Edda Moser - Mozart: DON GIOVANNI, Non mi dir, New York 1983

THE SONGBIRD: Edda Moser was born in Berlin in 1938, the daughter of musicologist Hans Joachim Moser. She studied at the Stern Conservatory and made her debut as Kate Pinkerton in Berlin in 1962. After singing in the Würzburg Opera Chorus, she took principal roles at the opera houses in Hagen, Bielefeld, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. Moser joined the Vienna State Opera in 1971, debuting as Konstanze. She made her U.S. debut in 1968 in "Das Rheingold" at The Met. Other roles there over nine seasons included Donna Anna, Queen of the Night, Konstanze, Armida, Nedda, Musetta, and Liù. THE MUSIC: Mozart's "Don Giovanni" had its premiere in Prague in 1787. Donna Anna is one of three soprano roles. Her second aria "Non mi dir" has a multi-part structure beginning with a challenging accompanied recitative, followed by a gracefully melodic aria and a short florid conclusion. The role is often taken by dramatic voices as the music calls for bursts of outrage, but it was sung by high coloratura soprano Aloysia Weber in the Vienna premiere in 1788 under Mozart's direction.