Saverio Mercadante - Emma d'Antiochia - "Mi laciate!.. Empia donna!" (Nelly Miricioiu & Maria Costanza Nocentini)
As if a taxing aria was not enough, Mercadante puts the duet between Emma and Adelia exactly at the end of the former's last solo. Adelia, furious about the news of Ruggiero's departure, caused by his love for Emma, bursts into the latter's room, finding the heroine lamenting the outcome of the whole affair and already experiencing the effect of the poison. The first section of the duet is an arresting scena that virtually defies all the idiom's of such duets: Adelia enters in a furiously ornamented verse, venting her anger at her would-be rival; Emma, however, does not get a complete repetition of the verse, instead Mercadante only uses a part of the verse, cut short by Emma's slowly dying breath, while the confrontation is rounded out in a genuinely affecting dialogue, as Adelia begins to take pity on the poor woman before her whose actions were not aimed at hurting anyone, especially the young Adelia. The second portion of the duet is given to a gently sorrowful duettino as both women express their compassion for one another. Interestingly, Mercadante does not tie the voice until the very end, so each of the heroines gets a full, uninterrupted and, thus, more truthful entrance. The ending is completely integrated into the preceding andante, in spite of its' "stretta-like" characteristics, especially evident in the brilliant coda (ending with the women trading a high B). One of the best and completely believable scenes for two women-rivals. Nelly Miricioiu is joined by <b>...</b>
