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

With 'L'Etoile?, Chabrier composed a light-hearted opera which has increasingly enjoyed revivals in recent years.The plot is introduced by King Ouf I who offers his subjects an execution every year on his birthday. Unfortunately the problem now arises that no crime has recently been committed which might serve as a reason for an execution. Finally, he finds a would-be victim in the young Lazuli. However, according to predictions by the astrologer Siroco, Lazuli's fate is closely linked to the king's own life. The comic opera is further bolstered by a story of mistaken identities which involves a great deal of diplomacy, a love story and a large number of refined, yet catchy melodies.Chabrier was a master of the sensitive and complicated art of musical comedy, a field where he can be compared in equal measure to Offenbach, Rossini and Mozart. / 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

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