Puccini wrote his second opera, Edgar, in 1889 and it was premiered at La Scala, Milan. Based on a play by Alfred de Musset it features a young man torn between the love of a pure girl, and passion for a gypsy. Sounds familiar? The opera was tepidly received, and Puccini revised it twice, the second time reducing the four acts to three. It was even less successful in the revised form and Puccini abandoned it, using some of the music for Tosca. Now the enterprising New Sussex Opera are giving the UK premiere of the original four act version, with a strong cast, featuring John Hudson and Mary Plazas, conducted by Nicholas Jenkins.
The autograph of acts 2 and 4 of the original version was only re-discovered in 2008, allowing Puccini's original version to be reconstructed (the autograph of acts 1 and 3 is in the Ricordi archives). The New Sussex Opera production will only be the third ever production of this version of the opera. The show is directed by Tony Baker, who directed their highly successful production of Gounod's Mireille last year.
Performances are at Lewes Town Hall, 25/10, Cadogan Hall, London, 28/10, Kings Theatre, Southsea, 4/11, Floral Hall, Eastbourne 11/11. Further details from the New Sussex Opera website.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
Handel: Semele - Pretty Yende, Niamh O'Sullivan (Photo: Vincent Pontet) Handel: Semele ; Pretty Yende, Ben Bliss, Alice Coote, Brindley ...
-
Britten: Peter Grimes ; Mark Le Brocq, Emma Bell, Mark Stone, Eugene Dillon-Hooper, Matthew Bawden, Rhian Davies, Oliver Heuzenroeder, Justi...
-
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor - Tabitha Reynolds (ghost), Jennifer France - Opera Holland Park (Photo: Ali Wright) Donizetti: Lucia di La...
-
Rameau: Les Indes Galantes - Andreas Wolf, Cappella Mediterranea, Chœur de chambre de Namur, Structure Rualité, Leonardo García-Alarcón - T...
-
What about blowing the box to pieces: composer Eímear Noone on writing for video games, films and TVEímear Noone (Photo: Andy Paradise) Dublin and LA-based composer Eímear Noone is known for her scores for video games, films and TV. She re...
-
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore - Martins Smaukstelis & chorus - St Paul's Opera (Photo: Julian Guidera) Donizetti: L'Elis...
-
Verdi: La Traviata - Alison Langer, Ellie Edmonds - Opera Holland Park 2025 (Photo: Ali Wright) Verdi: La Traviata ; Alison Langer, Matteo...
-
The Murdock-Whitney House, Winchendon History & Cultural Centre Andrew Arceci is an American viola da gamba, violone, and bass player w...
-
Bernstein: Trouble in Tahiti - Charles Rice, Allison Cooke - Buxton International Festival (Photo: Genevieve Girling) Leonard Bernstein: Tr...
-
Rehearsal for Uprooted - Garsington Opera Youth Company On 29 July 2025, Garsington Opera Youth Company joins forces with Sinfonia Smith Squ...
No comments:
Post a Comment