"Il dolce suono" ("The Sweet Sound") is the incipit of the recitativo of a scena ed aria taken from Act III scene 2, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. It is also commonly known as the "mad scene" sung by the leading soprano, Lucia.
The incipit of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word incipit comes from Latin and means "it begins". Its counterpart taken from the ending of the text is the explicit.
In music, an aria is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work.
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor.
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Lucia descends into madness, and on her wedding night, while the festivities are still being held in the Great Hall, she stabs her new husband, Arturo, in the bridal chamber. Disheveled, unaware of what she has done, she wanders in the Great Hall, recalling her meetings with Edgardo and imagining herself married to him.
Donizetti intended the aria to be accompanied by the eerie sound of the glass harmonica, though this instrument is often replaced in performance by a flute.
The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica, is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction.
The flute is a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel–Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player, flautist, flutist or, less commonly, fluter or flutenist.
An arrangement of the aria was featured in the film The Fifth Element , sung by the alien character Diva Plavalaguna voiced by Inva Mula. Russian pop countertenor Vitas recorded a similar shortened version under the title "Lucia Di Lammermoor". [1] While singing the part, Vitas changed the lyric "Edgardo" to "Esther" (hence the text "Esther! io ti son reso!"). [2] [3]
The Fifth Element is a 1997 English-language French science fiction film directed and co-written by Luc Besson. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman and Milla Jovovich. Primarily set in the 23rd century, the film's central plot involves the survival of planet Earth, which becomes the responsibility of Korben Dallas (Willis), a taxicab driver and former special forces major, after a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his cab. To accomplish this, Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defense of Earth against the impending attack of a malevolent cosmic entity.
Inva Mula is an Albanian opera lyric soprano. She began her soprano career at a very early age. Her father and mother were also opera singers. She is also known for providing the voice of the diva Plavalaguna in the film The Fifth Element.
Russians are an East Slavic ethnic group and nation native to European Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe, the most numerous ethnic group in Europe. The majority of ethnic Russians live in the Russian Federation, notable minorities exist in other former Soviet states such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine and the Baltic states. A large Russian diaspora also exists all over the world, with notable numbers in the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Canada. The culture of the ethnic Russian people has a long tradition and it is a foundation for the modern culture of the whole of Russia. The Russian language originally was the language of ethnic Russians. They are historically Orthodox Christians by religion.
