Comédie (Laxenburg 1765) Gluck Complete Works IV/4. Par GLUCK CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD. The critical edition presents the music to the verse comedy “Soliman second, ou Les Trois Sultanes” by Charles-Simon Favart (1710–1792), which was performed before the Viennese courtly audience in the Schlosstheater Laxenburg by the French troupe of the Burgtheater on 18 May 1765. This is the first time that Gluck’s music to the Favartian comedy has appeared in print. A popular comedy which in particular was known for its exotic colour, “Soliman second” quickly made its mark on many European stages. Through the good offices of the court theatre director Count Durazzo, the libretto made its way to Vienna too. As “Direttore della Musica” at Vienna’s Burgtheater and an accomplished writer of French opéras-comiques, Gluck may have been commissioned to compose the vocal numbers – four solo airs and a duet – which were meant to be performed in the comedy. As far as can be established, Gluck’s involvement in incidental music is an exception in his artistic output. In addition to the detailed introduction to the history of the work, the volume contains the Critical Report providing exhaustive information on the source material, editorial technique and performance practice. The libretto for the premiere performance and illustrative extracts from the sources are reproduced in facsimile./ Répertoire / Opéra

The latest addition to the Novello Handel Edition. A stage work of 1745 based on John Milton's classical masque Comus created from a compilation of songs by Handel and Thomas Arne both pre-existing and original with the text adapted by John Dalton. This is the first ever complete publication of the work and is edited by Handel scholar Colin Timms. This work is for three or four Sopranos Mezzo-Soprano Tenor one or two Bass Soli and Orchestra. This edition is an 'important new contribution to scholarship with Colin Timms continuing the work of Anthony Hicks in putting together an edition of work from various sources'. There are 'somefine movements to be found by both composers not least the three airs and trio that Handel provided specially for performance in Exton Hall Rutland in 1745'. Choir & Organ  November/December 2017 'Potential performers will appreciatre the excellent editorial preface. The print of this vocal score with piano reduction though small is very clear and well laid-out and orchestral parts including a fully realised continuo part are available from Novello.' Organists’ Review December 2017

Crit. Ed. Roger Parker. Par PUCCINI GIACOMO. The Critical Edition of MANON LESCAUT is the first volume of the series THE OPERAS OF GIACOMO PUCCINI - CRITICAL EDITION - in collaboration with Archivio storico Ricordi and Fondazione Simonetta Puccini. It makes available the three main versions of the opera that have survived in various sources: an 1893 version, with the original Act I finale, the first version of Manons Act IV aria, and the uncut version of the final duet in Act IV; a 'midcareer'version imagined by Puccini in the first decade of the new century, when he sanctioned the almost complete omission of Manons Act IV aria; and finally the last version that Puccini lived to approve, with Manons aria restored, albeit with a revisedliterary text. The edition consists of two volumes of full score. The first volume is introduced by a preface to the Puccini Critical Edition and an historical introduction; the second volume ends with a detailed description of the operas many sources and alengthy critical commentary which discusses numerous problematic details in the musical text. / Opéra-opérette / Date parution : 1905-07-06/ Répertoire / Opéra

Full Score-The premiere of La Bohème took place at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 1 February 1896. Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica based their libretto for this opera on Scènes de la vie de Bohème by Henry Murger. It took Puccini only a fewmonths to complete a score brimming with wonderful melodic invention and orchestrational genius. The music is a surprisingly supple and sensitive medium for depicting a variety of emotions that animate the young: reckless living full of stop-gapexpedients erratic feelings and sudden explosions of noble sentiment the driving ambitions of one?s art. Puccini?s musical imagery illuminates the different moments and moods of the story with a delicate yet intense lyrical quality; just as therapid decline and death of Mimì subtle yet invincible remind us of the universal reality that all things must inevitably come to an end.On the cover: ?Al Quartiere Latino? sketch by Riccardo Salvadori as a variation on the sketch by Adolf Hohenstein for the world premiere in Turin of Bohème 1896 © Archivio Storico Ricordi

Song For The Duke Of Gloucester's Birthday 1695 (Full Score)-Henry Purcell (1659-1695) held numerous appointments at the Royal court and Westminster Abbey and is considered by many to be the greatest ever English-born composer. His prolific work covered all fields: orchestral ecclesiastical operatic theatrical incidental and chamber music were all enriched by his output.One of Purcell’s last pieces Who Can From Joy Refrain? (Z 342) was written for the 6th birthday of Prince William Duke of Gloucester in June 1695. The Prince was said to enjoy the brash tone of the Trumpet so the prominent Trumpet part was written especially for him. Unusually Purcell also made use of therecently-introduced Oboe and Bassoon.A real asset to the catalogue A Song For The Duke Of Gloucester's Birthday showcases the very best of Purcell’s genius.

Opera with a Prologue and four Acts (First version) / Opera in five Acts (Second version) Dialogue versions. Par GOUNOD CHARLES. Charles Gounod’s “Faust” secured its international recognition in the version as an entirely sung opera, which from thenceforth has largely obscured the fact that the work was originally composed with spoken dialogues. The early versions staged prior to the 1869 performance at the Paris Opéra containing substantial unknown material and with dialogues and melodramas are the subject of this new edition. (The third version “version opera” was published in a separate edition BA 8713 in 2016.) Even as the rehearsals were taking place at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1858, during the first series of performances at the theatre in 1859, furthermore as the 1862 revival was approaching and during the performances on the smaller stage at the Place du Châtelet, there were constant changes and revisions. It is, thus, impossible to identify manifestly definitive versions. Nevertheless, by drawing on the entire source material now at hand (including fascinating material only recently discovered) and on the whole gamut of aspects communicated by the reception, Paul Prévost systematically presents us with a score laid out in two main versions in whose chronology constancy and change become transparent. With all the musical changes having been documented, the result is a practicable score for performances which reveals a still far too unknown “Faust” – a “Faust” that is rooted in the tradition of the opéra comique. Quite a few musical numbers are published as a score for the first time in this edition: the trio for Faust, Wagner and Siebel “À l’étude ô mon maître”, the duet of Valentin and Marguerite “Adieu, mon bon frère!”, Méphistophélès’ air “Maître Scarabée”, Siebel’s romance “Versez vos chagrins dans mon âme!”, Valentin’s air with chorus “Chaque jour, nouvelle affaire”, the chorus of witches “Un deux et trois”, and also seven melodramas whose missing or incomplete orchestration has been written for our edition. It was only recently that the long-lost second part of Faust’s original cavatina “Salut! demeure chaste et pure” was unearthed. Only in details of orchestration do other numbers differ from the well-known pieces./ Répertoire / Opéra

Per Gli Sponsali Di Teti e Peleo - HWV 73-The main text of this edition of Handel?s wedding serenata ?Parnasso in festa per gli sponsali di Teti e Peleo? (HWV 73) is based on the version used for the work?s first performances in March of 1734. Three appendices retrace the complex history of the work significantly different versions of which were used for revival performances in 1737 1740 and 1741. Included are abandoned and modified parts of the score as well as a documentation of changes made to the characters.Handel composed ?Parnasso in festa? for the wedding of Anne Princess Royal and Prince William of Orange which took place on March 14 1734 in London. As Handel?s contribution to the publicfestivities the serenata was performed the evening before the nuptials at King?s Theatre in the Haymarket. The bridal couple attended the performance.While the Italian text of the serenata was newly set most likely by Giacomo Rossi most of the music was drawn from pieces of Handel?s earlier works among them ?Athalia? from ?Radamisto? (HWV 12a) ?Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno? (HWV 46a) and ?Delirio amoroso? (HWV 99). Newly composed parts are limited to eight vocal pieces the sinfonia at the beginning of part 3 and the beginning of the overture. The available source material reflects the history of the work: There is no autograph composition score while the conducting score reflects a collaboration between Handel and his main copyist John Christopher Smith senior. However composition scores of individual newly composed pieces have been preserved.New edition based on the latest research after thorough examination of all relevant primary and secondary sourcesExtensive editorial Foreword about the work?s conception mythological background transmission reception and a survey of sources (Ger/Eng) with extensive critical report (Eng)Selected musical facsimiles as well as complete facsimile of the printed libretto of 1734Urtext of the Halle Handel EditionFull score (BA10718-01) and vocal score (BA10718-90) available for salePerformance material (BA10718-72) available for hire

Opera in three acts edited by Alan Curtis. This opera was first performed in Venice in 1666. It may with justice be considered to be the finest opera written between Monteverdi's 'Poppea' and the dramatic works of the mature Purcell. Having in 1983 presided over the first modern revival of 'Il Tito' in Innsbruck the city of its original commissioning Alan Curtis has now produced the first complete performing edition to be drawn from available sources.

Inspired by models from the Commedia dell?Arte the plot is set in Seville and presents the old ?Greybeard? Don Belflor (a retired bullfighter and womanizer) his young wife Coraline and her lover Tracolin. In a highly contemporary way this leads to a three-way relationship of which everyone approves. The ?accord parfait? is a perfect triad consisting of exactly three notes. It is noticeable that the libretti of the Second Republic were no longer subject to censor.Two arias were planned for each role. As a flautist Tracolin also knows how to evoke famous melodies from the French opera repertoire in his advances. The centrepieces are the two trios.Oneof these the variation number ?Ah! vous dirai-je maman ? is the jewel of the opera: here vocal virtuosity and the comedy of the situation are combined with brilliant ease.The Vocal score is based on the first scholarly-critical edition of the opera. This appears in the series ? L'Opéra français ? edited by Paul Prévost. Here the spoken dialogue text is integrated with the music for the first time.Based on the Urtext of the new series ? L?Opéra français ?.Original French text with singing German translation.Extensive foreword (Fr/Ger/Eng).Full score (BA8701) and Vocal score (BA8701-90) available for sale and performance material available for hire.

Crit. Ed. Fabrizio Della Seta. Par BELLINI VINCENZO. I PURITANI is the last work of Vincenzo Bellini: composed in nine months, from April 1834 to January 1835 (a gestation unusually long for that time), was performed for the first time in Paris, Théâtre Italien, 24 January 1835. The new Critical Edition is based on the autograph, on the libretto of the first performance and on four manuscript copies produced in the context of the Théâtre Italien in the first months of life of the work, three of which contain autographinterventions (these sources are now kept at the Biblioteca Comunale in Palermo, at the Museo Civico Belliniano in Catania, at the Archivio Storico Ricordi in Milano and at the Staatsbibliothek zur Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin). This edition presents for the first time all the music composed by Bellini, it restores the sections deleted before or after the first performance in Paris and returns the modified sections of the Naples version. It consists of three-score volumes -introduced by a detailed reconstruction of the historical context - and of a 'Apparati' volume with a description of the Sources and the Critical Commentary to the musical text. / Opéra-opérette / Répertoire / Opéra