Tragédie-opéra Drame héroïque en trois actes. Par GLUCK CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD. Christoph Willibald Gluck’s most popular opera “Orphée et Euridice” was performed in 1774 in Paris to sensational success. This new adaption followed the original Viennese version with Italian text that was first performed in 1762 under the direction of the composer in the Burgtheater. For the Paris version Gluck changed the leading part Orpheus from an alto to a tenor role and composed new recitatives. Both versions of Gluck’s reform drama are based on a libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi and revolutionised metastasian opera of the 18th century. Solo and choral music, instrumental music, pantomime and dance are all closely connected; the myth replaces a historical plotsurrounded by intrigue; where there would have been a da-capo aria there are now simple song forms and coloratura is largely abandoned. These meticulously revised vocal scores of both versions are also newly set. Urtext editions based on “Gluck, The Complete Works” Revised and newly set The revised editions are compatible with the old editions T48Full score (BA2282-01) and vocal score (BA2282-90) available for sale Performance material (BA2282-72) available for hire/ Répertoire / Opéra

Par BERLIOZ HECTOR. New Edition Of The Complete Works (New Berlioz Edition). Urtext/ Répertoire / Chant

Par CAVALLI FRANCESCO. In 1662, Cavalli’s career was at its zenith. The two dozen operas he had written for Venice had helped establish Venice as the world’s first operatic superpower. “Scipione Affricano” (Venice 1664), Cavalli’s first opera after returning from France, was one of his most successful compositions. In a period that valued new works over familiar ones, “Scipione” was one of a handful of operas to live on after its premiere season: it was revived eight times and chosen to inaugurate Rome’s Teatro Tordinona in 1671. Cavalli’s librettist, Nicolò Minato, was inspired by historical accounts of the life of the Roman general Scipio, whose defeat of Carthage in 202 BCE earned him the honorary agnomen “Africanus.” In setting Minato’s libretto, Cavalli drew upon the lyrical gifts that have made operas like “La Calisto” and “Giasone” so popular today. But at the same time “Scipione Affricano” also shows the composer embracing aspects of his two years in France, and responding to musical changes that, in the 1660s, were rapidly altering the face of Italian opera: the growing dominance of arias, a clearer sense of aria organization, and increased interplay between voice and instruments. The first goal of this edition is a practical one: to develop a version of the opera suited to the needs of both professional and student performers. A second goal is to reconstruct the opera’s complete performance history. An amply documented appendix reconstructs earlier versions of 21 arias. Other appendices print the surviving additional music from revivals in Rome and Venice. The edition is framed by a substantial Introduction, covering the drama, the musical style, the composition, premiere, and revivals, and a guide for performance today, plus a detailed “decoding” of the sources. - series Francesco Cavalli – Opere / Date parution : 2022-11-08/ Répertoire / Opéra