Locke - Psyche - Pickett, New London Consort
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 343 MB January 1, 1995 | L'Oiseau-Lyre | RapidShare
CD Content
01. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Curtain Tune
02. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Philip Pickett - Symphony of recorders and soft music
03. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song and Chorus of Pan and his followers
04. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Philip Pickett - Symphony of rustic music with bird cries
05. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Rustic music for the dance of the Sylvans and Dryads
06. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of Echoes: "Great Psyche..."
07. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of Envy and the furies
08. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Symphony at the descending of Venus
09. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of procession in the temple
10. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Dance of Apollo's priests
11. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Chorus of priests: "To Apollo our celestial King"
12. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Dialogue of despairing lovers:"Break, break, break"
13. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Dance of Cyclopes
14. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - "Ye bold"(Locke/ed.Pickett)CyclopsDance(Draghi/Holman)
15. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of the invisible singers...
16. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Consort of loud martial music
17. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song and Dance of the Salii
18. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Dance: Priests of Mars (ed.Holman) "While we"
19. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Symphony at the parley of Mars and Venus
20. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of Venus and Mars:"Great God of War"
21. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of the Spirits:"Let old age in its envy"
22. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Dance of Statues
23. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Act 4 - Song of the River God: "Stay, stay..."
24. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Act 5 - Song of the furies and devils:"To what great distresses
25. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Act 5 - Dance of the Furies
26. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Act 5 - Song of Pluto and Proserpine: "Refrain your tears"
27. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Symphony at the descending of Venus
28. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song with symphonies of Apollo:"Assemble all"
29. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of the three Elizian lovers: "On earth .."
30. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Symphony at the descending of Cupid, Jupiter & Psyche
31. Psyche - By G.B. Draghi:Reconstructed by Peter Holman - Dance of the Elizian princes
32. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of Mars:"Behold the god"
33. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - Song of Bacchus: "The Delights of the Bottle"
34. Psyche - By Matthew Locke. Edited P. Pickett. - General Chorus: "All joy to this celestial pair"
Matthew Locke (Composer),
New London Consort (Artist),
Philip Pickett (Artist),
Catherine Bott (Artist),
Julia Gooding (Artist),
Andrew King (Artist),
Simon Grant (Artist),
Christopher Robson (Artist),
Michael George (Artist)
Arne - The Masque of Alfred - Philharmonia Baoque Orch.
A McGegan
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | no log, cover | 1 CD, 356 MB July 3, 2007 | Harmonia Mundi | RapidShare
Thomas Arne is best known to most listeners for his charming settings of Shakespeare--songs like "Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind" and "Where the Bee Sucks". But he is also justly famous for a tune that epitomizes England and its heroic spirit: "Rule Brittania". That noble number is the final piece from Alfred, a masque with libretto by David Mallet and James Thomson. This new CD reveals that this work has a lot more to offer than its closing chorus. The music ranges from such simple pastoral songs as "If those who live in shepherd's bow'r", to florid, operatic aria show-stoppers like "Vengeance, O come inspire me", the latter performed with thrilling vigor and accuracy by countertenor David Daniels. In listening to this music, Handel comes to mind quite often, but so does John Gay and his Beggar's Opera. Regardless of the fluctuating style at any particular moment in the piece, we continually marvel at the composer's consistently skillful orchestration. The use of horns in arias so different as "The Shepherd's plain life" and "Vengeance, O come inspire me", the plaintive flute in "Sweet Valley Say Where", and the blazing Baroque trumpets in "Rule Britannia" are all strokes of genius. Nicholas McGegan secures polished and spirited performances from his soloists, chorus, and orchestra, and the sound is close to ideal. --Rad Bennett
CD Content
1. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Allegro Moderato
2. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Andante
3. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Tempo Di Minuetto
4. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Though To A Desert Isle Confin'd
5. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Duet: Then Let Us The Snare Of Ambition Beware
6. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Come Calm Content
7. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Sweet Valley Say Where
8. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Why Beats My Heart With Such Devotion
9. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Trio: Let Not Those Who Love Complain
10. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: If Those Who Live In Shepherd's Bow'r
11. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: A Youth Adorn'd With Ev'ry Art
12. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: From The Dawn Of Early Morning
13. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: As Calms Succeed When Storms Are Past
14. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Hear, Alfred, Hear
15. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Gracious Heav'n, O Hear Me!
16. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Vengeance, O Come Inspire Me!
17. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Though Storms Awhile The Sun Obscure
18. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Dirge: There Honour Comes, A Pilgrim Grey
19. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Recitative: Ah, Me! What Fears Oppress My Throbbing Heart!
20. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Guardian Angels, O Descend
21. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: Arise, Sweet Messenger Of The Morn
22. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: March With A Side Drum
23. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Air: See Liberty, Virtue and Honour Appearing
24. Alfred, masque in 3 acts: Ode: When Britain First At Heav'n's Command
THOMAS AUGUSTINE ARNE
Alfred
Jennifer Smith, Christine Brandes (sopranos); David Daniels (countertenor); Jamie MacDougall (tenor)
Balfe was born in Dublin, where his musical gifts became apparent at an early age. The only instruction he received was from his father, who was a dancing master and violinist. His family moved to Wexford when he was a child. Between 1814 and 1815, Balfe played the violin for his father's dancing-classes, and at the age of seven composed a polacca.
Early life and career
In 1817 he appeared as a violinist in public, and in this year composed a ballad, first called "Young Fanny" and afterwards, when sung in Paul Pry by Madame Vestris, "The Lovers' Mistake". In 1823, upon the death of his father, the teenaged Balfe moved to London and was engaged as a violinist in the orchestra of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He eventually became the leader of that orchestra. While there, he studied with C. E. Horn, the organist at St. George's Chapel, Windsor (1786—1840).
As a young man, Balfe pursued a career as an opera singer. He debuted unsuccessfully at Norwich in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. In 1825, Count Mazzara took him to Rome for vocal and musical studies and introduced him to Luigi Cherubini. Balfe also pursued composing: in Italy, he wrote his first dramatic work, a ballet, La Perouse. He became a protégée of Rossini's, and at the close of 1827, he appeared as Figaro in The Barber of Seville at the Italian opera in Paris.
Balfe soon returned to Italy, where he was based for the next eight years, singing and composing several operas. He met Maria Malibran while singing at the Paris Opera during this period. In 1829 in Bologna, Balfe composed his first cantata for the soprano Giulia Grisi, then 18 years old. She performed it with the tenor Francesco Pedrazzi with much successBalfe produced his first complete opera, I rivali di se stessi, at Palermo in the carnival season of 1829—1830.
Around 1831, he married Lina Roser (1806-1888), a Hungarian-born singer of Austrian parentage whom he had met at Bergamo. The couple had two sons and two daughters. Their younger son, Edward, died in infancy. Their elder son, Michael William Jr., died in 1915. Their daughters were Louisa (1832-1869) and Victoire (1837-1871). Balfe wrote another opera Un avvertimento ai gelosi at Pavia, and Enrico Quarto at Milan, where he had been engaged to sing in in Rossini's Otello with Malibran at La Scala in 1834. An unpopular attempt at "improving" Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera, Il crociato in Egitto, by interpolated music of his own, compelled Balfe to throw up his engagement at the theatre La Fenice in Venice.
Composing success
Balfe returned to London with his wife and young daughter in May 1835. His initial success took place some months later, with the premiere of The Siege of Rochelle on 29 October 1835 at Drury Lane. Encouraged by his success, he produced The Maid of Artois in 1836; which was followed by more operas in English.
In July 1838, Balfe composed a new opera, Falstaff, for The Italian Opera House, based on The Merry Wives of Windsor, with an Italian libretto by S. Manfredo Maggione. The production starred his friends Luigi Lablache (bass) in the title role, Giulia Grisi (soprano), Giovanni Battista Rubini (tenor), and Antonio Tamburini (baritone). The same four singers had premiered Bellini's, I Puritani at the Italian Opera in Paris in 1835.
In 1841, Balfe founded the National Opera at the Lyceum Theatre, but the venture was a failure. The same year, he premiered his opera, Keolanthe. He then moved to Paris, presenting Le puits d’amour (1843) in early 1843, followed by Les quatre fils Aymon (1844) for the Opéra Comique (also popular in German-speaking countries for many years as Die Vier Haimonskinder) and L’etoile de Seville (1845) for the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique. Their librettos were written by Eugène Scribe and others.
Meanwhile, in 1844, Balfe returned to London where he produced his most successful The Bohemian Girl, on November 27, 1843 at the Drury Lane Theatre. The piece ran for over 100 nights, and productions were soon mounted in New York, Dublin, Philadelphia, Vienna (in German), Sydney, and throughout Europe and elsewhere. In 1854, an Italian adaptation called La Zingara was mounted in Trieste with great success, and it too was performed internationally in both Italian and German. In 1862, a four-act French version, entitled La Bohemienne was produced in France and was again a success.
Later years
From 1846 to 1852 Balfe was appointed musical director and principal conductor for the Italian Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. There he first produced several of Verdi's operas for London audiences. He conducted for Jenny Lind at her opera debut and on many occasions thereafter.[2]
In 1851, in anticipation of the Great International Exhibition in London, Balfe composed an innovative cantata, Inno Delle Nazioni, sung by nine female singers, each representing a country. Balfe continued to compose new operas in English and wrote hundreds of songs, such as "When other hearts", "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls" (from The Bohemian Girl) and "Come into the garden, Maud". In all, Balfe composed 38 operas. He also wrote several cantatas (including Mazeppa in 1862), at least one symphony (1829). His last opera, nearly completed when he died, was The Knight of the Leopard and achieved considerable success in Italian as Il Talismano. Balfe's only large-scale piece which is still performed regularly today is The Bohemian Girl.
Balfe retired in 1864 to Hertfordshire, where he rented a country estate. He died at his home in 1870, aged 62, and was buried at Kensal Green. In 1882 a medallion portrait of him was unveiled in Westminster Abbey.
Tracks:
01 - Orchestra - The Bohemian Girl Overture (07:20)
02 - Orchestra - The Bohemian Girl Waltz (03:06)
03 - Veronica Dunne - I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls (03:27)
04 - Una O'Callaghan - Love Smiles But To Deceive (03:09)
05 - Eric Hinds - The Heart Bow'd Down (04:35)
06 - Uel Deane - When Other Lips (03:17)
07 - Orchestra - Galop (Act 1) (02:03)
08 - Vincent Wallace - Maritana Overture (05:16)
09 - Vincent Wallace - Yes Let Me Like A Soldier Fall (02:29)
10 - Vincent Wallace - In Happy Moments (03:09)
11 - Vincent Wallace - Scenes That Are Brightest (03:19)
12 - Eric Hinds, Uel Deane - The Moon Hath Raised Her Lamp Above (03:43)
13 - Uel Deane - It Is A Charming Girl I Love (01:57)
14 - Veronica Dunne - I'm Alone (02:47)
15 - Uel Deane - Eily Mavourneen (04:31)
16 - Eric Hinds - The Star Of The County Down (02:05)
17 - Veronica Dunne - Love At My Heart (02:32)
18 - Eric Hinds - Kitty Magee (01:49)
19 - Veronica Dunne - Danny Boy (03:38)
20 - Eric Hinds - Open The Door Softly (01:48)
21 - Veronica Dunne - Shaun O' Neill (01:54)
22 - Eric Hinds - She Moved Thro' The Fair (03:32)
23 - Veronica Dunne - If I Had A-Knew (01:42)
24 - Eric Hinds - Trottin' To The Fair (01:24)
25 - Veronica Dunne - Lovely Jimmy (03:29)
26 - Eric Hinds, Veronica Dunne - The Stuttering Lovers (01:38)
Bach JC - Amadis des Gaules - Helmuth Rilling
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 2 CD, 536 MB November 1, 1995 | Hanssler Classics | RapidShare
Amadis de Gaule or Amadis des Gaules (Amadis of Gaul) is a French opera in three acts by the German composer Johann Christian Bach. The libretto is a revision by Alphonse-Denis-Marie de Vismes du Valgay of Amadis by Philippe Quinault, originally set by Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1684 which in turn was based on the knight-errantry romance Amadis de Gaula (1508). Bach's opera was first performed at the Académie royale de musique, Paris on 14 December 1779. It followed the contemporary French fashion for resetting libretti by Quinault (Armide by Gluck and Roland by Piccinni are other examples of this trend). The work was not a success with the Parisian public, mainly because it pleased neither the supporters of Gluck nor those of Piccinni, the two leading rival opera composers in France at the time. Premiere, 14 December 1779
The brother and sister Arcalaus and Arcabonne, both magicians, pursue Amadis and his beloved Oriane because Amadis has slain their brother Ardan Canile. After many complications the lovers finally overcome their enemies with the help of the good sorceress Urgande.
Johann Christian Bach
Amadis de Gaules was the only opera that Johann Christian Bach ever wrote for the French stage. It premiered at the Paris Opéra on December 14, 1779, to lukewarm reviews and an indifferent public. It is, however, one of the composer's most ambitious, dramatic, and interesting works. Part of the reason for the hostility to it on the part of the critics and public was the ongoing feud between those who favored the French operatic tradition as embodied in the works of Gluck, and those known as Piccinists, because of their championing of the Italian composer Piccini. The management of the Italian Opera commissioned a work from Johann Christian Bach, probably thinking that because he composed in the "Italian" style, his work would add fuel to the controversy. But Bach studied the singing and declamation style of the French before beginning to compose his work, and chose a traditionally French subject to set for his introduction to the theaters of Paris. The story of Amadis de Gaules is an old French romance, and was originally turned into a magic opera by Philippe Quinault and Jean-Baptiste Lully. Although much of Bach's score is Italianate, it is obvious that he took French traditions into account when writing his opera. There are extensive ballets, choral tableaux, and divertissements in each act. He uses descriptive orchestral music to create atmosphere and effective characterizations. The score to Amadis contains some of Bach's most adventurous harmonies and orchestrations along with a wealth of aria forms, including the French ariette, and magical elements, such as demons, ghosts, and divinities. The recitative is given more dramatic prominence than in his other operas, and is often richly accompanied. The result is an opera in which the orchestra and other non-vocal elements are extremely important, and are used to create a musically integrated dramatic whole. The result pleased almost no one. Bach returned to London, never to compose for the French stage again.
Alphonse-Denis-Marie de Vismes du Valgay adapted Quinault's libretto for Bach. He took the traditional prologue and five acts of the tragédie-lyrique and condensed it into a three-act work, in the style of the Italians. In order to do so he had to cut an important subplot. Because the Lully opera was so well known and loved by the French, tampering with it was guaranteed to draw fire from the critics. Quinault's libretto was thought of as a fine piece of dramatic literature. The revision was viewed as something of a travesty. However in merging French traditions such as the divertissement and ballet with Italian structures, Bach created one of his most formally imaginative operas. It was the last opera J. C. Bach composed.
Johann Christian Bach, the only member of his family to have had any career in the opera house, began writing for the stage in Italy, continued in London and Mannherm and ended in Paris. This work is the last of his operas, written in 1779 to a revision of the libretto by Quinault that Lully had set almost a century before. It was not a success; there were only seven performances and it was never revived. One can, I think, see some of the reasons why it failed to please the French audiences at the time of the Gluck/Piccinni controversies, but there is nevertheless some superlative music here which certainly affects our view of J. C. Bach, whom we tend to regard above all as an elegant, galant composer of courtly, Italianate QG symphonies and chamber music.
Amadis des Gaules (or de Gaule, as it is more usually and no less correctly known) is a tragedie-lyrique, on a magical medieval theme about a pair of sorcerers, brother and sister, who seek vengeance on Amadis and his beloved Oriane because he earlier killed their brother, Ardan Canale. It is rather a silly plot and one that I rather think no music of the late eighteenth century could plausibly support. Bach, however, produces a number of very fine pieces. Some are virtually Italian-style arias, for example the first two, the one for the Coryphee near the end of Act 2 and that for the sorcerer Arcalaus in the final act. But there are also some intensely eloquent airs, notably all the solo music for Amadis (the part was composed for the famous haute-contre, Legros) including a very Gluckian air at the end of Act 1 there is a powerful invocation for Arcalaus, an astonishing ghost scene for Ardan Canale (recalling with its misty, low-pitched halo of sound Handel's for Samuel in his Saul, which Bach must have known) and several duets, among them an impassioned piece for the sorcerers earlier in Act 1 and an appealing one soon after for the lovers, as well as a very warmly written piece (also for the lovers) near the end of the opera.
There are some fine choruses, including a vivid one for the sorcerers' demons, an amorous, languid item for the spirits enchained by the sorcerers and a noble, chromatic piece to open Act 2 for the prisoners and the guards. Being a French opera, Amadis of course has no secco but rather orchestral recitative throughout, music in the manner of the recitative in Idomeneo though not, of course dramatically as dense or as closely worked. But much of it is strong, taut, effective music, often very richly orchestrated: even the string writing seems texturally dense, and there is plenty of imaginative and resourceful writing for the woodwind (which includes clarinets). That for the orchestra is altogether particularly attractive: the highly expressive introduction to Act 3 is like nobody else—it's not much like any other J. C. Bach either, if it comes to that—and with the expressions of grief that follow from the heroine, Oriane, it makes a very remarkable scene. Gluck, of course, is the obvious point of reference in terms of style: his two Iphigenies, Armide and the French versions of Alceste and Orfeo had been heard in Paris not long before, though Bach reverts at times to his more Italian manner and lacks the broad dramatic command and concentration that distinguish Gluck's greatest works. Bach had also composed for Mannheim and there is some influence of the reform style favoured in that progressive centre.
A French opera, often Italian in idiom, written by a German who spent most of his working life in England: a real EEC piece, this! And it is made the more so here by being performed in German. That is of course regrettable, because the music takes its rhythms and the shape of its lines from the French language and the mismatch is palpable. The performance is, I imagine, based on those given in 1988 in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. Helmuth Rilling, always a dependable and efficient conductor, directs what is a largely effective and stylish reading, with well chosen tempos and a real sense of drama where it is called for. And he clearly relishes the variety of orchestral colour in the score. There are a few cuts, notably of some of the ballet music at the ends of acts. Bach made some adjustments during the run of the original performances, which seem to be reflected in different versions of the autograph; in some cases Rilling prefers the changed text.
Of the singers, I was particularly impressed by James Wagner, an American, who negotiates the very high-lying music for Amadis without evident strain and with smooth tone and expressive line. Ibolya Verebics is impressive, too, for her dramatic singing of Arcabonne's music. The rest of the cast are also very competent. I don't imagine that Amadis des Gaules is ever likely to enter the repertory, but there is a lot of very fine, highly original and deeply serious music in this score; it's amply worth trying.'
-- Stanley Sadie, Gramophone [9/1993]
Amadis des Gaules, TW G39 by Johann Christian Bach
Performer: Ibolya Verebics (Soprano), Wolfgang Schöne (Bass), Ulrike Sonntag (Soprano),
James Wagner (Tenor), Elfriede Hobarth (Soprano)
Conductor: Helmuth Rilling
Orchestra/Ensemble: Stuttgart Bach Collegium, Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart
Sung in German / Length 2:04:00
Disk 1
01
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Ouvertüre
02
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 1. Szene (Arcabonne allein) Arcabonne: "Warum, Amor, quälst du mich?"
03
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 1. Szene (Arcabonne allein) Arie der Arcabonne: "Ja, Qualen würd' ich leiden, schwere Qualen"
04
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 2. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Dialog Arcalaus - Arcabonne: "Meine Schwester, warum in Tränen"
05
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 2. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Arie der Arcabonne: "Der Gott der Lieb', ja, er traf mich mit seinem Pfeil"
06
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 2. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Dialog Arcalaus - Arcabonne: "Die Liebe, ein Irrtum ist sie nur"
07
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 2. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Arie des Arcalaus: "Eurer Liebe müßt Ihr entsagen!"
08
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 2. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Dialog Arcalaus - Arcabonne: "Vergeßt nicht, daß das Blut, das Amadis vergoß"
09
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 2. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Duett Arcabonne - Arcalaus: "Eine schreckliche Rache soll mir Trost heute sein"
10
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 3. Szene (Arcalaus, Chor der Dämonen) Arcalaus: "Ihr, die ihr stets nur am Bösen...süßeste Lust empfindet"
11
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 3. Szene (Arcalaus, Chor der Dämonen) Dialog Arcalaus - Dämonen: "Auf sein Wort erscheinen wir!"
12
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 3. Szene (Arcalaus, Chor der Dämonen) Arcalaus: "Schon seh' ich ihn durch den Wald sich uns nähern"
13
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 4. Szene (Amadis, Oriane) Dialog Oriane - Amadis: "Warum entflieht ihr mir, unbarmherzige Prinzessin"
14
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 4. Szene (Amadis, Oriane) Duett Amadis - Oriane: "Ach, Eure Seele genießet die Qual"
15
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 4. Szene (Amadis, Oriane) Dialog Amadis - Oriane: "Verteidigt Euch nicht, Eure Liebe ist Lüge!"
16
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 5. Szene (Amadis allein) Arie des Amadis: "Niemals seh' ich die Geliebte wieder"
17
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 6. Szene (Amadis, unsichtbarer Chor) Dialog Amadis - Chor: "Oh! O grausames Schicksal"
18
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 6. Szene (Amadis, unsichtbarer Chor) Amadis: "Welche Klage, welch Leid!"
19
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Erster Akt - 7. Szene (Amadis, Arcalaus, Chor der Dämonen) Arcalaus: "Verweg'ner, halt!"
Disk 2
01
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 1. Szene (Chor der Gefangenen, Chor der Wärter) Chor der Gefangenen: "Gott, ende unsre Qualen!"
02
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 2. Szene (Die Vorigen, Arcabonne) Dialog Arcabonne - Gefangene: "Laßt endlich das Jammern und müßige Klagen!"
03
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 2. Szene (Die Vorigen, Arcabonne) Arie der Arcabonne: "Den Feind, der so schwer mich beleidigt"
04
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 2. Szene (Die Vorigen, Arcabonne) Arcabonne: "Ihr, die Ihr teilt meinen Schmerz"
05
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 2. Szene (Die Vorigen, Arcabonne) Andante gracioso
06
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 2. Szene (Die Vorigen, Arcabonne) Arcabonne: "Du, der du hier im Grab"
07
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 2. Szene (Die Vorigen, Arcabonne) Arcabonne: "Ich geb' euch Antwort, ihr ungeduld'gen Manen"
08
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 3. Szene (Die Vorigen, der tote Ardan Canil) Dialog Ardan - Arcabonne: "Weh! Du übst Verrat, Unglücksel'ge!"
09
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 3. Szene (Die Vorigen, der tote Ardan Canil) Gefangene: "Alles bebt und erschaudert!"
10
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 3. Szene (Die Vorigen, der tote Ardan Canil) Arcabonne: "Nein, nichts besänftigt mehr meine rasande Wut!"
11
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis - später Choryphée) Dialog Arcabonne - Amadis: "Stirb!...Himmel, was seh ich!"
12
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis - später Choryphée) Arie der Amadis: "Ach, wenn Ihr Mitleid könnt empfinden"
13
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis - später Choryphée) Dialog Arcabonne - Amadis: "Nein, sterben sollt Ihr nicht"
14
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis - später Choryphée) Das Fest der Freiheit. Eine Choryphée erscheint mit ihrem Gefolge
15
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis, Choryphée) Arie der Choryphée: "Nun kommt in das Reich des Friedens"
16
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 5. Szene (Die Vorigen) Gigue
17
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 5. Szene (Die Vorigen) Chor der Gefangenen: "Hinaus in die Freiheit!"
18
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Zweiter Akt - 5. Szene (Die Vorigen) Tambourin - Quadrille des différentes Nations
19
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 1. Szene (Arcalaus, Arcabonne) Dialog Arcalaus - Arcabonne: "Durch meine Zaubermacht ist Oriane gefangen"
20
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 2. Szene (Oriane) Arie der Oriane: "Wer kann mir Schutz und Zukunft sein?"
21
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 3. Szene (Arcalaus, Oriane) Dialog Arcalaus - Oriane: "Ich hör' Euer Fleh'n"
22
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis ohnmächtig, Arcabonne) Oriane: "Was sehe ich? o welch grausamer Anblick!"
23
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis ohnmächtig, Arcabonne) Arie der Oriane: "Wie grausam quält mich mein Gewissen"
24
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 4. Szene (Die Vorigen, Amadis ohnmächtig, Arcabonne) Duett Arcalaus - Arcabonne: "Oh, welche Lust"
25
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 5. Szene (Die Vorigen, Oriane und Amadis, beide ohnmächtig) Dialog Arcalaus - Arcabonne: "Welche Macht droht uns hier"
26
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 6. Szene (Die Vorigen, Urgandes unsichtbares Gefolge) Chor, Urgandes Gefolge: "Erbebt! Erzittert vor Urgande!"
27
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 6. Szene (Die Vorigen, Urgandes unsichtbares Gefolge) Arie des Arcalaus: "Eitle Angst und nichtige Sorge!"
28
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 6. Szene (Die Vorigen, Urgandes unsichtbares Gefolge) Arcabonnes Ende: "Nein, der Sieg bleibt nur trüg'rische Hoffnung"
29
Amadis des Gaules (Tragédie-lyrique, 1779) Dritter Akt - 7. Szene (Amadis, Oriane, Urgande, Chor) Chor: "Glückliches Paar" / Duett Amadis - Oriane: "Welch ein Glück!" / Ballett, Duett und Chor: "Junge Herzen, die Amor bindet"
Busoni - Doktor Faust - Kent Nagano, Chorus & Orchestra of the
Opera de Lyon
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 3 CD, 783 MB January 18, 2000 | Erato | RapidShare
Anyone interested in 20th century opera will find this an indispensable recording.
Ferruccio Busoni's posthumous opera Doktor Faust was premiered in Dresden on May 21, 1925. Pianist, composer, teacher, theorist, and writer, Busoni (1866-1924) had died the previous year, leaving his masterwork incomplete. His faithful disciple, Philip Jarnach, made the premiere possible by completing the final scene. It was not until 1984 however, that the musicologist and conductor Antony Beaumont put together an alternate, longer ending following the sketches and drafts left by the composer. Both endings can be heard on this new recording, only the second ever made of Busoni's lyrical masterpiece after Ferdinand Leitner's effort for Deutsche Grammophon in 1969, featuring Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role.
It's hard to understand why this wonderful opera has spent so long in virtual oblivion. Faustian subject, subtle libretto, inspired music: all of these elements combine to build a unique work of art with tremendous dramatic impact and mystical implications. The problem probably lies in the style: neither romantic nor classical, the unclassifiable Busoni is too modern for the conservative and too conservative for the modern. Premiered only a few months before the triumph of Alban Berg's Wozzeck--a seminal work that changed the way operas were conceived--Doktor Faust doesn't fit any usual category. The libretto, written by Busoni himself, not after Goethe's Faust as one would expect, but after the popular puppet theatre play, tells a slightly different version of Faust's story and adopts an audacious structure consisting of a Symphonia, two Prologues, an Intermezzo, a principal action subdivided into three scenes, and an Epilogue. The music mostly evolves in a dreamy atmosphere, supported by an orchestration that's by turns glowing, menacing, scintillating, and opaque, and by writing that's dominated by abundant counterpoint and strange harmonic twists.
All his life, the pianist-composer was looking for some kind of magic quality in his music, and he seems finally to have found it with this incomplete opera, rich in moments of intense suggestion and hypnotic beauty. A master of transcription, Busoni continuously gives his own creation new shapes and forms--an unusual skill too often mistaken for lack of inspiration. Throughout the opera the listener can recognize material borrowed from or included in works written earlier or simultaneously with Doktor Faust. To give just a few examples: the first Prologue exploits parts of the Sonatina seconda for piano; we hear bits of Tanzwalzer for orchestra in the wedding procession of the Duke and Duchess of Parma; and the wonderful Aria of the Duchess also is the central part of the Toccata for piano. Busoni's music alternates between very different moods, from the sarcastic encounter with Mephistopheles to the moving Intermezzo with the soldier, from the metaphysical nobility of the orchestral Sarabande to the transfigured ending.
At the head of the Opéra de Lyon forces, Kent Nagano seems to perfectly understand the peculiarity of the Italian-German composer's art. His conducting dwells on every detail while giving Busoni's singular orchestration the appropriate hallucinatory coloring. In comparison, Leitner and his less-disciplined orchestra have a tendency to make the music sound more neo-classical, and thus banal. The singers are all excellent, even though the voice of the Duchess (Eva Jenis) isn't the most seductive. Dietrich Henschel incarnates a very human and doubtful Faust, certainly less sophisticated than Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (who also is present here in the spoken role of the Poet) on the DG recording, but probably more moving. It goes without saying that the option of listening to the opera with both endings (Jarnach's and Beaumont's) is another important asset of this Erato production. The sound is a bit dark, respecting the acoustics of the Lyon Opéra as well as the fascinating, original sound alchemy created by Busoni. This is a major release, not only to fulfill our knowledge of 20th century opera, but also to finally do justice to Busoni's genius as a composer.--Luca Sabbatini
FERRUCCIO BUSONI
Doktor Faust
Dietrich Henschel; Kim Begley; Markus Hollop; Eva Jenis; Torsten Kerl; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Chorus of the Grand Théâtre de Genève
Chorus & Orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon
Kent Nagano
Erato- 25501(CD)
Reference Recording - This one
Doktor Faust, opera in 8 scenes (unfinished), KiV 303
Verdi - Otello - Domingo,Freni,Cappuccilli,Cianella,Raffanti,Roni;
c Kleiber
Opera | single Ape| no log, cover | 2 CD, 442 MB April 13, 1999 | Music & Arts | RapidShare
The fabled 1976 La Scala performance conducted by Carlos Kleiber
This live performance from La Scala was Placido Domingo's first Otello and as such is of great value to his fans who collect the operas he sang throughout his career. It has been digitally remastered so that the sound is terrific. This same recording exists in two Opera D'Oro versions but the sound quality is not as great as this one. Domingo's first Otello is in many ways his best vocal-wise. He is in his prime and his voice is steely, vibrant, powerful and beautiful. The supersquillo is here and although he would later refine his interpretation, he would lose some of the power he once had in the voice. Consequently, his two other Otellos- from 1986 with Katia Ricciarelli and Justino Diaz and the 1991 with Cheryl Studer and Sergei Leiferkus, are not as exciting as this one. All fans of Domingo in his prime will wan to own this recording as he makes an intense, passionate and riveting performance.
Mirella Freni was no stranger to the role of Desdemona when she sang opposie Domingo in this performance. She had already sung the role with Jon Vickers, another powerful Otello interpretor. Freni sings with sweetness, true lyrico spinto abilities and powerful dramatic heft. She was actually a blonde and that helps a lot in the physical aspects of the role of the blonde/Aryan Desdemona in love with the black Moor Otello. Her arias and lines are spun like threads of gold but she is also highly influenced by the dramatic aspect.
Piero Cappucilli is a supremely excellent Iago. He makes his voice seem darker than usual, with a powerful and frightening quality. He was masterful in Verdi baritone roles (Nabucco, Macbeth) and here he pulls out all the stops, and all sung in beautiful voice. He really is a great match for Domingo and satisfies.
With a cast like this, you're hard pressed to find a better Otello. With Carlos Kleiber making the score tight and dramatic, you get a phenomenal Otello.
Tracklist
cd1
01. Otello, opera: Act 1. Una vela! Una vela!
02. Otello, opera: Act 1. Esultate!
03. Otello, opera: Act 1. Roderigo, ebben che pensi?
04. Otello, opera: Act 1. Fucco di gioia!
05. Otello, opera: Act 1. Roderigo, beviam!
06. Otello, opera: Act 1. Innaffia l'ugola! Trinca, tracanna
07. Otello, opera: Act 1. Capitano, v'attende la fazione ai baluardi
08. Otello, opera: Act 1. Abbasso le spade!
09. Otello, opera: Act 1. Già nella notte densa
10. Otello, opera: Act 2. Non ti crucciar
11. Otello, opera: Act 2. Vanne! La tua meta già vedo
12. Otello, opera: Act 2. Credo in un Dio crudel
13. Otello, opera: Act 2. Ciò m'accora...
14. Otello, opera: Act 2. Dove guardi splendono
15. Otello, opera: Act 2. D'un uom che geme sotto il tuo disdegno
16. Otello, opera: Act 2. Se inconscia, contro te, sposo, ho peccato
17. Otello, opera: Act 2. Desdemona rea!
18. Otello, opera: Act 2. Tu? Indietro! Fuggi!
19. Otello, opera: Act 2. Ora e per sempre addio
20. Otello, opera: Act 2. Pace, signor Listen
21. Otello, opera: Act 2. Era la notte, Cassio dormia
22. Otello, opera: Act 2. Oh! Mostruosa colpa
23. Otello, opera: Act 2. Sì, pel ciel marmoreo giuro!
cd2
01. Otello, opera: Act 3. La vedetta del porto ha segnalato
02. Otello, opera: Act 3. Dio ti giocondi, o sposo
03. Otello, opera: Act 3. Esterrefatta fisso
04. Otello, opera: Act 3. Dio! mi potevi scagliar
05. Otello, opera: Act 3. Ah! Dannazione
06. Otello, opera: Act 3. Vieni; laula è deserta
07. Otello, opera: Act 3. E intanto, giacché non si stanca
08. Otello, opera: Act 3. Quest'è il segnale
09. Otello, opera: Act 3. Come la ucciderò?
10. Otello, opera: Act 3. Il doge e il Senato salutano
11. Otello, opera: Act 3. Messere, son lieto di vedervi
12. Otello, opera: Act 3. Eccolo! È lui!
13. Otello, opera: Act 3. A terra!... sì... nel livido fango
14. Otello, opera: Act 3. Quella innocente un fremito
15. Otello, opera: Act 3. Fuggite
16. Otello, opera: Act 4. Era più calmo?
17. Otello, opera: Act 4. Mia madre aveva una povera ancella
18. Otello, opera: Act 4. Piangea cantando nell'erma landa
19. Otello, opera: Act 4. Ave Maria, piena di grazia
20. Otello, opera: Act 4. Chi è là?... Otello?
21. Otello, opera: Act 4. Aprite! Aprite!
22. Otello, opera: Act 4. Quai grida! Orrore! Orrore!
23. Otello, opera: Act 4. Niun mi tema
OTELLO Plácido Domingo
DESDEMONA Mirella Freni
JAGO Piero Cappuccilli
CASSIO Giuliano Ciannella
RODERIGO Dano Raffanti
LODOVICO Luigi Roni
MONTANO Orazio Mori
HERALDO Giuseppe Morresi
EMILIA Jone Jori
Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milano
Director: Carlos Kleiber
7 Diciembre 1976
Milán
Bernstein - Wonderful Town - Sir Simon Rattle
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 358 MB November 28, 2005 | Emi | RapidShare
The first thing anyone needs to know about Wonderful Town is that it had more false starts than potential titles. The second is that every composer from Burton Lane to Irving Berlin and Cole Porter were rumoured to be writing the score. The third is that Leroy Anderson did write the score (and what wouldn't we give to hear that) but nobody liked it. Nobody that mattered, that is: namely the producers, and star, Rosalind Russell. Enter Leonard Bernstein and his lyricists from On the Town, Betty Cornden and Adolph Green -and this is the last and most crucial thing you need to know - with just five weeks to go before first previews. So Wonderful Town was written fast -very fast. And that's what makes it zing.
So before handing out any bouquets for this spirited rendition from Rattle and Company, I have a confession to make. Before listening, I took out the Original Broadway Cast album on Sony and joined sisters Ruth and Eileen on their First outing in New York City. And maybe that was a mistake. Because if there's one thing EMI's new recording doesn't quite deliver, it's that burning sense of the imperative, of being a part of something that's been caught on the hop, as it were. Into the Overture with Rattle and you've a trrific band - the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group with key brass and sax personnel bumped in from the West End - and great attitude, trumpets with the throttle full out and a bevy of saxes licking everyone into shape. But Recording Wonderful Town - Check out the tempo of the Original Cast album and it's faster, tighter - not much, but enough to sound wired, enough to sound like there's no time to lose. And that's the spirit of Wonderful Town. It's NYC in the fast lane; it's crude and sassy with plenty of grime in the mix: the pollution is all part of its charm. So maybe what I'm trying to say here is that Rattle and Co are too clean: tourists as opposed to natives of the show. But, hey, they didn't live through the re-writes and the 18-hour rehearsal days, did they?
So, accept the fact that this is a pristine Wonderful Town, temporarily divorced from its smart book (Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov), out of context, and, to some extent, out of its element, and you'll have a good time. The score's the thing here, after all, and no one in the Original Broadway Cast can come within spitting distance of the vocal talent Rattle and EMI have assembled. Kim Criswell's Ruth has to live with Rosalind Russell's keys - somewhere in the bass-baritone range (I barely recognized her on the bottom line of 'Ohio'). Russell had about three notes in her voice, and they were dubious. Criswell has them all but doesn't have too much occasion to use them - particularly in the highbelt region where she's used to nailing them. So she works the lyric of 'One Hundred Easy Ways' a little harder than Russell (this is the number that establishes Ruth's smart mind and even smarter mouth) a piranha, if you like, to Russell's shark. When Russell growls '98 ways to go!' she's flashing a fin above the water-line. When Criswell yells 'Last one in is a rotten egg!', her little sharp teeth go to work on your ear-drum.
Sister Eileen is Audra McDonald - dream casting for just about everything right now. What to say about someone who uses every part of her versatile voice, wrapping it round a lyric like the two are inseparable, who sings 'A Little Bit in Love' with such contentment that it's as if she's giving herself a big, well-deserved hug. It's a gorgeous voice and the microphone loves her. It loves Thomas Hampson, too, though he will never quite erradicate the 'formality' from his delivery: it's just there in the voice. Though I've rarely heard him sound quite so unassuming as he does here imagining his 'Quiet Girl'. I know how much trouble EMI had casting the role of Wreck. Brent Barrett sounds as though he's still in his prime as opposed to 'football professional out of season'. More a will-be than a has-been. But now I'm really quibbling.
So how about the big set-pieces? Well, 'Conversation Piece', as deadly a dinner-party as ever took to the stage, sounds as if it could have been lifted from a performance of the show. You have to love the composer for having Eileen bring the melody of 'A little bit in love' to the table; and as for Ruth's vain attempt to raise the tone with a reference to Mob3' Dick 'It's about this whale ...' not even Russell left you quite as sure as does Criswell that she's probably seen the movie but definitely never read the book. 'Swing!' comes off less well, partly because (and again this is about context - or the lack of) Criswell is too 'hip to begin with. Ruth's clumsy jive-talking only really heats up when the village kids get in on the action. And that's quite a stretch for Simon Halsey's London Voices. They do well shucking the English choral tradition. Now and again you catch it, but not long enough for it to get in the way. 'Conga!' sounds sufficiently inebriated and they sound right at home on 'Christopher Street'.
You get slightly more Wonderful Town for your money with Rattle (a couple of reprises for a start). Don Walker's feisty orchestrations (with assistance from Sid Ramin, by the way, EM!) get more of an airing with the addition of 'Conquering New York', a dance number which amply demonstrates how ready Lenny was to raid his bottom drawer: it's quite a surprise hearing the Benny Goodman-inspired Prelude, Fugue and Riffs coming to the rescue. ES
Bernstein Wonderful Town.
Kim Criswell (sop) Ruth;
Audra McDonald (sop) Eileen;
Thomas Hampson (bar) Baker;
Brent Barrett (sngr) Wreck;
Rodney Gilfry (bar) Guide, First Editor, Frank;
Carl Daymond (bar) Second Editor, Chick Clark;
Timothy Robinson (ten) Lonigan;
Michael Dore (bass) First Man, Cadet, Third Cop, Villager;
Lynton Atkinson (ten) Second Man, Second Cop;
Simone Sauphanor (sngr) First Girl;
Melanie Marshall (mez) Second Girl;
Kimberly Cobb (sngr) Violet;
Robert Fardell (sngr) First Cop;
London Voices;
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group!
There's never a dull moment in this vivid, theatrical Lohengrin.
The attributes of the version under consideration, which appears for the first time on CD, have been underestimated. It held my interest from first to last, not least thanks to Kubelik's masterly overview. Not only does he successfully hold together all the disparate strands of the sprawling work, he also imparts to them a sense of inner excitement through his close attention to the small notes and phrases that so often delineate character in this score and through his vital control of the large ensembles. He is helped inestimably by the Bavarian Radio forces - gloriously singing strings, characterful winds, trenchant, involving chorus -of which he was, in 1971, a beloved chief. There's never a dull moment in this vivid, theatrical Lohengrin. The recording, produced by Hans Hirsch, imparts a suitably spacious atmosphere to the piece but also places the principals up front where they should be except when distancing is required - as at Lohengrin's first appearance and at the moment when Elsa appears on the balcony to address the night breezes.
Janowitz's Elsa is one of the set's major assets. Pure in tone, imaginative in phrasing, she catches the ear from her first entry, very much suggesting Elsa's vulnerability, then implies all her blind faith and belief in her saviour - listen to the single phrase "Verzeih euch mir!" when she is telling evil Ortrud of her love for the unnamed knight -though her part in the big Act 2 ensembles sometimes puts a strain on her lovely tone. Later she eloquently conveys her deep feelings in the love duet, followed by her voicing of all the doubts that beset confused Elsa.
King's Lohengrin is more ordinary; today we would be grateful for such solid, musical and welljudged singing, few if any Lohengrins can sing the passage starting "Höchstes Vertraun" (third disc, track 5) with anything like King's true tone and powerful conviction. Thomas Stewart sings a sturdy Telramund, managing the high tessitura with consummate ease. He is horribly plausible in his complaints against Elsa. This portrayal, taken with his roughly contemporaneous Sachs, also made under KubelIk and only recently rescued from DG's vaults by Myto, discloses him as a grossly undervalued singer, possibly because he lay under the long shadow of Hotter in the late 1960s and early 1970s.--Gramophone
Tracklisting
cd1 01. Vorspiel [0:08:18.00]
02. 1. Akt / 1. Szene / »Hört! Grafen, Edle, Freie von Brabant!« [0:04:42.17]
03. 1. Akt / 1. Szene / »Dank, König, dir, daß du zu richten kamst!« [0:07:12.82]
04. 1. Akt / 2. Szene / »Seht hin! Sie naht, die hart Beklagte!« [0:04:00.00]
05. 1. Akt / 2. Szene / »Einsam in trüber Tagen« [0:04:53.00]
06. 1. Akt / 2. Szene / »Mich irret nicht ihr träumerischer Mut« [0:05:20.86]
07. 1. Akt / 2. Szene / »Wer hier in Gotteskampf zu streiten kam« [0:05:22.00]
08. 1. Akt / 3. Szene / »Nun sei bedank, mein lieber Schwan!« [0:03:49.73]
09. 1. Akt / 3. Szene / »Zum Kampf für eine Magd zu stehn« [0:05:40.46]
10. 1. Akt / 3. Szene / »Welch holde Wunder muß ich sehen?« [0:03:34.00]
11. 1. Akt / 3. Szene / »Nun höret mich und achtet wohl« [0:01:52.13]
12. 1. Akt / 3. Szene / »Mein Herr und Gott, nun ruf' ich dich« [0:05:39.66]
13. 1. Akt / 3. Szene / »Durch Gottes Sieg ist jetzt dein Leben mein« [0:04:35.13]
14. 2. Akt / 1. Szene / Einleitung [0:04:23.24]
15. 2. Akt / 1. Szene / »Erhebe dich, Genossin meiner Schmach!« [0:08:19.76]
cd2 01. 2. Akt / 1. Szene / »Du wilde Seherin, wie willst du doch« [0:08:06.00]
02. 2. Akt / 2. Szene / »Euch Lüften, die mein Klagen« [0:03:51.20]
03. 2. Akt / 2. Szene / »Elsa!« -- »Wer ruft?« [0:04:36.04]
04. 2. Akt / 2. Szene / »Entweihte Götter! Helft jetzt meiner Rache!« [0:04:16.26]
05. 2. Akt / 2. Szene / »Wie kann ich solche Huld dir lohnen« [0:08:31.96]
06. 2. Akt / 3. Szene / Szenenmusik [0:03:25.40]
07. 2. Akt / 3. Szene / »In Früh'n versammelt uns der Ruf« [0:01:27.20]
08. 2. Akt / 3. Szene / »Des Königs Wort und Will' tu' ich euch kund« [0:08:27.73]
09. 2. Akt / 4. Szene / »Gesegnet soll sie schreiten« [0:05:33.86]
10. 2. Akt / 4. Szene / »Zurück, Elsa! Nicht länger will ich dulden« [0:05:34.90]
11. 2. Akt / 5. Szene / »Heil! Heil dem König!« [0:03:22.73]
12. 2. Akt / 5. Szene / »O König! Trugbetörte Fürsten! Haltet ein!« [0:05:57.53]
13. 2. Akt / 5. Szene / »Welch ein Geheimnis muß der Held bewahren?« [0:05:28.56]
14. 2. Akt / 5. Szene / »Mein Held, entgegne kühn dem Ungetreuen!« [0:06:51.60]
cd3 01. 3. Akt / Vorspiel [0:03:34.44]
02. 3. Akt / 1. Szene / »Treulich geführt ziehet dahin« [0:04:58.22]
03. 3. Akt / 2. Szene / »Das süße Lied verhallt; wir sind allein« [0:07:34.60]
04. 3. Akt / 2. Szene / »Atmest du nicht mit mir die süße Düfte?« [0:05:02.13]
05. 3. Akt / 2. Szene / »Höchstes Vertraun hast du mir schon zu danken« [0:08:10.20]
06. 3. Akt / 2. Szene / »Weh, nun ist all unser Glück dahin« [0:05:20.90]
07. 3. Akt / 3. Szene / Szenenmusik [0:03:27.20]
08. 3. Akt / 3. Szene / »Hat Dank, ihr Lieben von Brabant!« [0:03:42.20]
09. 3. Akt / 3. Szene / »Macht Platz dem Helden von Brabant!« [0:06:28.09]
10. 3. Akt / 3. Szene / »In fernem Land, unnahbar euren Schritten« [0:06:20.13]
11. 3. Akt / 3. Szene / »Mir schwanck der Boden! Welche Nacht!« [0:06:12.77]
12. 3. Akt / 3. Szene / »Mein lieber Schawn!« [0:08:27.09]
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Lohengrin (1850)
Romantic Opera in Three Acts
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Szymanowski - Krol Roger, Symphony no.4 - Simon Rattle
Opera | Eac, Ape, cue | log, cover | 2 CD, 477 MB September 21, 1999 | EMI| RapidShare
Szymanowski was concerned with philosophical and moral questions as well as writing music, and King Roger (completed in 1926) is an opera of ideas rather than events, centering on the eternal conflict between Apollo and Dionysus, between reason and the unconscious. The action (such as it is) takes place on a single night: a mysterious shepherd appears at the court of Roger, the enlightened 12th-century King of Sicily, and leads the people and Roger's beloved wife, Roxana, in an orgiastic dance and then off to a "Land of Ecstasy"; the shepherd reveals himself as the god Dionysus, but Roger, while accepting him, turns in the end to the rising sun of Apollo.
Written in 1918, Karol Szymanowski's unique opera King Roger is a work of striking beauty and intensity. The libretto, sung in Polish, reflects the composer's interest in the Mediterranean world and in Greek mythology. In 12th-century Sicily, a mysterious shepherd speaking of a god of beauty, sensuality, and (sexual) liberation troubles the reign of King Roger. The shepherd eventually will reveal himself to be none other than Dionysus, whose temptations the king ultimately resists, offering himself instead to the sun (Apollo). To sustain this very atmospheric and mystical plot, Szymanowski created music of scintillating refinement, adorned with as lush an orchestration as we can imagine, full of oriental color and exotic perfume. The choral writing is powerful and evocative, while the main roles are characterized by sensuous melodies (as in the extraordinary "Song of Roxana", sung by Elzbieta Szmytka with ecstatic abandon).
Simon Rattle reveals a singular affinity for this hedonistic sound world: his direction underlines with uncommon liveliness the subtlety of Szymanowski's harmony and orchestral writing, without ever sacrificing its dramatic impact. The cast is impeccable (superb King Roger of Thomas Hampson, hallucinatory shepherd/Dionysus of Ryszard Minkiewicz), as is the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As a complement to this short opera, Rattle conducts the late, neo-classical Symphony No. 4 with solo piano. Leif Ove Andsnes gives to the solo part all the precision and rhythmic drive that the piece calls for. The recording perfectly captures the spacious acoustics of Birmingham's Symphony Hall. For all lovers of Szymanowski and/or 20th-century opera, this double CD is a must.--Luca Sabbatini
CD Content
# Król Roger (King Roger), opera in 3 acts, Op. 46, M55
Composed by Karol Szymanowski
Performed by Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
with Elzbieta Szmytka, Philip Langridge, Thomas Hampson, Robert Gierlach, Jadwiga Rappe, Ryszard Minkiewicz
Conducted by Simon Rattle
# Symphony No. 4, for piano & orchestra ("Symphonie Concertante"), Op. 60, M70
Composed by Karol Szymanowski
Performed by Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Conducted by Simon Rattle
Johann Strauß II - Die Fledermaus - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 2 CD, 411 MB
May 18, 1989 | Teldec | RapidShare
Let's set aside the monster cast in this recording. All of them deliver a great theatrical performance. Powerful and charming singing. Ms. Bonney is one of my favorite sopranos, and the legend Gruberová is as great as she's always been. But the issue in this recording is Maestro Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw. Altogether, they offer us a new, fresh, elegant and spectacular recording with a sound (allow me to remark: a sound, what a sound!) seldom heard in some other recordings. Harnoncourt's reading is so meticulous that changes and challenges all Die Fledermaus recordings I have listened to. Even tho' the Kleiber DG DVD recording is one the greatest ever, I do not mind having both recordings. Bravo Maestro!
Die Fledermaus (The Bat), operetta (RV 503)
Composed by Johann II Strauss
Performed by Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
with Werner Hollweg, Jon Thorsteinsson, Edita Gruberova, Barbara Bonney, Marjana Lipovsek, Andre Heller, Anton Scharinger, Yong-Hee Kim, Elisabeth von Magnus, Waldemar Kmentt, Andrea Poddighe, Angela Bello, Christian Boesch, Josef Protschka, Ernst Theo Richter, Jeremy Munro
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Mozart - Magdalena Kozena - Mozart arias - Simon Rattle
Opera | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 288 MB November 14, 2006 | ARCHIV | RapidShare
...no matter how many Mozart discs you may already possess, this new recording demands to be added to the collection.
Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená’s first-ever recording with Sir Simon Rattle serves up an enticing selection of Mozart arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, La Clemenza di Tito and Idomeneo, plus a couple of insertion arias and the showpiece occasional aria Ch’io mi scordi di te?. This is by no means the first such disc to appear in this Mozart anniversary year; Carolyn Sampson on Hyperion and Swedish soprano Miah Persson on BIS are among those who have delighted the senses with particularly fine vocal recordings. However, I have to say that were I forced to choose one disc of Mozart arias above all others, it would have to be this new offering from Deutsche Grammophon. Kožená is in truly rapturous voice. Susanna’s teasing Deh vieni, non tardar comes across as if she were intoxicated with love, the texture of the voice changing from cream to velvet at the lower end of her range; Cherubino’s Non so più is a breathless outpouring of exuberant youthful ardour; Despina’s exasperated, at times almost sly aria In uomini is a real show-stopper. The more substantial arias are even better; Kožená’s word-painting in Fiordiligi’s recitative and rondo is stunning, with her menacing rolled r’s in vergogna e orror (shame and horror) conveying a wealth of emotion in themselves. A seemingly inexhaustible variety of vocal colour and even silence are used to great effect, and throughout the disc the soloist has especially fine support from Rattle and the OAE. The string tone changes chameleon-like to match the singer’s mood; the horns and clarinets sail through challenging passages with ease; and Jos van Immerseel’s fortepiano playing displays virtuosity of the highest order in Ch’io mi scordi di te?. Kožená excels in this aria, conveying deeply-felt longing in smoky tones, but always with enough substance of voice to match the power of the orchestra, and with passionate delivery of the text that somehow never intrudes on her beautiful phrasing. It is interesting that the fortepiano never comes near to overpowering the soloist; indeed, Kožená says that she prefers to perform with period instruments at a lower pitch (A=430 here) as the different colours of the instruments seem to mix better with her voice. (For a contrasting but equally valid approach, try Miah Persson’s performance of this aria with the modern-instrument Swedish Chamber Orchestra on the BIS label, where Evgeny Sudbin plays a Steinway with a passion that gives both singer and orchestra a run for their money – equally dramatic, but a quite different effect!) And just to make sure that the listener does not come away feeling over-sated with familiar arias, in addition to two insertion arias (Vado, ma dove? for Martin y Soler’s opera Il burbero di buon core and Alma grande, e nobil core for Cimarosa’s I due baroni di Rocca Azzurra) the performers slip in a replacement aria for Susanna’s Deh vieni, non tardar and an ornament-encrusted version of Cherubino’s Voi che sapete. This latter is by the Italian composer Domenico Corri, who moved to Edinburgh at the age of 25 and later to London, where he published a book that included guidance on how singers should decorate their lines to “improve” their expressive potential. We should be grateful that Ms Kožená has seen fit to include only one example of Corri’s work; the phrase “over-egging the pudding” comes to mind, despite the aplomb with which she carries it off! But seriously – no matter how many Mozart discs you may already possess, this new recording demands to be added to the collection.--Anne McAlister
Track listing
01. Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 / Act 4 - Giunse alfin il momento...Deh, vieni, non tardar... 4:17
02. Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 - with embellishments by Domenico Corri / Act 2 - Voi che sapete 3:06
03. Ch'io mi scordi di te... Non temer, amato bene, K.505 10:36
04. Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti, K.588 / Act 1 - "In uomini, in soldati" 2:55
05. Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti, K.588 / Act 2 - "Ei parte...Per pietà" 9:33
06. Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti, K.588 / Act 2 - "E amore un ladroncello" 3:13
07. La clemenza di Tito, K.621 / Act 2 - "Non più di fiori" 7:05
08. Idomeneo, re di Creta, K.366 / Act 1 - "Quando avran fine omai" - "Padre, germani, addio!" 8:01
09. Vado, ma dove? oh Dei!, K.583 4:28
10. Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 / Act 1 - "Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio" 2:46
11. Alma grande e nobil core, K.578 4:28
12. Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 / Act 3 - "Giunse alfin..." _ "Al desio di chi t'adora" (K.577) 7:28
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