Gounod's Romeo & Juliette - best Recording?
mkr...@prodigy.com
>Here's another question:
>
>What CD recording would you recommend of Romeo & Juliette? Neither the
>Penguin Guide nor the Gramophone Guide lists any at all! The voices
>should be lovely and lyrical.
>
>--
>Lena k...@u.washington.edu
> http://weber.u.washington.edu/~keb
You may be surprised to know that there is a recording on 3CDs that was made
in 1912. It is virtually complete and received a very good review recently
(Fanfare?). I expect that the French cast will sound quite idiomatic, unlike
the Freni and Corelli recording I have.
There is a Bjorling recording made at the Met available for a contribution to the
Met of at least $100; it is probably worth it.
..Bob Berbec
Larry Victor
>Here's another question:
>What CD recording would you recommend of Romeo & Juliette? Neither the
>Penguin Guide nor the Gramophone Guide lists any at all! The voices
>should be lovely and lyrical.
******************************************************************************************************************************************
There is a very good recording with Catherine Malfitano and Alfredo
Kraus. I have it on cassette but don't know if it's available
commercially at present.
Larry
*********************************************************************************
Joseph Colombo
wrote:
>Here's another question:
>
>What CD recording would you recommend of Romeo & Juliette? Neither the
>Penguin Guide nor the Gramophone Guide lists any at all! The voices
>should be lovely and lyrical.
>
>--
>Lena k...@u.washington.edu
> http://weber.u.washington.edu/~keb
>
If my memory serves me correctly, there was an (EMI?) recording with
Freni and Corelli some number of years ago. My recollection was that
it was not especially "French" although that could be because Corelli
bleated his way through the opera al a Mascagni.
University of San Diego
jcol...@acusd.edu
Kathleen Bennett
>In <48vjbu$i...@nntp4.u.washington.edu>, k...@u.washington.edu (Kathleen
Bennett) writes:
>>
>>What CD recording would you recommend of Romeo & Juliette? Neither the
>>Penguin Guide nor the Gramophone Guide lists any at all! The voices
>>should be lovely and lyrical.
I just read in Gramophone that Muti will be recording this with Roberto
Alagna (whose performance in the LaserDisc enamored me of this opera in
the first place) and Angela Georghiu. Oh joy, oh rapture! I will just
wait for this recording, I think.
George Kurio
> I wouldn't be surprised at the issue of a CD of this performance - you
> mention it s on laser disc is it? Marvellous, a wonderful opera.Get the
> video now!
I managed to purchase a copy of the LD. I frequently browse through
the LD section at stores which carry opera LD's and have only
seen that one copy.
>
> Dave Roberts
> London
George Kurio
David Roberts
I would get hold of the video of Alagna/Gheorghiu released in GB at
least. I don't know if it is available in Washington but it should be
everywhere by now. It was relayed 'live' last November from the Royal
Opera House, London and I was lucky enough to be there. It was truly an
incredible evening, the most remarkable night there for years. Alagna
scored a storm of bouquets and brought the house down, in fact it really
launched him to more popular fame, and as you may haver heard is cited as
the new Pavarotti, if there can ever be a nother 'Pav' !,He was back with
Gheorghiu early this year in Boheme but only a shadow of his Romeo though
still endearing all the same.
I wouldn't be surprised at the issue of a CD of this performance - you
mention it s on laser disc is it? Marvellous, a wonderful opera.Get the
video now!
Dave Roberts
London
som...@som.com
Is the LASERDISC of this opera still available? I saw the opera and have
always loved it. Anyone know if a laserdisc of FAUST is also available?
Paul Waldinger
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David Roberts
following on the subject of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette I wrote a short
narrative which I posted to an Opera conference here in England following
that evening I had at the Royal Opera House, London. I thought that as
it was related to the topic contributors to this usenet group may like to
read it.
Romeo et Juliette
Charles Francois Gounod
Gounod in this country(GB),was mostly well known for the writing‘sugary
church music’ than being the most successful composer of one of the
dozens of operas about Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Literally
hundreds of composers have supplied incidental music for the play but not
one has achieved such success as Gounod.
At its heart are the four great duets, the meeting at the Capulets’ ball,
the balcony love confession, the bedroom parting and lastly, the joint
suicide at the tomb. During composition of Romeo et Juliette (1867)
Gounod said, “it was developing as he had wished, Act I was Brilliant,
Act II Tender and Dreamy, Act III Bold and animated with jewels, Act IV
Dramatic, Act V Tragic. A fine progression”.
For a while, in the early 1900’s, Romeo et Juliette outstripped Faust as
the New York Met’s favourite, due mainly to the impact made by Jean de
Reske and his brother, the bass Edouard. Already great favourites in
London and Paris, Jean and Edouard made their debuts at the Met on 14
December 1891. The heroine was Shanghai born American soprano, Emma Eames
who became one of few genuine rivals to the supremacy of Nellie Melba as
the turn of the century prima donna.
Today we have a remarkable French tenor Roberto Alagna who had rave
review notices for his performance last November at the Royal Opera
House. For the ladies, Alagna is a bit of a 'heart throb', has been
described as sounding 'not unlike a young Pavarotti' and certainly this
*is* noticeable in his portrayal of Romeo alongside Romanian soprano,
Leontina Vaduva. The commanding figure of Robert Lloyd, takes the bass
role of the Friar Laurent, in Act III's scene 1, when the couple are
married.
A recording of last November's Royal Opera production is to be shown on
BBC 2 on Good Friday, 14 April at 2.00pm. It is an opportunity not to be
missed, captivating a moment of high achievement in French romantic
opera.
Dave Roberts
London.
David Roberts
Gheorghiu as Juliette but none other than Leontina Vaduva alongside
Roberto Alagna at the Royal Opera House London's performances a year ago,
November 1994.This has been recorded and released on video at least in
this country and the partnership was charismatic. The LD you remark upon
with Alagna/Gheorghiu, no doubt blended just as successfully, must have
been from another performance recorded at another Opera House. Do you by
any chance know where?
>Dave Roberts
>London
>
Kathleen Bennett
The forthcoming CD audio recording that I read about in Gramophone is
Alagna & Georghiu.
Sorry for the confusion.
Ann Feeney
Swenson and Placido Domingo. I wonder if the recording industry is doing
another Herodiade (no recordings for far too long, and then two out within
a very short time of one another). I'm not sure that Domingo still has
the youthful sounding lyricism and grace that the role needs, but I'd
imagine that Swenson will be very good, if her outings at LOC (Anne
Truelove and Norina in Don Pasquale) and her recording of Je veux vivre
are any indication.
In article <49knj0$r...@nntp4.u.washington.edu>,
--
Ann Feeney
Resource Center Librarian I don't speak for Ligature.
Ligature, Inc. I don't sing for La Scala, either.
(312)648-1233 And I only do windows on a computer.
afe...@mcs.com
Kathleen Bennett
bit of an Electra complex - pardon the pun - to the story of marrying a
teenage Juliette.)