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

Oper in Funf Akten Version 1756. Par RAMEAU JEAN-PHILIPPE. Richer than ever ? Rameau?s ?Zoroastre? in the version of 1756. Opera in five acts. Rameau?s revised version of his opera ?Zoroastre?, which could be heard and seen between 20 January 1756 and 26 March 1757 at the Académie royale de musique, was favourably received. Also from today?s point of view the work profits dramaturgically from many of the changes and seems altogether richer and more tightly woven than the original of 1749. The subject matter of the libretto, derived from Ancient Persian sources, is timeless: the struggle between good and bad. The good is embodied by the religious reformer Zoroastre, a representative of the supreme light being Orosmade. He is opposed by the ambitious magician Abramane who serves Ariman, the spirit of the dark. The opera includes some of Rameau?s most ecstatic and spiritual musical numbers, such as the episode of sun worship in Act 3 with the sublime ?Hymne à la Lumière?, which, for unknown reasons, was not integrated in the revision of 1756. It is therefore included in Appendix 3 of this Bärenreiter edition. Incidentally, with ?Zoroastre? the prologue, wh ich had been customary since the beginnings of French opera in the 1670s, was abandoned. Instead Rameau was the first to introduce an overture which set the scene for the entire drama and thereby anticipated Gluck?s opera reform by many years. - One of Rameau?s main works for the stage, now available with all its versions - With a straight-forward piano reduction in the vocal score by François Saint-Yves - Available on sale full score (B0A8867-01) and vocal score (BA08867-90) - Performance material available for hire BA08867-72 - Jean-Philippe Rameau - Opera Omnia (OOR) IV/26 / Date parution : 2022-07-30/ Répertoire / Chant et Piano

Phaedra by German composer Hans Werner Henze is a 'concert opera' in two acts whose first performance was given at the Berlin State Opera in 2007. Phaedra was Henze's penultimateopera and this item presents the full score with the entire work lasting around 75 minutes. Featuring a unique libretto by Christian Lehnert and sound effects by Francesco Antonioni this opera presents thewonderful story of Phaedra filled with drama and fantastic music. This Full Score?presents the work in German and English language and features detailed instructions for the supplied CD onwhich some sound effects are included that are to be used in conjunction with the instruments. Phaedra was co-commissioned and co-produced by Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin BerlinerFestspiele Thé tre de la Monnaie Brussels Alte Oper Frankfurt and Wiener Festwochen. Hans Werner Henze?was a hugely prolific composer who drew influences from a wide number of sources. Phaedra isregarded as among his greatest works and would certainly make for a stunning performance.

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.

'Faust? stands for the composer Gounod himself, who was torn between the expression of excessive sensuality and a deep spirituality which he was searching for in his Catholic faith. As such, in this most important musical setting of Goethe's drama, the work was given a deeply personal interpretation. With a detailed Foreword (Fr/Eng/Ger) this new edition presents the genesis of the work with its various, during Gounod's lifetime, completely sung versions.The main version of our edition was performed at the Paris Opéra on 3 March 1869. However, simple cross references in the score enable a reconstruction of the earlier and later stages of this work for performance. Rounding off this publication is a critical edition of the libretto. All available sources are described and the Critical Commentary provides information about any changes made to the individual numbers.The two earlier Faust versions with spoken dialogue will be included in a separate volume within this series (in preparation, BA 8714). / Opéra

Facsimile of the autograph score from the National Archive of the Richard Wagner Foundation Bayreuth. Par WAGNER RICHARD. Knowledge, pity, redemption: Richard Wagner took up these major themes in “Parsifal”, the music drama that he completed 13 months before his death and referred to as his “most conciliatory work”. Already celebrated for its compositional technique and mystical sonorities at the premiere, its world of ideas has stimulated new debates and interpretations over and over again to the present day. Wagner wrote the autograph score almost entirely in violet ink, a colour he preferred to use in the final years of his life. He meticulously planned the layout of the pages and finally gave the autograph to his wife Cosima - it always remained in the family's possession as a guarded treasure. The facsimile edition in high-quality four-colour printing reproduces the extensive score in its original size. Act and bar numbers on every page facilitate its use without diminishing the overall bibliophile appearance. In an accompanying essay (Ger/Eng), Ulrich Konrad elucidates the special features of the work and the manuscript./ Répertoire / Opéra

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