Ettore Bellini News
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2024-03-29
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2024-03-13 08:05:00
Little short of a revelation: Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques & Christophe Rousset explore Wagner's influences with In the Shadows
In the Shadows: Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Halévy, Méhul, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Spontini, Weber, Wagner; Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset; EratoReviewed 12 March 2024A wonderfully imaginative recital, showcasing both the wide range and variety of Wagner's musical influences as well as Spyres' own virtuosity and adaptabilityThe mature Richard Wagner would have wanted you to think that his art sprang directly from his imagination, without the influence of other composers, but the reality was more complex. The young Richard was something of a sponge, soaking up influences from all over. For instance, in 1833 Würzburg Theatre staged Giacomo Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable (premiered in Paris in 1831), it was the operatic event of the year. Richard Wagner's brother Albert was singing the title role and had managed to get Richard a job as chorus master at the theatre. 20-year-old Richard rehearsed the choruses of Meyerbeer's opera and this first exposure to the piece […]
2024-03-02 09:03:00
Shamus O'Brien: withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change
[…] in March 1924.King Baggot and Vivian Prescott in the 1912 silent film Shamus O'BrienBut after that, the opera returned to the stage and was broadcast by the BBC in the 1930s. Since then the work has rather languished, though it was performed in Dublin in 1968 [see YouTube]. .In 1952 (Stanford's centenary year), Ralph Vaughan Williams lamented that on Stanford's birthday instead of celebrating him with his masterpiece (RVW's words), Shamus O'Brien, Covent Garden was performing Bellini's Norma. Stanford's post-War reputation has rested heavily on his choral music and only gradually have his works in other genres been rediscovered and returned to their place in the repertoire. Stanford wrote nine operas and these still are not well known; currently only The Travelling Companion is available in a complete on disc [from SOMM Records]. Even a work like Shamus O'Brien has no recording.This is all going to change as Retrospect Opera is releasing the first studio […]
2024-01-31 14:00:50
Illegal ‘Tenda’
A trio of live Bellini recordings featuring Mirella Freni, June Anderson, and Angela Meade in the title role
2023-12-26 11:00:02
On this day in 1831 Bellini‘s Norma premiered at La Scala
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