Mattiwilda Dobbs - Mozart: ZAIDE, Ruhe sanft mein holdes Leben, 1952

THE SONGBIRD: The legendary coloratura soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs (1925 - 2015) was the first Black singer at La Scala and the first Black female performer engaged long-term at The Met. She launched her career in the early 1950s in Europe and sang in many major opera houses and concert halls (Paris, Amsterdam, London, Vienna, Rome, Hamburg, Stockholm). She made her professional operatic debut at the Holland Festival, as Stravinsky's Nightingale in 1952. She debuted at The Met as Gilda in November 1956 and sang 29 performances there across eight seasons, including Zerbinetta, Zerlina, Olympia, Lucia, and Oscar. This performance of "Zaide" from 1952 was very early in her career, recorded in Paris with Rene Leibowitz conducting.

THE MUSIC: "Zaide" is an unfinished opera by Mozart, composed in 1780, but abandoned when a commission for "Idomeneo" came in from Munich. "Zaide" is a singspiel on a Turkish theme, very similar to his "Abduction from the Seraglio" composed in 1782. The music for "Zaide" was discovered by Mozart's wife Constanze several years after his death, among his music manuscripts. Though incomplete, there is still plenty of music, including three arias for the title character, a soprano. First up is the most well-known aria from the work, and one of Mozart's most beautiful, the placid, long-breathed slumber song, "Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben."