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

A chamber opera in one act for soprano tenor baritone and bass soli TTBB chorus and orchestra commissioned for the Wells 800 Celebration in 1982. Libretto by Peter Porter. Vocal score with piano reduction. Duration: c. 55minutes.Orpheus is a Chamber Opera or perhaps more properly might be described as an ‘Opera-Cantata’. It is designed to be performed as a short opera fully staged and costumed or as a concert piece. Either way itsstructure is dramatic rather than reflective. It tells the story of Orpheus probably the most familiar story in music and en emblem of their art for composers of all periods as a direct narrative. Since the legend is set inthe world of pagan mythology it has been lightly Christianised for its Church setting. The Aeneid has often been seen as speaking of Christ avant la lettre and Renaissance Humanists were always willing to identify forerunnersof Christian types in Classical personages: in this manner Orpheus pursues without undue emphasis musical parallels with St Francis St Cecilia and even Adam and Eve.The work is framed briefly by a prologue and epilogue. ThePrologue introduces the four solo singers Hades (bass) Orpheus (tenor) Eurydice (soprano) and Charon (baritone). It also introduces the chorus who do not only portray at various stages Orpheus’s wedding companions thedenizens of Hell and Blessed Spirits in the Elysian Fields but also comments on the action as it proceeds.

Opera buffa in vier Akten - ??bersetzung von Brieger/Layer-Premi?red at the Vienna Hoftheater on 1 May 1786 Wolfang Amadeus Mozart???s and Lorenzo Da Ponte???s Le nozze di Figaro may be safely regarded as one of the greatest operatic successes of all times. Yet its success was not entirely due to Mozart???s music: on the contrary because of the extraordinary demands it placed on the orchestra (especially the woodwinds) the music even posed an obstacle to the work???s spread outside the German-speaking countries. At least equally responsible for the opera???s success was the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte who managed to transform a topical and socio-critical stage play into an opera libretto as effective as it isamusing.Many of the sources for Mozart???s first opera from the Lorenzo Da Ponte trilogy only became available to scholars again after the ???New Mozart Edition??? volume was published. These include the autograph scores of acts 3 and 4 now held at the Biblioteka Jagiello ka in Krak?w significant portions of the original sets of parts and acts 2 to 4 of the conductor???s copy from the first performance of 1786.These original sources now available again offer compelling solutions to several previously unresolved questions.Edition based on the Urtext of the ???New Mozart Edition??? reflecting the latest musicological researchWith findings from original sources now available againDetailed foreword (Ger/Eng)Full score (BA4565-01) Vocal score (BA4565-92) study score format 22.5 x 16.5cm and Facsimile (BVK1882) available for saleV43 Performance material (BA4565-72) available to hire

This short opera (duration of 50 minutes) aptly designed for children to perform with modest resources is a version of the familiar tale though with certain adaptations.Musically the piece is a bright sequence of littlesongs choruses dialogue scenes and dances probably best suited to children between the ages of eight and twelve though the parts of the ugly sisters can usefully be taken by boys with broken voices.The music is scored foran orchestra of recorders trumpet percussion strings and keyboard and ranges through a variety of styles. The opera has eleven solo parts and a chorus who act as a train ball guests and the magic kittens. It is alsosuitable for performance by children aged eight and upwards.

Monteverdi’s opera “L’Orfeo”, based on the legend of Thracian singer Orpheus and his love of Eurydice, is a masterpiece of musical declamation and ornamentation. It was first performed during the 1607 carnevale in the “Palazzo Ducale” in Mantua. When an edition remains true to its sources, this certainly does not mean that it is not also practical to use, as is demonstrated in this Bärenreiter edition of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo”. Edited by Rinaldo Alessandrini, the new publication follows the Bärenreiter edition of Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria”. Two contemporary prints of “L’Orfeo” from the years 1609 and 1615 have been passed down to us. Four copies of each of these prints still survive today in public libraries. The later print includes many corrections to the earlier edition and was accordingly used as the primary source for this Bärenreiter edition. However, when solving musical problems the editor frequently follows the more coherent style of the earlier print. The numerous interesting variants, not only between the two editions but also amongst the eight surviving copies, are listed in the critical commentary. This edition of “L’Orfeo” offers in addition to Monteverdi’s somewhat sparse original figures also figures added to the bass line by the editor. The continuo player should, however, feel free to follow his own judgment. The notation has been, when necessary, adapted to suit modern practice, for example with regard to the clefs. The sections that were originally written in “chiavetta” have been transposed a fifth lower. In the appendix these sections also appear in their original notation in facsimile as well as transposed a fourth lower. - Detailed introduction by the editor (Ital/Eng/Ger) on the work’s genesis and performance practice - Comprehensive critical commentary (Eng) in the score - Idiomatic piano reduction Edition no.: BA 8793-90 ISMN: 9790006533121 Composer / Author: Monteverdi, Claudio Title: L'Orfeo Favola in musica in one prologue and five acts Detailed instrumentation: Soprano solo (7), Tenor solo (4), Bass solo (3), Mixed choir: SSATTB, Male choir: TTBBB, Orchestra Librettist: Striggio, Alessandro (junior) Editor: Alessandrini, Rinaldo Foreword / Introduction: Alessandrini, Rinaldo Product format: Piano reduction, Urtext edition Language(s) of work: Italian Language(s) of text: German, Italian, English Publisher: Bärenreiter Binding: Paperback Print run: 1st printing 2012 Pages / Format: XIV, 143 S. - 27,0 x 19,0 cm Weight: 428 g

Georg Frideric Händel?s Serse (Xerxes) has everything one would expect from a Baroque opera - many intertwining love stories affairs intrigues scheming misunderstanding and forgiving allpresented in the great master?s magnificent music.The opera is set in Persia in 480 BC and is very loosely based upon Xerxes I of Persia though there is little in either the Baroque libretto or music that is relevant tothat setting the main focus is on the characters (Serse Arsamene Amastre Romilda Atalanta Ariodate and Elviro some of which are based on real historical persons) and their plotting. The English version forthe opera in three acts was made for the English National Opera?s production first performed in 1985 on the 300th anniversary of Händel?s birth.In this edition of the Vocal score with the original Italian and thelater English lyrics accompaniment is provided by the instruments indicated in the orchestration (2 Recorders (or Flutes) 2 Oboes 2 Horns in F Trumpet in D Strings and Continuo [Harpsichord Cello Double Bass Bassoon]) butcan also be played by the Piano. Serse?s part originally sung by a castrato can be performed by a Soprano or a Countertenor.

Gustav Holst has earned a place among the most revered of late 19th and early 20th century composers and is best known for his enduring Orchestral suite The Planets.But before that great work in his use of Englsh folksongs Gnostic texts and these Vedic hymns one can discern Holst’s search for a compositional Voice beyond the constraints of the European canon in the early 1900’s. In Savitri he makes use of modal styles bitonality austerity ofOrchestration in some places richness of texture in others and an ability to suggest Indian exoticism. The piece has a performance time of thirty minutes and has minimal staging requirements.

Luis Tinoco (Composer) and Stephen Plaice (Libretto) wrote 'Paint Me' and Opera for six singers and Chamber Orchestra.Rui Horta and Joana Carneiro are responsible for the stage direction and the musicaldirection.'My idea in writing Paint Me was to bring together six characters all of whom have a prolific imaginative interior life and to explore what they would make of each other in the confines of a railwaycompartment. The model for my libretto is Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The travellers in Paint Me are also on their way to Canterbury but they are strangers thrown together by the randomness of modern travel. Theirtales are not told publicly but in their own imaginations. Most journeys in the modern age are anonymous and conducted in silence. We have only a visual or perhaps manneristic impression of the people sitting opposite us. Thisintrospection in public opens up a private fantasy space in which our fellow travellers can become the characters in instant psychological dramatisations.I wanted to formalize each character’s fantasy into a full narrative. Theresult is a kind of anthology of operatic short stories surrounded by the framework of an ordinary journey.'     - Stephen Plaice

A pair of men take an oath of eternal friendship but their vow is threatened by their attraction to the same woman. The object of their rivalry faces her own dilemma torn between worldly passion and her calling as a priestess.Their romantic triangle forms the heart of this 1863 opera Les Pêcheurs De Perles (The Pearl Fishers) in which the composer of Carmen the world's most popular opera made his first mark.Set in ancientCeylon this enchanting tale of friendship love and betrayal has been performed in Opera houses around the world. The famous Baritone/Tenor duet in the second act is among the most recorded of Opera highlights and a copy of thefull score is essential for conductors as well as for students of composition and orchestration. This large-format version of Bizet's three-act Opera offers musicians an affordable alternative to high-priced hard-to-findeditions.

in Full Score-Unabridged score of composer's last opera renowned for splendid music and glowing orchestration. Deeply personal treatment of the legend of the Holy Grail themes of sacred and profane love innocence and purity remorse and sexual renunciation. Reprint of authoritative C. F. Peters edition including list of characters and contents in both German and English.