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After the successful première of 'Lucrezia Borgia' in Milan in 1833 a performance at the San Carlo Opera in Naples was barred by the censor. The opera was first transformed by Romano Felice and Gaetano Donizetti into 'La cena della vendetta', then 'Elisa Fosco', as well as 'Adelina' before Donizetti's final attempt to convince the censor with 'Dalinda' in 1838 failed. In this final attempt Donizetti even wrote a completely new third act. With the fifth 'thumbs down' from the censor Donizetti gave up and 'Dalinda' was forgotten. Until yesterday evening (14 May 23), when the Berlin Opera Group produced semi-staged première of the critical edition by Eleonora Di Cintio published by Ricordi  to resounding applause.

The story is transferred to Persia at the time of the Third Crusade at the end of the 12th century.
Cast:
Dalinda - Lidia Fridman, soprano
Acmet - Paolo Bordogna, bass-baritone
Ildemaro - Luciano Ganci, tenor
Ugo d'Asti - Yajie Moreno Garic, mezzo-soprano
Six other male characters
Chorus & Orchestra of the Berlin Opera Group
Conducted by Felix Krieger
How much of Lucrezia survived the changes, omissions, end expansions demanded by the censor I cannot say. I feel the result is a fully fledged Donizetti opera that can stand the competition from Lucrezia Borgia.

Deutschlandfunk Kultur 27 May 2023 at 19:05

Felix Weingartner

,,Orestes", Oper in drei Teilen nach der ,,Orestie" des Aischylos

Broadcast of a recording from 20 May 2023 in the Theater Erfurt
 

Agamemnon, König von Argos – Kakhaber Shavidze, Bass
Klytaimnestra, seine Frau – Ilia Papandreou, Sopran
Orestes – Brett Sprague, Tenor
Elektra – Daniela Gerstenmeyer, Sopran
Kassandra, Tochter von König Priamos – Laura Nielsen, Sopran
Athene – Candela Gotelli, Sopran
Opernchor des Theaters Erfurt
Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt
Leitung: Alexander Prior

Felix Weingartner was one of the most famous conductors of his time, but he also frequently composed symphonies, chamber music and stage works. For his opera, he chose Aeschylus's "Orestia", the oldest surviving stage trilogy in theatre history. The opera "Orestes" was written not long before Richard Strauss's much more radical "Elektra", which is based on the same material and whose success prompted Weingartner's albeit ambitious work to be forgotten.

Last night I attended a wonderful performance of this too seldom performed oratorio. It was recorded and will be transmitted on Deutschlandfunk Kultur on Monday 10th April 2023 at 20:03. I hope someone can record it as I will be away.

Konzert from the Philharmonie Berlin
Recording from 05.03.2023

Georg Schumann
Ruth, Oratorium op. 50

Marcelina Román, Sopran
Julie-Marie Sundal, Alt
Jonas Böhm, Bariton
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Bass
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
Leitung: Jörg-Peter Weigle


Die männlichen Hauptdarsteller des Alten Testaments waren jähzornige Totschläger (Kain), bockig (Noah), der Vielweiberei und Maßlosigkeit verfallen (König Salomo) oder waren neidisch bis aufs Blut, wie die Söhne Jakobs, die ihren Bruder Josef erst in eine Zisterne warfen, um ihn dann an Sklavenhändler zu verschachern. Ein Vorbild an Demut, Sanftmütigkeit, Treue und Liebe zu Gott war dagegen Ruth. Sie ist die Großmutter von König David, und damit ist auch Jesus mit ihr verwandt. Im Alten Testament erzählt das Buch Ruth von ihr, das den Komponisten Georg Schumann zu dem gleichnamigen Oratorium inspirierte, das zu seinen wichtigsten Werken zählt. Als ,,Ruth" 1909 unter Schumanns Leitung mit großem Orchester und wuchtigem Chor uraufgeführt wurde, jubelte die Presse über die ,,milde, klare Schönheit" und die ,,Gefühlswärme" und schwärmte: ,,Die Chöre sind Gebilde von wahrhaft berauschender Schönheit". Auch international wurde dieses Oratorium gefeiert. Allerdings konnte Schumann das Oratorium in seiner ursprünglichen Fassung während der NS-Zeit nicht mehr aufführen. Es war den Nazis zu bibelfromm und zu jüdisch. Schumann, der nie Mitglied der NSDAP war, wollte sein Lieblingswerk aber unbedingt durch diese Zeit retten und schrieb den Text um. Aus ,,Ruth" wurde das ,,Lied der Treue" und die Handlung spielte nun nicht mehr im Heiligen Land, sondern in China. Nach dem Krieg nahm er die Änderungen wieder zurück. Wenn die Chöre von berauschender Schönheit nun unter der Leitung von Jörg-Peter Weigle in Frankfurt erklingen, dann wieder in ihrer Urfassung.


The male protagonists of the Old Testament were hot-tempered killers (Cain), stubborn (Noah), addicted to polygamy and excess (King Solomon) or were jealous to the bone, like the sons of Jacob, who first threw their brother Joseph into a cistern then bartering him to slave traders. On the other hand, Ruth was a model of humility, meekness, faithfulness and love for God. She is the grandmother of King David, and so Jesus is related to her.
In the Old Testament, the book of Ruth tells of her, which inspired the composer Georg Schumann to write the oratorio of the same name, which is one of his most important works. When "Ruth" was premiered in 1909 under Schumann's direction with a large orchestra and a powerful choir, the press cheered the "mild, clear beauty" and the "warmth of feeling" and raved: "The choirs are creations of truly intoxicating beauty". This oratorio was also celebrated internationally. However, Schumann was no longer able to perform the oratorio in its original version during the Nazi era. It was too religious and too Jewish for the Nazis. Schumann, who was never a member of the NSDAP, was determined to save his favourite work during this time and rewrote the text. "Ruth" became the "Song of Faithfulness" and the action was no longer set in the Holy Land but in China. After the war he reversed the changes. When the choruses of intoxicating beauty are heard in Frankfurt under the direction of Jörg-Peter Weigle, they are back in their original version.

A specially recorded performance of this Meyerbeer rarity was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur on 18th February 2023 and has now been posted on youTube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w5972JJoP4&t=69s

The recording is based on the staged version in Bonn during the previous season and is a new edition based on all the available material that reflects the second performance at the Royal Opera House in Berlin in 1844.  This production was recorded over three days at the end of last December and is obviously intended as a CD release.
For this performance a narrator has been added.

Coming during the Festival Val d'Itria on 19 & 20 July 2023!

'L'Adorable Bel-Boul' is a one-act operetta by Jules Massenet (1842-1912) to a libretto by Paul Poirson.

It was created on April 17, 1873 at the Circle of the artistic union (circle of Mirlitons). Never published, this work fell into oblivion until July 2017 when the Divertissements royaux troupe (now renamed Opera-ci, Opera-la) revived it during its festival at the Château de Chabenet on the initiative of the soprano Marie-Laure Brossolasco.

Characters:
Zaï-Za, pupil of Ali-Bazar (soprano)
Fatime, follower of Zaï-Za (mezzo-soprano)
Ali-Bazar, merchant (baritone)
Sidi-Toupi, whirling dervish (tenor)
Hassan, in love with Zaï-Za (tenor)Plot

The plot takes place at the merchant Ali-Bazar in the city of Samarkand.

Zaï-Za returns from the extraordinary session given at the mosque by the whirling dervish Sidi-Toupi. She is very restless; a young man has just saved her from the fury of the dervish and his followers, provoked by the loss of her veil during the ceremony. Young man who hastened to return home with a bouquet leaving no doubt about his intentions.

However, Ali-Bazar has just told Zaï-Za that she could not marry until her daughter Bel-Boul was. But Bel-Boul, in addition to being scary ugly, has an execrable character and of course no one wants him... except old Omar for a dowry of 1000 sequins. But for Ali-Bazar this is not an option.

Zaï-Za, with the help of her servant Fatime, is looking for a solution, when it comes of itself in the person of the dervish Sidi-Toupi. Having seen the features of Zaï-Za, he falls in love with her and comes to ask her in marriage. Fatime immediately makes him believe that his mistress is actually called Bel-Boul, and that he will have to use a stratagem because Ali-Bazar does not want to marry her and discourages suitors by making her look ugly.

Sidi-Toupi falls into the trap and goes so far as to promise 1000 sequins if he changes his mind. When the veil falls on the truth, everything works out for Zaï-Za and her lover Hassan. Sidi-Toupi withdraws by paying the 1000 sequins which will be used for the marriage of Bel-Boul with the old Omar. So they can get married. As for the dervish, he will return home without saying a word, at the risk of being the laughing stock of all Samarkand.

1st October 21:30 in Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Hugo Kaun
,,Minnehaha" und ,,Hiawatha", Sinfonische Dichtungen op. 43
Sinfonie Nr. 3 e-Moll op. 96

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Conductor: Jonathan Stockhammer

In the downloads section two mp3 files:

Saint-Saëns, Ouverture de Fête, opus 133.
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo
Kazuki Yamada

Massenet, La Nef triomphale.
Choeur de l'opera de Monte-Carlo
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo
Kazuki Yamada

Two more works by Franz Xaver Scharwenka played by the Philharmonie Poznań and conducted by Łukasz Borowicz.

The Overture to the opera ,,Mataswintha".

,,König Witichis' Werbung" (King Witich's Courtship) from the opera ,,Mataswintha".

Two mp3 files in the downloads section.

[From the Bonn Theatre homepage.]

I don't know about anyone else but I have been waiting a very long time to hear Alberto Franchetti's Asrael.

The opera will be premièred on 16th October 2022 in the theatre in Bonn.

From the Bonn Theatre homepage.

Alongside Giacomo Puccini, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Pietro Mascagni, Alberto Franchetti was considered a great hope for Italian music. His first opera, ASRAEL, to a libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, was published in Reggio Emilia on February 11, 1888 (largely at his father's expense). The premiere was so successful that Italy's largest music publisher, Ricordi, immediately got in touch and offered to publish the piece. In addition, Giuseppe Verdi recommended that his younger colleague be commissioned to commission a festive opera to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America. The critics, enthusiastic about ASRAEL, connected the name of the young composer with Meyerbeer, as whose modern descendant he was traded. Ironically, the country that was his special love - with GERMANIA he wrote the opera of the wars of liberation - then posed the danger for the last years of his life: Since Franchetti was Jewish, his music was no longer allowed to be played in Germany after 1933. After Italy adopted the »racial laws« in 1938, the old composer's situation in his home country deteriorated considerably; only the intercession of Pietro Mascagni, who was a member of the Partito Nazionale Fascista, prevented the worst.

ASRAEL was not performed after 1945. As in the case of EIN FELDLAGER IN SCHLESIEN, the performance here is based on material specially created for the Bonn production.

This production will be recorded by Deutschlandfunk Kultur and broadcast with a time delay.

On Saturday 2nd April in Deutschlandfunk Kultur at 19:05 CET

Duke Ernst II. of Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha
,,Santa Chiara"
Romantic opera in three acts

Charlotte – Lena Kutzner, Sopran
Bertha – Marianne Schechtel, Mezzosopran
Victor – Patrick Vogel, Tenor
Alexis – Johannes Mooser, Bariton
Aurelius – Rafael Helbig-Kostka, Tenor
Alphonse – Tomasz Wija, Bassbariton
Herbert – Mikko Järviluoto, Bass

Chor des Staatstheaters Meiningen
Meininger Hofkapelle
Leitung. Philippe Bach

After the three known to me recordings of Mascagni's much avoided Il piccolo Marat there could be two recordings on the horizon!
This year saw the 100dreth anniversary of the première of the opera and within a short space of time there have been two staged performances in Livorno and a concert performance in the Concertgebouw.

Link to detail of the Livorno production:

https://impiccioneviaggiatore.iteatridellest.com/2021/12/19/livorno-il-piccolo-marat-pietro-mascagni-teatro-goldoni-12-dicembre-2021/

And one for the streaming on World Concert Hall of the Concertgebouw performance:

https://www.worldconcerthall.com/en/schedule/mascagnis_il_piccolo_marat_with_la_colla_hartig_relyea_and_wesseling_from_amsterdam/57679/

I have recorded the Concertgebouw performance and will post it soon if I can break off listening to it!

1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 und 10 April 2022
Teatro de la Zarzuela
Málaga,
Spain.

Isaac Albéniz:
The Magic Opal,
with Ruth Iniesta / Carmen Romeu, Santiago Ballerina / Leonardo Sánchez, Luis Cansino / Rodrigo Esteves,
Coro y Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid,
Guillermo García Calvo, conductor.

Today at 21:30 CET on Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Hans Sommer
Orchester- und Ensemblelieder auf Texte von Heinrich Heine, Felix Dahn, Julius Wolff, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe u.a.

Mojca Erdmann, Sopran
Anke Vondung, Mezzosopran
Benjamin Appl, Bariton
Mauro Peter, Tenor
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Leitung: Guillermo García Calvo

Isn't it wonderful how some "lost" music does surface!

philharmonie berlin
mi 22. juni 2022
20 uhr
Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek – Der Frieden
Anton Bruckner – Messe in f-Moll
Simone Schneider, Sopran
Julie-Marie Sundal, Alt
Michael Thomas Allen, Tenor
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Bass
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
Dirigent: Jörg-Peter Weigle

Frieden eine Vision

Note translated from the advance notice:

At the end of the season, on January 14, 1915 a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Choir with the same works as will be given on 22nd June 2022: Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek's Frieden (Peace) - A Vision for Choir, Large Orchestra and Organ (as a world premiere) together with Anton Bruckner's Mass in F minor (as a Berlin first performance). Performing this programme six months after the start of the World War was courageous and opposed the prevailing affirmation of the war at the time.

After the end of the war, Reznicek's Frieden was considered lost. It was not until 2018 that Michael Wittmann was able to find a complete copy in an American archive. He arranged the printing at Wedemark, from which we will sing. The fact that we are performing this vision of peace, composed after a nightmare in 1913, a second time after over 100 years together with Bruckner's Mass in F minor which combines his symphonic music and choral singing in a masterly way, fits in well with our time.

Palazetto Bru Zane have announced the first recording of Saint-saens' oratorio The Promised Land:

https://bru-zane.com/evento/the-promised-land-2/

See also the following link for a description of this work which was first performed in Gloucester Cathedral.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Promised_Land_(Saint-Sa%C3%ABns)

In youTube there is a recording which I surmise is the one referred to in the Wikepedia article:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEsmdIDgHZ0

The full concert performance of Ludomir Różycki's Casanova with solists, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, and conducted by Łukasz Borowicz is now available on youTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8vB3_sC39o

I have an mp3 copy if anyone is interested.

Antonín Dvorák - composer not unsung but work unknown

In the downloads file is a broadcast of the original version of Dvorák's comic opera King and Charcoal Burner. Until last September the opera had not been heard since the 1919/20 season at the National Theatre in Prague.

Hans Gál
Concertino für Violine und Streichorchester op. 52
Erez Ofer, Violine
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Leitung: Frank Beermann
Produktion: Deutschlandfunk Kultur 2016

7 March 2020 at 19.30 in Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Live from the theatre in Heidelberg

Hans Gál
,,Die heilige Ente – ein Spiel mit Göttern und Menschen"
Oper in einem Vorspiel und drei Akten
Libretto: Karl Michael von Levetzow und Leo Feld

Mandarin – Ipča Ramanović
Li – Carly Owen
Kuli Yang – Winfrid Mikus
Tänzerin – Hye-Sung Na
Gaukler – James Homann
Bonze – Wilfried Staber
Haushofmeister – Joao Terleira
Chor und Extrachor des Theaters und Orchesters Heidelberg
Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg
Conductor: Dietger Holm

A moment of carelessness puts poor Kuli Yang in dire straits. During a forbidden look at Li, the mandarin's wife, the duck that he has to deliver to the court is stolen. Yang faces the death penalty, when the gods intervene and swap heads of coolie and mandarin. In this way, Yang manages to save his life, enjoy Li's love and repeal restrictive laws. But when he also wants to abolish the gods, it becomes too colourful for them! They cancel the exchange, but nothing will be as it was before. And where did the duck go?

Wexford Main Stage October 2020

Goldmark's "Ein Wintermärchen" will get a production by Dmitry Bertman with conductor Markus Bosh leading the work.
Performance Dates: Oct. 20-29, 2020

Walter Le Moli will direct Thomas' "Le Songe d'une nuit d'été." The French opera will be conducted by Guillaume Tourniarie.
Performance Dates: Oct. 21-27, 2020

Francesco Cilluffo conducts Catalani's "Edmea." The opera will be directed by Julia Burbech.
Performance Dates: Oct. 22-31, 2020

I fear for "Le Songe d'une nuit d'été." . The recording from Compiègne lasts 195 mins so will probably be pruned in view that the "Ballet Music No. 1" (only 7'20") was considered too much for the recent broadcast and future CD of Stanford's "The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan".

Saturday November 9th - Wexford Festival Opera presents Stanford's Veiled Prophet 
7pm An Oriental Romance : Thomas Moore's Lalla Rookh. 
200 years after it was published, An Oriental Romance tells the story of Thomas Moore's epic poem Lalla Rookh, a tale of Arabian princesses, adventure and the exotic East, and explores the music it inspired. Most people associate Thomas Moore with his Irish Melodies, some of which are still very well known centuries after they were written, but his work Lalla Rookh has been largely forgotten.  At the time, however, it was a cultural phenomenon, repeatedly reprinted, translated into various languages, and a source of inspiration for painters, playwrights and, above all, composers, including Robert Schumann, Charles Villiers Stanford, Félicien David and many others.  Contributors include mezzo sopranos Martha O'Brien and Helen Aiken, pianist Aoife O'Sullivan and music students at Queen's University Belfast who perform some rare musical works inspired by Moore's poem.