Liszt Sardanapalo

[DK]

Not, unfortunately, a completed opera, but it will still be interesting to hear when it is broadcast by deutschlankfunkkultur.
http://seenandheard-international.com/2018/05/new-abandoned-liszt-opera-sardanapalo-premieres-in-weimar-in-august/
https://www.nationaltheater-weimar.de/de/index/spielplan/stuecke_staatskapelle/stuecke_details.php?SID=2221
DK

[Mark Thomas]

This will be a fascinating listen. I must say that I was amused by some of the hyperbole in the linked article: "known only to a handful of Liszt scholars"? Hardly, I'm no Liszt scholar but I'd heard of it, and I'm sure that anyone who has read even a short biography of Liszt will be aware of Sardanapalo. The manuscript didn't need "discovering", it was in the catalogue of the Goethe & Schiller institute in Weimar, just where you'd expect it to be. That said, it's obviously a worthwhile project and the videos linked at the bottom of the article are well worth watching.

[TerraEpon]

Not to mention looked at a work list.
And there's a Wikipedia article.

[mikehopf]

Not a big fan of Liszt, but this fragment  from this early opera sounds interesting'

Tonight on Deutschlandfunk Kultur:

Franz Liszt
"Huldigungsmarsch" Seiner Königlichen Hoheit, dem Großherzog zu Sachsen-Weimar, Carl Alexander

"Sardanapalo", Opernfragment
(Bearbeitung und Orchestrierung nach Skizzen Franz Liszts von David Trippett, Uraufführung des 1. Akts)

"Eine Sinfonie zu Dantes Divina Commedia" für Orchester und Knabenchor

Joyce El-Khoury, Sopran
Airam Hernández, Tenor
Oleksandr Pushniak, Bariton
Damen des Opernchores des Deutschen Nationaltheaters Weimar
Knabenchor der Jenaer Philharmonie
Staatskapelle Weimar
Leitung: Kirill Karabits (2 hrs., 55 min

[Jonathan]

Thanks for this - is there a link anywhere that I can access? Either that or can anyone record this for me?
Many thanks in advance.

[adriano]

Willl try to record it, Jonathan. Even though I am quite disappointed of Liszt's other opera "Don Sanche" :-)
But I am sure Kirill Karabits will deliver quite an achievement.
Unfortunately this time I can only use my internet radio source (not a computer, but a good receiver), since my digital radio provider is changing his systems: I cannot receive through my digital TV for quite a few weeks, unfortunately.

By the way, that 9CD box (of the Gramola label) "Franz Liszt, The Sound of Weimar" is very interesting and very well done. Martin Haselböck is, of course, more a musicologist and organist than a conductor, but everything is done correctly and, historically, in a highly informative way. This project really deserves a special award!
As already mentioned earlier, as far as Liszt's tone poems are concerned, Golovanov and Joo still are my favorites. Haitink only comes later...

[scottevan]

Listening now. Too soon to give an full impression, but it definitely sounds more mature than "Don Sanche," and is overall a more interesting work.

Fascinating to hear the influence of Liszt's (future) son-in-law Wagner insinuating itself amidst the more typical Italian opera trappings, which "Sardanapalo" clearly has. The orchestral sections are particularly striking, giving an idea of the progressive direction Liszt may have taken opera had he decided to stay with it.

[Alan Howe]

Try this link: 
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/abandoned-liszt-opera-finally-brought-to-life-170-years-later

[adriano]

Yes, nice and interesting music, a sort of salad of various styles, this is my first impression... In my opinion, the choir would have needed a few more reheasals. Will edit my recording and offer it for download tomorrow.

[Mark Thomas]

Many thanks in advance, as I'm not a home at present and so have not been able to record it myself.

[Christopher]

I see that Dr David Trippett, the Cambridge musicologist who arranged this, has his own website, which includes a 30-min documentary about the Sardanopalo project:

https://www.davidtrippett.com/  and see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEqRAdUEO2E

And also  https://www.sardanapalo.org/

[Jonathan]

Thanks for everyone's comments about this and for recording it too. We've been away all weekend, hence my missing all the discussions.

Hadrianus, I have the Sound of Weimar set and agree it is superb. I'm working on a review of this at the moment.

More thoughts later on...

Thanks again!

[Alan Howe]

The January issue of Gramophone magazine (p.30) reveals that Liszt's unfinished opera is to be released next month by Audite in the performance given last August by soloists and the Weimar Staatskapelle under Kirill Karabits:

[Alan Howe]

Here's David Trippett's article on the opera:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02690403.2018.1507120

[Mark Thomas]

How fascinating. Thanks, Alan. Mind you, I can't say that the work itself is that gripping. Very Italianate, a la Bellini.