Dario Voktolini

The second volume in this series continues to explore little-known examples of Auber’s elegant and refined operatic music. Julie was his first stage work, its fantasia-like beauty foreshadowing the operas, opéras-comiques and lyric dramas to come. Striking melodies and haunting episodes abound in these overtures and entr’actes, and there is restrained yet fragrant Iberian colour in the overture to Léocadie. The Violin Concerto is lightly scored and gentle, with a tarantella-like finale full of folk vitality.

Although Auber was one of the most popular of 19th-century French composers, his music is seldom revived in the opera house. This series is restoring his overtures and orchestral excerpts from operas, a swathe of refined and elegant music showing his importance in operatic history. Featured in this volume are the overture from La Muette de Portici, his revolutionary masterpiece, as well as premiere recordings of music from La Barcarolle and Les Chaperons blancs, exuding both the drama and the charm that permeate all his mature works.