It would be hard to find an opera in any area of the repertory that presents so many textual problems as Les conies d'Holfmann, largely stemming from the fact that the composer died four months before the premiere early in 1881, leaving the score incomplete. The traditional text, bringing in extra material, much of it unauthentic, and leaving out a lot, was only established this century. Arthur Hammond with the Carl Rosa Company was a pioneer in attempting to sort out a more acceptable text, and his work formed the basis of the English National Opera production at the Coliseum and also the Richard Bonynge recording for Decca. Since then the discovery of no less than 1,250 autograph pages allowed Fritz Oeser to produce his monumental edition, as used extensively in the Cambreling recording for EMI (12/88 —nla)…
Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann is among those operas with most textual problems, since the composer did not live to its premiere, leaving an incomplete score. The traditional text, bringing in extra material, much of it unauthentic, and leaving out alot, was only established in the 20th century. This Dresden recording sessions were held (June 1987-June 1989) borrowed much from Michael Kaye's 1991 Schott Edition.
Few things weigh as heavily in the world of classical music as Gramophone's endorsement. This recording didn't lack one. In fact, Les Fetes d'Hebe won Gramophone 1998 Best Early Opera award, joining other highly-acclaimed Les Arts Florissants recordings and cementing William Christie's fame as the principal exponent of French baroque repertory. Les Fetes d'Hebe is an example of the most popular genre in the 18th-century France - opera-ballet. It is not based on a dramatic plot, but presents a series of "entrees," each with an individual subplot and a distinct musical palette. Both vocal and orchestral numbers delight the senses. The cast is mostly composed of performers who frequently appear with Les Arts Florissants. The degree of artistic cohesion this group has achieved is remarkable…
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This release features a double bill of Massenet's Le Portrait de Manon and Berlioz's song cycle Les nuits d'ete, recorded from live staged performances at the Royal Opera House with artists from the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme and the Southbank Sinfonia led by Geoffrey Paterson and Volker Krafft. This is the first time the composers Massenet and Berlioz have appeared as part of the Opera Rara catalogue. The single-disc set comes with a lavishly illustrated book, including a complete libretto for Le Portrait de Manon and song translations for Les nuits d'ete, as well as detailed notes on both pieces written by the eminent musicologist Hugh Macdonald.
The discovery of Rebel’s (1666-1747) Dance Symphonies, a genre mixing dance and pantomime in which the narration is delivered by the dancer alone, was a defining moment in the passion of harpsichordist duo Loris Barrucand and Clément Geoffroy. Rebel, the author of a single Lyric Tragedy, Ulysse (1703), and Elémens (1737) a suite of symphonies famed for its initial Chaos, was first and foremost a composer of symphonies that were made to be danced. Among them is Les Caractères de la Danse (1715), an uninterrupted succession of fourteen dances that enjoyed a dazzling success. Remaining faithful to his time, Rebel intended for them to be played “like a piece on the harpsichord”. So why not two? The mastery of four virtuoso hands brings the two historic harpsichords of the Château de Versailles alive, playing them as a duet for the first time.