Insertion aria

An insertion aria (also known as interpolated aria, trunk aria, or aria di baule in Italian) is an aria sung in an opera for which it was not composed. It was a practice that began in the seventeenth century and continued actively through the late 19th century and sporadically through the 20th century. The insertion aria could replace an existing aria, or might be added to an opera. All insertions were planned in advance. They might be composed by the same composer of the opera, or might have been written by a different composer, with or without the knowledge of the opera's composer. Most insertions were of arias; infrequently non-operatic songs were inserted. Insertions could consist of arias, duets, ensembles, even entire scenes. Although men and women singers used insertion, women are the ones most remembered for the practice. The years 1800–1840 represent the apex of influence that women singers exerted over the operatic stage, influencing most aspects of opera performances, including insertions.

To explain why the practice of insertion arias existed, Hilary Poriss stated: "In a world where superior vocal performance was the most highly valued economic and artistic commodity that an opera house possessed, singers inserted arias to accommodate their individual vocal strengths and ranges and to augment their roles. The better they sang, after all, the more likely they were to attract large audiences to the box office." Insertions were expected and could be considered "integral components" of an operatic performance. Contemporaries regarded aria insertion with particular interest as it was known to be a vehicle where singers should show off their best attributes. In that way, it would serve as a way to judge a singer's taste and qualities.

The insertion was specific to the venue or community. Rather than travel with the opera, singers would be engaged by the opera house for the season A highly regarded singer would not randomly choose arias to insert in whatever opera was to be performed but would make reasoned decisions based on the dramatic context and the compositional style. Poriss tells of the soprano Carolina Ungher's decisions on which aria to insert at the entrance of Elena in Donizetti's Marino Faliero. For her performance in Florence, May 1836, she inserted the aria "Io talor piu nol rammento" from Donizetti's Sancia di Castiglia for her entrance. Later that year she inserted the aria "Ah! quando in regio talamo" from Donizetti's Ugo, conte di Parigi. In the fall of 1837, she planned to insert "Oh tu che desti ilfulmin'" from Donizetti's Pia de' Tolomei (although illness prevented her from performing this run of the opera). Poriss argues that this indecision shows a conscious effort to select an aria that would produce the best initial vocal impression. Yet it also shows the singer wanting to select an aria which best fit the composer's style and stayed close to the dramatic and musical shape of the opera.Impresarios also took an active interest in insertion arias, working closely with singers to ensure good quality performances (Poriss raises the question of what was the artwork nineteenth century audiences wanted to see: a performance, or a musical composition.)

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