Queen of the Night (Disambiguation)
Queen of the Night may refer to:
“Queen of the Night,” Whitney Houston jam with Living Colour’s Vernon Reid on lead guitar; from The Bodyguard (Original Soundtrack Album)
Queen of the Night, villain in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. Her aria in the second act has become known as the Queen of the Night aria because, well, what else would you call it?
Huh? Huh? My voice can’t do that. Can your voice do that? There are points in this aria when listeners may have to remind themselves that they are hearing an actual human voice because the part requires machinelike rhythmic precision, as well as a vocal range that peaks in a galaxy far, far away and the acting chops to inhabit one of opera’s most familiar characters who’s in the middle of a pretty nasty reveal.
“Der Hölle Rache” is where the beloved Queen of the Night drops the disguise and becomes the loathed Queen of the Night. Imagine being two-thirds of the way to Oz when Glinda the Good Witch pops by to rip off her mask to reveal she’s actually The Wicked Witch of the West. I mean, trust issues, right?
Mozart had no such issues with soprano Josepha Hofer. In 1791, the sister of his wife, Constanze, Hofer had the range and precision to debut the role of The Queen of the Night in 1791 and, from all accounts, set a high bar for future Queens.
Hein Jung will reign in Opera Tampa’s production of The Magic Flute, presented Feb. 27 and March 1 in Ferguson Hall. Jung is director of vocal studies and opera at the University of Tampa and also is an in-demand soprano on world stages as well as a recording artist.
She’s part of a sisterhood of sopranos who have scaled opera’s Mount Everest. Others who have made their mark with the role include:
- Kathryn Lewek: She’s performed the Queen of the Night role more than 350 times in venues around the world, almost 70 of those occurring at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. She has sung the role every season for the Met since 2013, leading The New York Times to crown her “The Queen of the Queens of the Night.”
- Diana Damrau: The German soprano retired the Queen of the Night role in 2008 after performing it in 16 productions. In addition to the mandatory incredible technical expertise, Damrau brought a singular and undeniable dramatic presence to her performance. Meaning she’s a great actress. And also meaning she’s scary. This queen could put the fear of God in you quick, fast and in a hurry. Watch:
- Lucia Popp: Born in 1939 in what is now Slovakia, Popp was a med student when she began voice lessons. Her soprano quickly developed into such a powerful tool that she made her stage debut in 1953 singing the role of the Queen of the Night, which is a bit like a pitcher making his major league debut in game seven of the World Series.
Incidentally, the role of the Queen of the Night is written for a coloratura soprano. Coloratura refers to the elaborate, fast-paced ornamentation of a melody, including vocal runs, trills, and leaps. It’s similar to the melisma employed to chart-topping success by Whitney Houston. Houston even had her own song titled “Queen of the Night,’ which is great but has little of her signature vocalizing, and if that’s what you’re wanting to hear right now, click the link below.
