thus, “I—I am Titania,” and repeat the same words with even greater fervour, treating all the words and music with the same mentality and as vital to the whole.
Many so-called intellectual singers prefer Lieder, because they cannot vocalise the fine, dashing, graceful runs of florid music, not because of its lack of intellectual requirements. What could better express the vivacious joy of a fairy queen than the triplet passages on the exclamation “Ah!” bars 14 and 15 of the polacca movement.
When we come to bars 29 and 30, there is the chance of a lifetime with the cadenza-like string of fifteen notes, in the neatest sets of three, and they should be as perfect as though played by Kreisler on the violin.
Later on we come to some roulade passages of six notes on the same exclamation “Ah!” (bars 43, 44, and 45) which must be sung with increasing verve, so that the wood wind of the orchestra comes running up perfectly in tune and tempo, as it were from right under your last note. Here, much depends upon the cue of the conductor, but, changing one’s manner and keeping up the growing joyfulness, you begin a new era, as it were, with the words, “Bright troops of fairies hover round me.” Thus, the aria works on, until, on the last beat of bar 54 and bar 55 there is a suggestion of
a fairy call. A dream-like waltz, in wide contrast, follows. Unless one feels this, the brilliance we have worked up is losing the value of contrast with
