[Original Composition] Hadap: A Holiday in Naples - IV. At the Opera (Aria)

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Recorded on 28th July 2024
Pianist: Andrei Hadap
@ 2MBS Fine Music Studios, Sydney
Executive Producer: Julie Simonds
Recording Engineer: Jayson McBride

A Holiday in Naples: A Sonata for Piano (2021, rev. 2024)

Composed by Andrei Hadap

I. At the Carnival
II. A Merchant at the Spinning Wheel
III. In the Ballroom
IV. At the Opera
V. At the Plaza

A Holiday in Naples is a five-movement programmatic work for solo piano composed in 2021 by Andrei Hadap. Composed in the late nineteenth century style, it depicts a lone traveller who explores the city of Naples in the same period. Each movement is a short scene that narrates the traveller’s experience during his visit through music.

The first movement, At the Carnival, in sonata form, begins with a slow introduction as the traveller sets foot at the pier in the morning. The main allegro begins as he hears the carnival from a distance and proceeds to explore, represented by the scherzando-like figures. Short episodes of tranquillity interrupt the carnival as the traveller, in a reverie, looks out to admire the Neapolitan coastline. The piece ends as the carnival fades out into the distance.

Contrasting with the festivities, the traveller encounters A Merchant at the Spinning Wheel, the title of the second movement. This encounter depicts the reality of the poverty-stricken region at the time. Here, the merchant is depicted in a trance-like state, with as the monotonous arpeggiated figures at the piano are heard throughout. Later in the piece we hear the agitated merchant spinning the wheel faster.

The third movement, In the Ballroom, the traveller enters a ballroom, observing the dancers from a distance. He finds himself drawn to a young woman, though slightly nervous, whom he invites to dance. In the middle section, we hear the awkwardness between them as the they both stumble frequently. Eventually, he regains his composure and the two dance for well into the evening.

In the fourth movement At the Opera, the traveller then goes to a nearby Opera house where he walks in during a love duet between a tenor and soprano.

The final movement At the Plaza, traveller encounters the carnival once again. This time, they are dancing a tarantella, a Neapolitan folkdance depicting the involuntary muscle spasms as a result of a venomous spider bite. The traveller joins in and dances with them until sunrise.

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