OperasCombinadas: CHABRIER: Briseis & BERLIOZ: Cantatas

Se trata de una ópera incompleta, de la que su autor, Chabrier, consiguió terminar apenas el Primer Acto, maravilloso. Ninguno de sus coetáneos se atrevió a componer el Segundo y el Tercero, asustados por la complejidad del encargo. Como a mi las operas de un solo acto me dejan insatisfecho, busqué la forma de completar esta, y la encontré en el hecho de que la historia que contarian los actos 2 y 3 (en los que Briseis, convertida al cristianismo, convence a Hylas de suicidarse después de ella) se adaptaban bien a las Cantatas de Berlioz que tratan de otras muertes y suicidios: el de Cleopatra y los de Orfeo y Sardanapale, asi que, unidos a la Obertura Les Franc-Juges (que refleja el ambiente "cristiano" de la Isla en la que se refugió Briseis y el naufragio que lleva a Hylas a ésta) completan en cierta forma esta estupenda ópera. Por supuesto las letras de las cantatas no se adaptan al 100% a la historia de Briseis, pero es sólo una "sugerencia de presentación"; tú disfrútalas como quieras.

Briséïs, or Les amants de Corinthe is an operatic 'drame lyrique' by Emmanuel Chabrier with libretto by Catulle Mendès and Ephraïm Mikaël after Goethe's Die Braut von Korinth.

It seems likely that Catulle Mendès (who had already provided the libretto for Gwendoline and words for Chabrier's songs Chanson de Jeanne and Lied), saw potential for an opera in Ephraïm Mikhaël and Bernard Lazare's ‘dramatic legend’ La fiancée de Corinthe, and suggested the project to Chabrier. Chabrier worked on the opera from May 1888 until 1893 when his ill-health (paralysis in the late stages of syphilis) prevented any further progress. The first act (which lasts around 75 minutes) was in a finished enough state by the end of June 1890 for Chabrier to play it to Mendès – the orchestration was then completed by the end of September of that year. In 1894 Chabrier asked Vincent d'Indy to complete the work, but it was too difficult to piece together the sketches. Due to illness, Chabrier only completed the first act (of the three projected), which was premiered at a Chabrier memorial concert in Paris on 13 January 1897, conducted by Charles Lamoureux. Chabrier’s heirs asked other composers – including Debussy, Enescu and Ravel – to try to complete it.

The first staging of act 1 took place at the Neues Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin on 14 January 1899, conducted by Richard Strauss. Briséïs is highly erotic and seductively scored music, which Strauss may well have remembered when he came to compose Salome.^[1]

The manuscript is at the Bibliothèque de l'Opéra, Paris. The publication of the score in 1897 included a limited edition with a portrait by Desmoulins, tributes by several friends and composers (Bruneau, Charpentier, Chausson, D'Indy, Lamoureux, Messager and Mottl), as well as poems in Chabrier's memory by de Régnier, Saint-Pol-Roux, van Lerberghe and Viélé-Griffin.^[2]

Goldmark's opera Die Kriegsgefangene (1899) was originally to be called Briseis, although the subject matter is different.^[3]

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 13 January 1897 (Conductor: Charles Lamoureux)	Stage Premiere, 14 January 1899 (Conductor: Richard Strauss)
Briséïs	soprano	Mlle Éléonore Blanc	Fr Hiedler
Hylas	tenor	Pierre-Émile Engel	Gruning
Le Catéchiste	baritone	Alexis Ghasne	Hoffmann
Stratoklès, servant to Thanastô	bass	M. Nicolaou	-
Thanastô	mezzo soprano	Alba Chrétien-Vaguet	Fr Goetze
First maidservant	soprano
Second maidservant	soprano
Old sailor
Another sailor

Synopsis

Place: Corinth

Time: during Emperor Hadrian's reign.

Act 1

Scene 1

Hylas, in love with Briséïs, wishes to find fortune in Syria but pauses at the house where she lives with her sick mother Thanastô. As Briséïs appears, Hylas invokes Eros.

Scene 2

Briséïs and Hylas swear by Kypris [Aphrodite] to love each other until their last days. Briséïs insists that love must survive death into the tomb. Hylas leaves.

Scene 3

Thanastô implores God to save her to save the souls of the pagans around her, while regretting that her daughter does not share her Christian beliefs. Briséïs while fearful of the temptations facing Hylas vows to save her mother wracked by sickness and pain.

Scene 4

While the servants and Briséïs invoke the pagan gods, the Catechist arrives and prays for Thanastô, telling Briséïs that if she follows him her mother will be saved. Thanastô had promised her daughter to remain a virgin ‘in eternity, a bride of God’. Briséïs submits and follows the Catechist.

DOWNLOAD:
Hyperion 1994: Joan Rodgers - Mark Padmore - Simon Keenlyside - Michael George - Kathryn Harries - conductor Jean Yves Ossonce. Chorus of Scottish Opera, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. 2292-45792-2.

http://www.filestube.com/88b12164e5ed721a03e9,g/Chabrier-Briseis.html

Acts 2 & 3

(Hector Berlioz: Overture Les Franc-Juges) http://youtu.be/HnKSfq9heeo

Después de sufrir un naufragio Hylas arriva al lugar donde Briseis vive en la fe cristiana y, tras encontrarla, le recuerda los votos que ella le hizo ante Afrodita.

(Hector Berlioz: La Mort de Sardanapale)

Briséïs desesperada se suicida, después de pedirle a Hylas que se una a ella en la tumba. (Hector Berlioz: La Mort de Cleopatra) por JESSYE NORMAN

1: http://youtu.be/O-dYClgp_os

2:http://youtu.be/FzlqY6JIfP4

3:http://youtu.be/qRjBpeNUQUw

Hylas aspira el perfume mortal de las flores que Briseis le habia entregado y muere.

(Hector Berlioz: La Mort de Orphée)

En la red sólo he encontrado links para la obertura Les Franc-juges y la Muerte de Cleopatra. Las otras cantatas están disponibles en iTunes o amazon, en un CD de Naxos.

Escenografias Clamorosas. SHOSTAKOVICH: Lady Macbeth de Mtsensk

Lady Macbeth de Mtsensk en Madrid

Extractos del post de "Una butaca en el paraiso":

La Lady Macbeth de SHOSTAKOVICH es un puro exceso orquestal. Ahí está todo: desde retazos de verismo a expresionismo, en un lenguaje "neotonal" que no da tregua un instante.

Y ahí subyace el problema de su interpretación: la orquesta no para relajada un segundo y es muy fácil epatar al público sacando los trombones a proscenio y metiéndonos unos pepinazos que nos dejen sordos. Pero la Lady Macbeth es algo más que eso, la orquesta tiene que ser fuerte pero también asumir matices. No son sólo decibelios. Pero claro, cómo resistirse a soltar toda la caballería.

En este sentido, la visión de Harmut Haenchen me pareció que se rindió al efectismo en exceso. Sí, desde luego consiguió levantarnos de la butaca, y logró esa sensación de distinguir qué significa cada momento, especialmente en los interludios, pero qué quieres que te diga, al final me aturdió... un poco. Sí, una labor notable, pero un poco enfollonada para mi gusto.

Tampoco ayudó mucho la bobá de dividir la obra en dos partes muy desiguales en duración, cuando separando los actos de dos en dos hubiera estado todo mucho más equilibrado, tanto en atención del espectador como en equilibrio dramático.

La puesta es aburrida: una jaula de cristal llena de zapatos refleja de manera muy obvia el hastío de Katerina, encerrada en su celda mientras afuera todo es barro y suciedad, que acabará manchándolo todo, claro.
La idea, aunque facilona, funciona, pero se hace tediosa cuando llevas dos horas viendo lo mismo. Mucho mejor en la segunda parte, que con un par de simples movimientos escénicos logra meternos más en la historia.


Sobre el carácter pseudopornográfico y escandaloso que tanto se comentaba (ya se sabe, carne de sensacionalismo periodístico), pues lo de siempre. Por una parte, Katerina y Sergei follan porque, más que el libreto, LA MÚSICA lo dice. Y el viejo Boris ya se sabe que es un baboso. No sé, los que se escandalizaron creo que ya iban predispuestos a ello. Vale, sale la Aksinya en tetas cuando los obreros la acosan y Katerina se pasa 3/4 de la ópera siendo sobada en combinación.


Y Eva-Maria Westbroek la verdad es que es la típica "señora estupenda" al modo que se decía en las rijosas pelis españolas de los 60/70. Entradita en carnes pero no gorda y con la sensualidad a flor de piel.

Su interpretación de Katerina fue espectacular. Lo primero, la voz, potente, resonante, con unos graves de temblar el misterio y capaz de subir sin problema. ¿Que llegaba al grito a veces? Pues sí, pero el papel lo pide. Ojalá la pueda volver a escuchar en un papel más clásico. Y como actriz, fantástica. Ella puede hacernos creíble a esa Katerina que, de principio a fin, es sólo un instrumento de los hombres por mucho que se crea que lleva las riendas.

Lo dicho, fabulosa. Se merendó la representación ella sola.


A su lado, muy decentes todos también. Michael König haciendo de Sergei cumplió con el papel tanto vocal como escénicamente y las dos secundarias lucieron interesantes voces de mezzo. Vladimir Vaneev, sin embargo, fue inexistente como Boris en la primera parte. Ni se le oyó ni impuso autoridad. Mucho mejor cuando interpretó al prisionero.
El coro, excelente. Así da gusto.

MARSCHNER: Der Templer und die Judin (Ivanhoe)

Una ópera en alemán basada en Ivanhoe, por un autor que cada vez me gusta más, puente entre Weber Wagner, y que es una pena que no esté todo lo representado que deberia: Marschner.

Der Templer und die Jüdin, Grosse romantische Oper in three acts.

Music composed by Heinrich August Marschner. Libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück, based on Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.

First Performance: 22 December 1829, Stadttheater, Leipzig.

Principal Characters:
Maurice de Bracy, Norman knight	Tenor
Brian de Bois–Guilbert, Norman knight	Baritone
Rowena of Hargottstandstede, ward of Cedric of Rotherwood	Soprano
Cedric of Rotherwood, Saxon knight	Bass
Wamba, a fool in Cedric’s service	Tenor
Friar Tuck, the Hermit of Copmanhurst	Bass
The Black Knight (King Richard I ‘the Lionheart’)	Bass
Rebecca, daughter of Isaac of York	Soprano
Wilfred of Ivanhoe, son of Cedric	Tenor
Locksley, captain of a band of outlaws	Baritone
Lucas de Beaumanoir, Grand Master of the Knights Templars	Bass

Synopsis:

Act I

Scene 1: A wild, romantic glen in the forest De Bracy and his Norman knights emerge from cover to ambush Bois-Guilbert’s party of Templars, but shortly after the fight starts Bois-Guilbert calls a halt to it. Each leader confesses that he intends to win a particular woman. Bois-Guilbert names the lovely Jewess Rebecca and De Bracy, relieved that Bois-Guilbert has no interest in Cedric’s ward, agrees to help the Templar capture her. As they leave, Cedric and Rowena enter with Saxon knights. Cedric curses the tournament at Ashby from which he has just come because his disinherited son Ivanhoe was the victor there; Rowena, who is in love with Ivanhoe, chides him for his harshness. Cedric hates the idea of Ivanhoe marrying Rowena, but Wamba urges him in the lied ‘’S wird besser geh’n’, nevertheless, to leave the lovers alone. Oswald rushes in to report that Isaac, Rebecca and Ivanhoe have been captured; the Saxons march off to avenge the wrong, singing their battle song ‘Wer Kraft und Muth in freier Brust’.

Scene 2: Inside Friar Tuck’s hut in the forest Tuck serves wine to a mysterious guest, known as the Black Knight, while singing the drinking song, ‘Der barfüssler Mönch seine Zelle verliess, Ora pro nobis!’. A band of outlaws wanders in to listen. Their leader, Locksley, recognizes the Black Knight and asks if he will help rescue an unidentified Englishman and his niece. The Black Knight readily agrees.

Scene 3: An apartment in a castle turret Locked inside the turret, Rebecca prays. Bois-Guilbert enters and claims her as his property because he won her in battle, but she wrenches herself free when Saxon soldiers attack the castle. Bois-Guilbert rushes off to join the fight and Rebecca escapes to the bedside of the wounded Ivanhoe, who convinces her that she must flee. As she leaves, the Black Knight dashes in to help Ivanhoe escape.

Scene 4: A courtyard inside the castle Frenziedly seeking an escape route, Rebecca stumbles into Bois-Guilbert, who is staggering from wounds. When she refuses to elope with him, he carries her off. The fight reaches the stage and the Saxons win.

Act II

Scene 1. A forest clearing The morning after the battle, Tuck, the Black Knight and a band of outlaws praise the great outdoors in a rousing Germanic hunting chorus calculated to relieve some of the tension built up in the previous act. Having discovered their merrymaking, Ivanhoe enters with the Black Knight, who reveals himself to be King Richard the Lionheart, back from the Crusades.

Scene 2. The hall of justice at Templestowe The Templars enter, Beaumanoir presiding, followed by Bois-Guilbert, the victim of Rebecca’s supposed powers of witchcraft. Ordered to stand trial by ordeal, Rebecca must name a champion to face a representative of the Templars. When Bois-Guilbert offers to fight on her behalf, the knights pick him as their representative. He sinks to the ground in despair.

Act III

Scene 1. Richard’s throne room The king listens as Ivanhoe extends his praise for Richard to all of England in the stirring patriotic Romanze ‘Wer ist der Ritter hochgeehrt’ (a piece that became so popular that audiences would join in at the anthem-like refrain, ‘Du stolzes England, freue dich’, as they do in Iolanthe). Wamba provides a facetious commentary on their seriousness in his equally famous lied ‘Es ist doch gar köstlich, ein König zu sein’.

Scene 2. A dungeon in Templestowe In a fervent prayer (preghiera) with ethereal harp-like accompaniment, ‘Herr, aus tiefen Jammersnöthen’, Rebecca begs for deliverance from an unjust fate. Bois-Guilbert knocks on the door and offers to undergo the scourging of a dishonoured knight if she will only love him, but she refuses as guards take her away.

Scene 3. The tournament grounds The Templars march in to join Rebecca, who stands in chains. Bois-Guilbert begs her to escape with him, but she prefers the stake. Ivanhoe appears unexpectedly as her champion, and the duel begins. Initially, Bois-Guilbert seems to be winning, but as he is about to deal Ivanhoe a crushing blow, he drops dead. The king enters and asserts his authority over the land as the Templars bear off Bois-Guilbert’s body.

a
Heinrich August Marschner

Der Templer und die Jüdin

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Act I

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Act II

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Act III

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También en Streaming audio:

Streaming Audio

• Heinrich August Marschner: Der Templer und die Jüdin
  WinAmp, VLC or iTunes

Wilfred of Ivanhoe: Jon Pickering
Rebecca: Wakoh Shimada
Brian de Bois-Guilbert: Richard Malone
Cedric: Eelco von Jordis
Rowena: Lynn Martindale
Lucas: Jan-Hendrik Rootering
Wamba: Richard Panzner
Friar Tuck: Horst Emmanuel
Maurice: Lassi Partanen
Black Knight: Nikolaus Bergmann
Locksley: Ulrich Reuweiler
Anton Marik (cond.)
Live performance: 28 June 1981, Bühnen der Stadt Bielefeld

OperasCombinadas: BELLINI & MERCADANTE: Zaira

Dos operas basadas en el mismo libreto, de Felice Romani, que cuenta las desgracias de la esclava favorita del sultán, que sufre una especie de Síndrome de Estocolmo y se enamora del Sultán, contra los deseos del padre y el hermano cristianos, que intentan rescatarla. Al final el Sultán cree que ella le está siendo infiel (cuando lo único que hace es verse a escondidas con su hermano) y la mata. Cuando se da cuenta de su error se mata él también. Un dramón muy bien servido por ambos autores con muy distinto éxito: Bellini tuvo en ella un gran fracaso (era su sexta ópera y fue escrita expresamentre para la inauguración del teatro Regio de Parma en 1829 pero tras el fiasco el pobre Bellini reutilizó bastantes partes en I Capuletti ed i Mosteschi, con mucho mayor éxito). Mercadante consiguió un gran éxito con su "Zaira", pero con el tiempo se desvaneció en el olvido. Los del Sello OperaRara grabaron sólo algunos números de esta Zaira (en una colección de Highlights de óperas que me irrita muchísimo (Por qué no grabarlas completas?).
Asi que tenemos dos óperas incompletas: La de Bellini porque muchos números están repetidos en I Capuletti, y la de Mercadante porque no hay una grabación completa. Pero casualmente las partes que faltan en la de Mercadante son las que Bellini no repitió en I Capuletti (con una excepción), de forma que yo las uno y las escucho juntas, consiguiendo una ópera fantástica... y completa. Os dejo los links de ambas (ya tenéis la versión de la Zaira belliniana de Ricciarelli en otro post del blog, pero yo prefiero esta version en streaming de Ermonela Jaho, porque el audio es mejor, y no se oye al apuntador de fondo). Vosotros escoged cómo escucharlas, juntas, mezcladas o por separado.

Vincenzo Bellini: Zaira.

Streaming Audio

• Vincenzo Bellini: Zaira

Zaira: Ermonela Jaho; Nerestano: Varduhi Abrahamyan; Corasmino: Shalva Mukeria; Orosmane: Wenwei Zhang; Lusignano: Gezim Myshketa; Castiglione: Franck Bard; Fatima: Marianne Crebassa. Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon. Choeur de la Radio Lettone. Conductor: Enrique Mazzola. Live performance, Montpellier, Le Corum, Opéra Berlioz, 13 July 2009.

Principal Roles:
Zaira, slave of the Sultan	Soprano
Orosmane, Sultan of Jerusalem	Bass
Nerestano, brother of Zaira	Mezzo-soprano
Corasmino, vizier	Tenor
Lusignano, father of Zaira and Nerestano	Bass
Castiglione	Tenor
Fatima	Soprano
Meledor, official of the Sultan	Bass

Synopsis

Act I

A magnificent gallery leading into the Harem; underground hall leading into the prisons; the inside of the Harem.

The beautiful slave Zaira is about to marry Orosmane, the Sultan of Jerusalem; there is a celebration in the harem, and odalisks and eunuchs dance and sing in his honor. The vizier Corasmino sees the Sultan’s decision to marry a Christian woman as an insult to Koranic law, especially at a time when their French enemies are about to descend on them; he therefore intends to prevent the wedding. Fatima, another slave in the harem, asks Zaira how she could have forgotten France and the French warrior who swore to free her, and renounced her Christian faith: but Zaira reminds her that she has had no news of that warrior since he returned to France, and that she now loves Orosmane, who loves her in return . Meanwhile the French knight Nerestano arrives at the Sultan’s court with the intention freeing Zaira: he was himself a prisoner of Orosmane but he was released: he learns however that the woman now loves Orosmane and has chosen the Muslim faith. and that the Sultan intends to release only the French knights who are still in his prisons but neither Zaira nor old Lusignano, a prince descended from the ancient Christian kings of Jerusalem and therefore hated by the Muslims. When they learn this, the prisoners decide to forego their freedom and accept the same fate as Lusignano. Zaira appears with Lusignano, whose freedom she has managed to obtain from Orosmane. By a necklace and a scar Lusignano recognizes Zaira and Nerestano as his daughter and son, who survived the massacre of Cesarea as children and were enslaved by the Muslims. When he discovers that Zaira has renounced her faith and is about in marry Orosmane, he orders her to repent and re-embrace Christianity: Zaira swears that she will do so.

Corasmino alerts the Sultan to the dangers which could arise from Lusignano return to Europe, but Orosmane does not want to refuse Zaira’s request. Meanwhile Nerestano in his turn attempts to persuade Zaira to end her liaison with the hated Sultan, reminding her that her old father is about to die of grief. Zaira does not wish to betray her love and Orosmane’s trust, but in the end she embraces her brother and decides to return to the Christian faith. The Sultan arrives and. when Zaira requests a postponement of the wedding, he suspects that Nerestano is a seducer and orders him. to leave the court.

Act II

Zaira’s rooms; a remote place near the quarters of the French knights; a hall of the Harem; a remote part of the Harem gardens.

Fatima encourages Zaira to forget Orosmane, who is so indignant at Zaira’s refusal that he wants to send her back among the slaves in the harem and find a woman more worthy of his love. Faced with Zaira’s tears, he asks for an explanation which she, bound by her promise to her brother, cannot give him at that moment. Orosmane agrees to wait one more day. Lusignano has died, and Nerestano blames his sister. The French knights ask Orosmane to postpone their departure so that they can comply with Lusignano’s wish to be buried in that land; the Sultan, out of love for Zaira, grants the request and pays no heed to warnings from Corasmino, who suspects that the request conceals a trick and who shows him a message in which Nerestano asks Zaira to meet him secretly. Orosmane is still doubtful and decides to test her: he will however have the secret message delivered to her. Zaira reads her brother’s letter and is torn between torment at having to betray the trust of her beloved and grief over her father’s death, for which she feels guilty. She faints into Fatima’s arms.

In a remote part of the harem gardens Orosmane and Corasmino are waiting to see if Zaira will go to the appointment with Nerestano. The pair arrive and Orosmane, seeing them ready to flee and believing them to be lovers, fatally wounds Zaira. At the revelation that they are brother and sister, he is overcome with grief and kills himself.

Saverio Mercadante: Zaira.

Today, it is Bellini's Zaira that has been seen on modern stages, while Mercadante's has continued to molder in its grave; in the 19th century, Mercadante's was the one that enjoyed success. This recording is the first of a projected series of recordings ("Essential Opera Rara") in which Opera Rara records the major highlights from a particular forgotten work. A fine cast of Opera Rara mainstays, including the Irish soprano Majella Cullagh, the excellent tenor Bruce Ford, and bass Alistair Miles, interprets this interesting work with their usual attention to musical detail and dramatic realism. Aside from the rather disappointing final scene, in which the music does not quite capture the enormity of the tragic ending, the rest of the opera contains remarkably beautiful and enjoyable passages. Zaira's duet with Orasmane, her big tragic aria in the penultimate scene, and the exciting trio in Act II, are all remarkable for their emotional thrust and melodic inspiration. Mercadante's scrupulous attention to orchestration throughout the work is a treat.
The most impressive singing comes from bass Alistair Miles, who is wonderful in the Tamburini role of Orasmane. The difficult (and abundant) coloratura poses no difficulties for Miles, who also uses his voice with great sensitivity to emotion; the tender affection of Orasmane for Zaira, his consuming jealousy, and his remorse and shock after he murders her, are painted with a varied and subtle palette of vocal colors. Almost his equal is Cullagh, whose voice (or so it seems to me) is progressively becoming more at home in dramatic roles such as this. Her rendition of the character's final aria is a tour de force, and proves just how effective Mercadante's music is in the right hands. Bruce Ford and Gary Magee have relatively less to do than Cullagh and Miles, but both sing with their usual consummate artistry. As is always the case with Opera Rara, the presentation of the set is nonpareil, with sumptuous and highly evocative art gracing the box cover and a substantial booklet accompanying the recording.

Orosmane - Alastair Miles
Zaira - Majella Cullagh
Nerestano - Bruce Ford
Lusignano - Garry Magee
Corasmino - Colin Lee
Fatima - Claire Wild
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir

Philharmonia Orchestra
David Parry


CD[a] - - - CD[b]

MASSENET: Ève

Otra de las óperas-oratorio de Massenet (Junto con Maria Magdalena y La Tierra Prometida), llema de religiosidad y (paradójicamente) de sensualidad. Una hermosa obra y una grabación excelente.

Ève is an oratorio in four parts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet. It was first performed at the Cirque d'été in Paris on March 18, 1875.

The oratorio is a recounting of the story of Adam and Eve. The first part introduces Eve as she is created to join Adam in the Garden of Eden. In the second part, Eve becomes tempted by the forbidden fruit and in the third she brings the fruit to Adam, which they share. In the fourth they are struck by God's curse and are cast out of Eden forever.

• Ève - soprano
• Adam - baritone
• Le Récitant - tenor

Jules Massenet

Ève

(Mysterium in 3 Parts)

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Link:

Massenet - Eve.rar

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MASSENET: Marie-Magdeleine

	MASSENET: Marie-Magdeleine Este es un Oratorio, estrictamente hablando, aunque en muchos aspectos se parece a una opera con 4 personajes y el coro. Fue el primer gran éxito de Massenet, que se especializaria después en retratar personajes femeninos. Una ópera llena de pathos y sensualidad. Marie-Magdeleine is an oratorio (Drame Sacré) in three acts and four parts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet, based on La vie de Jésus (1863) by Ernest Renan. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris on April 11, 1873. The first staged performance took place in Nice on February 9, 1903. It was Massenet's first success and won him the praise of Tchaikovsky, Gounod and Bizet. The story concerns the last days of Jesus from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. The subject initially caused some controversy, as some believed that physical love was implied between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. From today's perspective those implications are difficult to detect. While it contains some beautiful music and has been revived for certain singers, notably Régine Crespin, the work has not endured and is rarely performed. JIntérpretes: Jésus: Jaromír Achatzi Judas: Richard Haan Marthe: Pavlina Kambourova Méryem: Valentina Tschavdarova Czech Philharmonic Chorus of Brno, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Leoš Svárovský (cond.) Brno, 1994 Music composed by Jules Massenet. Libretto by Louis Gallet based on La vie de Jésus (1863) by Ernest Renan. First performance: 11 April 1873, Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris (concert performance). Principal Characters: Marie-Magdeleine (Méryem) Mezzo-Soprano Marthe Soprano Jésus Tenor Judas Bass
	Here is the Link to Streaming Audio: Jules Massenet: Marie-Magdeleine

MASSENET: Grisélidis

(Customized cover)

Otra de las hermosas óperas de Massenet. esta vez narrando la historia de la virtuosa Griselda, tentada una y otra vez por el Diablo. Una auténtica maravilla!

Grisélidis is an opera (described as a 'conte lyrique') in three acts and a prologue by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. It is based on the play by the same authors first performed at the Comédie-Française on 15 May 1891, which is drawn from the medieval tale of 'patient Grissil'.^[1] The story is set in 14th century Provence, and concerns the shepherdess, Grisélidis, and a number of attempts by the Devil to lure her into infidelity. Grisélidis' loyalty to her husband, The Marquis, is strong, however, and the devil is vanquished.

Massenet began composition in 1894, completing it by the end of that year, but revising it in the autumn 1898 prior to discussing a potential production with Albert Carré.^[2] It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on November 20, 1901, with Lucienne Bréval in the title role. The piece achieved 50 performances in the first six months at the Opéra-Comique, was withdrawn from the repertory in 1906, and in a half-century had been seen there 73 times.^[3]

According to Rodney Milnes, Grisélidis on its own terms, is one of Massenet’s most successful operas and does not deserve neglect: the action moves swiftly, the instrumentation is economic and delicate, and the melodies unconstrained, with a skilful mixture of comedy and sentiment, and a vocally rewarding title role.

The opera was staged in Nice, Algiers, Brussels and Milan in 1902; in Marseille in 1903 and 1950, and at the Paris Opéra in 1922. Although not part of the current operatic repertoire, more recently it has been seen in Wexford (1982), Strasbourg and Liège (1986) and Saint-Etienne (1992 in concert).^[5]

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, November 20, 1901 (Conductor: André Messager)
Grisélidis	soprano	Lucienne Bréval
Marquis de Saluces	baritone	Hector Dufranne
The Devil	bass	Lucien Fugère
Fiamina	soprano	Jeanne-Louise Tiphaine
Bertrade	soprano	Jeanne Daffetye
Loÿs	soprano	petite Suzanne
The prior	bass	Emile Jacquin
Gondebaud	baritone	Gustave Huberdeau
Alain	tenor	Adolphe Maréchal

Prologue

Evening time in the forest

The shepherd Alain sings of his love for Grisélidis. The Marquis, out hunting, sees her, is overwhelmed and proposes marriage, which she accepts, to the despair of Alain.

Act 1

Four years later

Grisélidis has a son and, as the Marquis departs on a Crusade, his servants promise to confine his wife, which he rejects, having complete trust in her. The devil overhears all this and, as he is unhappily married, explains that he and his wife get pleasure from deceiving husbands. The Marquis accepts the challenge and gives the Devil his ring as a pledge, then taking leave of his wife and son. Bertrade tries to distract Grisélidis by telling her the story of the return of Ulysses.

Act 2

On a castle terrace six months later, in autumn

Grisélidis dreams sadly of her absent husband, while the church bells toll. The Devil and his wife approach Grisélidis disguised as a slave-trader and a Persian houri, showing her the ring to prove that the Marquis has rejected Grisélidis. To tempt Grisélidis, the Devil conjures a magic garden and lures Alain there. The appearance of Loÿs determines Grisélidis not to return to Alain, but his disappearance distracts her, and the Devil takes the child away.

Act 3

While the castle servants search for Loÿs, the Devil, now disguised as an obsequious old man, tells Grisélidis that a pirate is holding Loÿs, and will only release the child in exchange for a kiss from the Marquise. The Marquis, on returning, meets the old man, who points out Grisélidis running to the shore, but seeing the ring on the Devil’s finger, realizes that he is the victim of deception. The husband and wife are reunited, they pray, and Loÿs is restored to them, to the song of a heavenly chorus.

Jules Massenet

Grisélidis

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Jules Massenet - Grisélidis

2 cds

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MASSENET: Amadís

Una ópera bellísima, de verdad, del Maestro Massenet. Tiene la peculiaridad de contar con un prólogo extraño, porque sobre una sinfonia orquestal un tenor va narrando los antecedentes de la historia del Caballero Amadís de Gaula, que después se completa con el resto de la ópera, ya más convencional, pero igualmente hermosa. El mejor Massenet!

Amadis is an opera in three acts with prologue by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie based on the Spanish knight-errantry romance Amadis de Gaula, originally of Portuguese origin, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.

It was first performed at the Opéra in Monte Carlo on April 1, 1922, nearly ten years after Massenet's death. Massenet had started to compose the piece in 1895 but shelved it and completed it clandestinely in the last years of his life. Amadis is one of three operas by Massenet to have premiered posthumously; the others are Panurge (1913) and Cléopâtre (1914).

Amadis has gained no lasting popularity but was revived (and recorded on the Koch Swann label) during the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne, France in 1988

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast[1], April 1, 1922 (Conductor: Léon Jehin)
Amadis	contralto	"Djéma Vécla" (Margherita Grandi)
Floriane	soprano	Nelly Martyl
Galaor	tenor	Goffin
Le Roi Raimbert	bass	Gustave Huberdeau
Wenzel of Norway	tenor	Charles Delmas
Zorzi of Sicily	tenor	Carlo Bertossa
Curneval of Thuringe	tenor	Sini
Perdigon of Ireland	baritone	Ceresole
Arnaud of Aquitaine	baritone	Amurgis
Golias of Spain	baritone	Morange
Orlinde	soprano	Lucette Korsoff
Béatrice	soprano	Bilhon
Simone	soprano	Rossignol
Guillemette	soprano	Orsoni
Marguerite	soprano	Rogery
Hélène	soprano	Lecroix
La Fée	spoken	Féval
Hunter	spoken	Stéphane
Princess Elisène	mute	Sedova
Amadis and Galaor as children	mute	Rosa Brothers

Synopsis

The story takes place in ancient Brittany and concerns the brothers Amadis and Galaor, separated at birth. Amadis kills Galaor in the final scene in a duel over the princess Floriane. When Amadis discovers magic stones around Galaor's neck identical to those given to him and his long lost brother by their dying mother, he realizes it is his brother he has killed.

Jules Massenet

Amadis

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Jules Massenet - Amadis.rar

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OperasRaras: MAYR: La Rosa Bianca e la Rosa Rossa

Otra hermosa ópera de Mayr, una de las que le dio gran éxito aunque después cayó en el olvido. Un compositor que necesita ser más representado, y grabado, sin duda

La Rosa bianca e la rosa rossa.
Melodramma eroico in due atti di Felice Romani, dal dramma di René-Charles-Guilbert de Pixérécourt La Rose blanche et la rose rouge

Music by Giovanni Simone Mayr 1763-1845

First performed in Genova, Teatro Sant’Agostino, 21 febbraio 1813

Characters	Voice
Clotilde	Soprano
Elvira	Soprano
Enrico	Soprano
Rodolfo	Basso
Ubaldo	Tenore
Vanoldo	Tenore
Notes

Da vent’anni operista di successo, Mayr scelse il giovane Felice Romani, destinato a celebri collaborazioni soprattutto con Bellini e Donizetti (ma anche con Rossini), per tradurre e adattare il libretto di Pixérécourt sulla guerra delle due rose. Il lavoro del letterato venne apprezzato sia dal compositore, che lo chiamerà nuovamente perMedea in Corintopochi mesi dopo, sia dal pubblico genovese, che riservò una calorosa accoglienza all’opera, inaugurando una serie di rappresentazioni di successo su scala europea, da Monaco a Lisbona, Parigi, Madrid e Londra. Il titolo rimase stabilmente nei cartelloni per un ventennio.

Atto primo. Vanoldo, conte di Seymour, ed Enrico, conte di Derby, benché amici si trovano sugli opposti fronti della guerra delle due rose. Enrico, partigiano della rosa rossa, è caduto in disgrazia per la sconfitta della sua fazione e si trova in esilio; oltre alla patria, ora rischia di perdere anche l’amata Clotilde, che il padre Rodolfo, sire di Mortimer, ha promesso proprio a Vanoldo, nel contesto di un disegno di riconciliazione politica tra i due partiti. Furibondo, Enrico compare a sconvolgere la cerimonia nuziale, guadagnandosi così la condanna a morte.

Atto secondo. In preda al rimorso, Vanoldo gli permette di fuggire dalla prigione sostituendosi a lui. Nel frattempo giunge inaspettata l’amnistia reale per Enrico, che gli garantisce la salvezza nonché la sospirata mano di Clotilde.

Il soggetto storico, di tipico gusto romantico, potrebbe rivaleggiare senza difficoltà con i melodrammi posteriori di vent’anni (non a caso l’autore è Romani: la situazione drammatica presenta analogie con quella di Lucia di Lammermoor). Mayr organizzò la vicenda attraverso complessi scenici di particolare efficacia, forzando le norme del melodramma per ottenere grandi scene a effetto, come nel finale primo, che si conclude con la drammatica cattura di Enrico. Testimonianza della felice propensione del compositore per i concertati sono il singolare ‘coro e cavatina’ di Clotilde nel primo atto, che permette l’incontro dei due amanti (Enrico, presente in incognito fra i contadini, può offrire alla donna un mazzo di fiori), e il celebre duetto dei due amici ritrovati “È deserto il bosco intorno”, che venne subito estrapolato dall’opera ed eseguito separatamente.
Fonte: Dizionario dell'Opera Baldini&Castoldi

This is a recording of a 1990 performance in Bergamo. Antonacci is excellent as Clotilde, the woman pursued by two men from the opposite camps in the Wars of the Roses. She is in good company. The sound is good. Chorley called ROSA BIANCA a "poor opera" when it was first performed in London in the 1820s. It is certainly not an exciting one in the way that this composer's MEDEA IN CORINTO is. Mayr's and librettist Romani's view of a heraldic and pastoral Wars of the Roses England is simply too bland. Vanoldo, the opera's wishy washy villain just can't scare us the way Medea does. What this work does have is tune after beautiful tune, superb orchestration and first rate choral writing.
The performance is ably conducted by Thomas Briccetti and features particularly fine work from Anna Caterina Antonacci and Luca Canonici. Susanna Anselmi in the travesti role of Enrico, once a favorite role of Giuditta Pasta, hasn't got a particularly attractive voice, but is fully up to the role's considerable technical demands.
A fine sound recording.

Giovanni Simone Mayr

La Rosa Bianca e La Rosa Rossa

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Overture & Act I (1ª Parte)

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Act I (2ª Parte)

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Act II

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OperasRaras: MAYR: Ginevra di Scozia

Ginevra di Scozia is an opera in two acts by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Antonio Salvi's, Ginevra, principessa di Scozia, which in turn was adapted from Cantos 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. Ginevra di Scozia premiered on 21 April 1801 at the Regio Teatro Nuovo in Trieste to celebrate the inauguration of the new theatre. The story is virtually identical to that of Handel's Ariodante which shares the same source for the libretto

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast[1] 21 April 1801
Ginevra, daughter of the King of Scotland	soprano	Teresa Bertinotti
Ariodante, an Italian soldier prince, betrothed to Ginevra	soprano castrato	Luigi Marchesi
Polinesso, Duke of Albany, Ariodante's rival	tenor	Giacomo David
Dalinda, attendant on Ginevra, secretly in love with Polinesso	soprano	Angiola Pirovani-Bianchi
Re di Scozia, King of Scotland	bass
Lurcanio, Ariodante's brother	tenor	Gaetano Bianchi
Vafrino, Ariodante's squire	tenor	Pietro Righi
Gran Solitario, a hermit	bass

Opera Rara's Ginevra di Scozia, recorded live at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste in 2001, is one of those rare recordings with which you really can't lose - there truly is something for almost everyone here. Don't like Italian opera? Mayr was Bavarian by birth, and his style has more in common with Mozart and Beethoven than with Rossini. On the other hand, if you're a bel canto devotee and/or historian, you can have a ball plumbing Mayr's fascinating score for pre-echoes of Rossini - and of Mayr's most illustrious pupil, Donizetti. Finally, if you just love great singing, you'll find this recording a sinfully rich smorgasbord - in fact, this is possibly the best live recording of an opera I've ever heard.
The performance isexcellent, and if you like VERY high soprano singing, you've hit the mother lode. Elizabeth Vidal in the title role takes her voice far, far, above the high C's and D's that mark the threshold of comfort for most mortal sopranos. Yet this exospheric singing is not the limit of Vidal's powers, for in addition, the role demands a melting legato line and the ability to perform amazing feats of vocal acrobatics. None of this phases Vidal a bit. The truly amazing thing, however, isn't how high her upper extension is, nor is it the marvelous accuracy and effortlessness her coloratura. Rather, it's the sheer beauty and brilliance of tone that is present throughout that makes this performance such a special occasion. Never do we feel like we are listening to a bloodless mechanical songbird; every note, irrespective of how far in orbit it may lie, pours forth with richness and vibrancy.
Vidal is able to ACT with her voice, conveying at all times the character's purity, innocence and vulnerability. Witness her despair when, in the heartrending finale to Act I, she hurtles to an unbelievable G above high C, a feat she later repeats. These are not tasteless circus tricks. Vidal (and Mayr - whose score actually `only' calls for notes up to E in alt) use such high notes to intensify the emotional impact of the heroine's plight. We are treated to more such acuto sfogato throughout the opera, with at least one more high G and a plethora of E's. After all this, Sutherland and Sills sounds like mezzos. Vidal is so good that had the remainder of the cast squawked and croaked every note of their music, the substantial price of this set would have been well worth it.
But they meets a very high standard of excellence as well. In particular, the young Italian mezzo Daniela Barcellona proves herself fully equal to the challenges of the fearsome castrato role of Ariodante, offering a healthy balance of technical aplomb and histrionic realism. In both of Ariodante's big scenes, Barcellona gives real shape and substance to the character's pain and suffering, without ever losing beauty of tone and accuracy in her runs, trills, and other ornaments. As thrilling as her performance is, one cannot help but wonder what might have happened had Horne discovered this role, for only a more consistently manly lower range would have made Barcellona's rendition any better.
As the arrantly evil Polinesso, Antonino Siragusa continues to show great promise, as in his recent Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra (also for Opera Rara). Siragusa has no trouble negotiating the difficult coloratura and high-lying vocal line, and in this regard his performance is quite impressive. The lesser roles are sung quite competently - Bass Luca Grassi deserves special mention for his sonorous and dignified portrayal of the beleaguered King, who is torn between love for his daughter and his duties under the law. Countertenor Marco Azzari can boast remarkable agility and an impressive upper extension. He uses his dramatic gifts to breathe life into Lurcanio's despondency and subsequent ire, but his voice won't be everyone's cup of tea, for it does suffer from the hootiness and one-dimensionality often typical of the countertenor. The chorus of the Teatro Verdi is in fine form, and are able to elevate themselves beyond the status of mere commentators on the action to the level of players in the drama - and at the same time they don't squander the chances offered them by Mayr's beautiful choral writing. The sound is luxuriant and the intrusions from the strangely reserved audience are few and quite unobtrusive.
Opera Rara is unsurpassed-and in fact, unequalled-in the presentation department. A substantial 219-page booklet is beautifully produced, with a complete libretto in both Italian and English, a foreword by Opera Rara's artistic director Patric Schmid, a fascinating essay about the reconstruction of the score of the opera, and a lengthy and informative article by Jeremy Commons discussing the history of the opera and its music.

Giovanni Simone Mayr

Ginevra di Scozia

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Sinfonia & Acto I

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Acto II

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