Your Dream unsung opera release

[Kevin]

What would your dream unsung opera you would like getting recorded? Mine would be from the Czech repertoire: Fibich's Hedy and Pad Arkona would be lovely. Next up I would like to finally hear Rapids of St John from Rozkošný and Šebor's Hussite Bride. Any others members would like finally been able to experience for the first time? (this is just for fun)

[Alan Howe]

Rather than simply compile a list - which is likely to become long and boring - perhaps friends could also give reasons for their choices....

Thanks!

[Gareth Vaughan]

I would love to hear any of Litolff's operas, especially the ones in the lighter (dare I say, "Offenbachian") vein, since the overture to "La fiancée du roi de Garbe", which I have heard, is delightfully and frothily tuneful.

[Martin Eastick]

Although opera is a lesser interest of mine to be truthful, I do possess recordings of a number of unsungs (Moniuszko, Paderewski, for example), I would be more than delighted if Xaver Scharwenka's "Mataswintha" ever were to appear. There is, of course, the short overture or vorspiel, included as a welcome filler on the Naxos CD of the 4th piano concerto, but having had an admittedly rather cursory glance at the whole work from the vocal score, I am sure a complete recording would be well worthwhile. Also, whilst certainly less stylistically Wagnerian than the Scharwenka, his friend and contemporary Moszkowski's "Boabdil" might also be due for consideration - and perhaps there may be some impetus to examine this as a real possibility following on from the current ongoing recording project concentrating on his orchestral music. We can but hope...........

[Ebubu]

Interesting thread.  In the first page, I already had my curiosity awaken about titles I had no idea....

For my part, I would love to hear a good recording of Roger-Ducasse's Cantegril.  Well, yes, it's past the "validation date", but it's still worth checking upon.
If you don't know Roger-Ducasse's music, you can lend an ear on YT for his symphonic stuff.  Cantegril has been performed twice by the French radio, but both times in a very disappointing manner, with many cuts, especially in the chorus parts, as these recording sessions were done in a "fast-and-sloppy" way, and all the demanding parts were simply cut out. The opera is based on a "regionalist "novel by Raymond Escholier, a southern France poet and novelist, who describes the life of a small pyrenean village, and its Don Giovanesque hero, Cantegril.  The opera is a succession of delightful "vignet" scenes, depicting the atmosphere and traditions of this village.  The more descriptive scenes (sunrise) resemble Canteloube's music, while the vocal ensembles have a more ravelian atmosphere (of l'Heure Espagnole).  The opera doesn't seem to have been performed again since its creation at the Paris Opera-Comique because of its demanding choral parts, and its numerous small roles (looks like half of the chorus has a small part !)

On the side, not an opera, but almost, is his Orphée, which is ballet with some vocal parts, which often reminds me of Ravel's Daphnis.  Only 3 orchestral excerpts have been published (like a suite), but not the whole thing.

Another opera(s) which I'd love someone to get his curiosity into, is the operas of Gabriel Pierné.  Most of you, I assume, will be familiar with his orchestral music, or his ballet Cydalise. But only one "chamber opera" of his has been explored and recorded, while the others, of a much larger scale have been totally unexplored, even by the French radio, except for Fragonard, which is a delightful and demanding operetta (with no official and decent recording thus far).  But the Pierné opera that looks like one of the most interesting ones, as far as the interest of BOTH music and drama are concerned, is La Fille de Tabarin.  It offers a spirit similar to that of Cyrano de Bergerac, and if the music is as high-quality as Cydalise or Fragonard, we should find a masterpiece.

Finally, my 3rd wish (as wishes always go by three, in fairy tales !) would be to hear Bachelet's Un Jardin sur l'Oronte, a grand oriental fresque, about which Dukas wrote : « La musique du Jardin est marquée du grand signe de l'unité, qui est la marque la plus rare. Dans la rigueur admirable de cette continuité de style, sa diversité d'accent et sa souplesse d'expression, qui va du coloris le plus voluptueux au pathétique le plus émouvant, font de cette partition une des œuvres les plus magistrales, à coup sûr, qu'on nous ait données en France depuis bien longtemps. » ("Un Jardin's music is marked by its great unity, which is the rarest mark. In the admirable rigueur of this stylistic continuity, its diversity of accents et its supple expression, from the most voluptuous to the most moving pathetic, make of this score one of the most magistral work that have been given to us in a long time."

Fabrice Bollon, are your there ?

[Rainolf]

Felix Draeseke: Gudrun (The overture is very promising), Bertran de Born (The Scene for violin and piano takes melodies from this never performed piece)

Charles Tournemire: Il poverello di Assisi (Tournemire's Sixth Symphony shows his skills as a vocal-symphonic composer, maybe it foreshadows his late operas?)

Heinrich Kaminski: Das Spiel vom König Aphelius (This must contain some of Kaminski's ripest music)

Wilhelm Petersen: Der Goldene Topf (Petersen's Symphony No. 5, a great work, contains music from this opera)

[kolaboy]

Spontini - Nurmahal.
Spontini - Alcidor
It's just downright odd that neither of these operas from his middle-late period have ever been been recorded, while some of his earlier more conventional works have...

[scottevan]

I heartily agree about the Fibich; the ballet music from "Hedy" is terrific. Though I'm not sure if a recording was made, I've heard "Pad Arkona" in its entirety; there was a thread here on the work not long ago.

Years ago I saw a production of Sousa's "The Glassblowers" at Glimmerglass in upstate New York and have been searching, in vain, for a complete performance ever since. Its score is quite the equal of his best known stage piece "El Capitan." True, both works lean more towards operetta, but I recall some very operatic moments.

The splendid "Epithalamium" and engaging ballet music from Rubinstein's "Nero" have made me curious about the entire work; seeing his "Demon" at Bard College two years ago only increased my curiosity.

Also, practically anything by Auber beyond the ten or so complete works already recorded. The consistent sparkle of his overtures has to point to some rewarding music in the works themselves.

[Kevin]

I heartily agree about the Fibich; the ballet music from "Hedy" is terrific. Though I'm not sure if a recording was made, I've heard "Pad Arkona" in its entirety; there was a thread here on the work not long ago.

Nope, Hedy has never been recorded in its entirety. If members don't know its been described as the ''the Czech Tristan und Isolde'' and it is the middle of his so called ''erotic trilogy'' flanked by The Tempest( there's a decent radio broadcast of the whole on opera on youtube) and Sarka.

Yes. I've listened to the Pad Arkona download but one wishes for a commercial release with full libretto in english.   

[der79sebas]

Richard Strauss: "Guntram", original version. I have a vocal score of this and believe me: about 45 minutes of great music are missing in the well known second version.

Ernst Krenek: "Leben des Orest" (Life of Orestes) - his greatest operatic achievement, a romantic grand opera (with very little modernism for special effects). There exists a low-quality recording from Portland (a heavily cut performance) in English. One would like to hear the whole piece.

Walter Braunfels: Galatea. The only Braunfels opera whithout any recording so far. There was a concert performance + recording planned in Osnabrück in June 2020, which has been cancelled for known reasons. Hope this will be done next season.

Alexander Zemlinsky: "Kleider machen Leute", original version. There exists only a (very funny) recording of the heavily cut down second version.

Moritz Moszkowski: "Boabdil" - his only opera. No idea how this piece may be...

[Alan Howe]

Hmm, not sure about the above description of Krenek's opera. This reference (in German) makes it clear that the style contains elements of Neo-Romanticism, Expressionism and Jazz, which is about what one might expect:
https://www.tamino-klassikforum.at/index.php?thread/14216-krenek-ernst-leben-des-orest/

[der79sebas]

Well, in contrast to Manfred Rückert, I know the Portland recording. Yes, there are elements of expressionism and this European 1920s so-called "jazz", but much less and much more integrated in "Orest" than in the highly disparate "Jonny spielt auf" - in what definitely is a big romantic opera (which is also the reason, why imho "Orest" is Kreneks best opera by far).

[Mark Thomas]

No surprises for guessing that my top choice would be for Raff's five act music drama Samson. On the page it promises to be a magnificent work, requiring a heldentenor for the title role, an extensive ballet in the final act, just before the temple comes crashing down and, by the look of it, some supremely melodic music as counterweight to all the drama. There is at least now a modern edition of the vocal score and, pre-Covid, some opera houses expressed interest in staging it.

[Kevin]

That must have been your cool stuff that you were working on I bet. I was deeply impressed with his Benedtto Marcello, I've listened to it countless times now.

[Mark Thomas]

Oh no, I've been working on other cool Raff stuff....