Oratorio in three parts-In quite characteristic fashion for the times Handel’s opera “Alessandro” looks at various episodes in the life and rule of Alexander the Great (356 323 BC). This legendary warrior and military commander conquered large parts of the world before meeting an untimely end at the age of 32. A central conflict in Handel’s opera is Alessandro being in love with two women Lisaura and Rossane who compete for his favour. In addition his claim to be of divine parentage is underlined occasioning him to demand the subservience of his followers which meets with vigorous disapproval.Handel composed “Alessandro” for the Royal Academyof Music to a libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli in the 1725/26 season. The work was premiered at the King’s Theatre in London on 5 May 1726. “Alessandro” was the first of five operas for the Royal Academy operas which saw Handel compose for three of the most famous singers of his time: Francesco Bernardi (called Senesino) Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni.Ortensio Mauro’s libretto “La superbia d’Alessandro ” which was performed for the first time in Hanover in 1690 in a musical setting by Agostino Steffani and staged again in the city the following year under the title “Il zelo di Leonato” but with numerous alterations served as the source text for Handel’s “Alessandro”. One of the main aspects Rolli had to consider when preparing the libretto for the London performances was to keep the roles of the famous singers of the Royal Academy well balanced yet at the same time to engineer a musical contest between the prima donnas Cuzzoni and Bordoni (Lisaura and Rossane) as well. From a business point of view it made good sense for such rivalry would surely increase public interest in the opera.It is no longer possible to ascertain which changes Handel made during the following performance series of the 1727/28 season. For the performance series of 1732/33 Handel made substantial revisions to the opera: six numbers were deleted in their entirety the finale in part as well and the recitatives were made much shorter with the parts of Cleone and Leonato omitted

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

Romantisches Schauspiel in vier Akten mit Musikbegleitung Chören und Tänzen-Rosamunde Fürstin Von Cypern D 797Incidental music to the four-act play by Helmina von Chézy.On 20 December 1823 Helmina von Chézy?s ?great romantic drama? ?Rosamunde? received its premiere performance at Vienna?s Theater an der Wien. Unfortunately this version of the drama with ghosts shipwreck pirates attempted poisoning and other horrifying ingredients has not survived unlike Schubert?s popular incidental music which was already praised by contemporary critics. Special acknowledgment was given to ?the genius of this much-loved master? and as evidence of its popularity the overture and the ?Hunters? Chorus? had to beplayed again.Now Bärenreiter is issuing one of Schubert?s best-known compositions in a complete vocal score.The appendix includes Chézy?s draft to the play ?Rosamunde? and a reconstruction of the first version of this drama.Urtext edition based on the ?New Schubert Edition?Bilingual Foreword (Ger/Eng)Idiomatic uncluttered Piano reduction (Ger)Full score (BA5570) and vocal score (BA5570-90) available for sale performance material (BA5570-72) available for hire