RAYMOND AND AGNES Grand opera in three acts Composer: Edward Loder Libretto: Edward Fitzball First performed: Theatre Royal, Manchester, 14 August 1855 Dossier So there is opera in England between Handel and G&S! Retrospect Opera, devoted to British opera, released last month the premiere recording of Loder's Raymond and Agnes (1855), one of the most important mid-19th century … Continue reading 86. Raymond and Agnes (Edward Loder)
Melodramma serio in 2 acts Composer: Saverio Mercadante Libretto: Paolo Pola First performed: Teatro la Fenice, Venice, 21 February 1826 CHARACTERS CARITEA (soprano): Ester Mombelli DON ALFONSO, King of Portugal (tenor): Domenico Donzelli DON DIEGO, under the name of Don Pirro of Aragon, son of Don Fernando (contralto): Isabella Fabbrica DON FERNANDO, old Spanish captain general (bass): Domenico Cosselli DON RODRIGO, … Continue reading 85. Caritea, regina di Spagna (Saverio Mercadante)
Giovanni Pacini may hold the record as the 19th century's most prolific opera composer. His contemporaries reckoned he'd written a hundred works; closer attention whittled this down to a more manageable 74. Nearly all of them have been forgotten. “This abandonment,” Arthur Pougin (Le Ménestrel, 28 October 1866) wrote, “is the just punishment that awaits a man … Continue reading 84. The prolific Pacini in Pompei
PELAGIO Tragedia lirica in 4 acts Composer: Saverio Mercadante Libretto: Marco D’Arienzo First performed: Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 12 February 1857 Dossier CHARACTERS PELAGIO (baritone): Filippo Coletti ABDEL-AOR, governor of Gijón (tenor): Lodovico Graziani BIANCA, Pelagio’s daughter (soprano): Fortunata Tedesco GIRALDA, Bianca’s companion (contralto): Schiavi ASAN, captain of the Moors (bass): Marco Arati ALIATAR, guard on Abdel’s rooms (bass): Nicola Monti MENDO … Continue reading 83. Pelagio (Saverio Mercadante)
Opéra in 3 acts Composer: Léo Delibes Libretto: Edmond Gondinet & Philippe Gille First performed: Opéra-Comique, Paris, 14 April 1883, conducted by Jules Danbé. Production: Charles Ponchard; sets: Auguste Rubé, Philippe Chaperon, Jean-Baptiste Lavastre, Antoine Lavastre, Eugène Carpezat; costumes: Théophile Thomas Dossier This is for Phil. CHARACTERS LAKMÉ, a priestess, daughter of Nilakantha (1st soprano): Marie Van … Continue reading 81. Lakmé (Léo Delibes)
KAMENNY GOST {THE STONE GUEST} / Каменный гость Composer: Alexander Dargomyzhsky Libretto: Alexander Pushkin’s play (1830) First performed: Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, 16 February 1872 (Old Style), conducted by E.F. Nápravnik Dossier CHARACTERS DON JUAN (tenor): Fydor Komissarzhevsky LEPORELLO (bass): Osip Petrov DONNA ANNA (soprano): Yuliya Platonova DON CARLOS (baritone): Ivan Melnikov LAURA (mezzo-soprano): Mariya Ilyina A MONK (bass): Vladimir Sobolev FIRST … Continue reading 80. Kamenny Gost {The Stone Guest} (Alexander Dargomyzhsky)
IL GUARANY Opera-ballo in 4 acts Composer: Antônio Carlos Gomes Libretto: Antonio Scalvini First performed: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 19 March 1870 Dossier CHARACTERS Don ANTONIO DE MARIZ, old Portuguese hidalgo (bass): Teodoro Coloni CECILIA, his daughter (soprano): Marie Sass PERY, chief of the Guarany tribe (tenor): Giuseppe Villani Don ALVARO, Portuguese adventurer (tenor): Giuseppe Masato GONZALES, Spanish adventurer, Don Antonio's … Continue reading 78. Il Guarany (Antônio Carlos Gomes)
