2. Which comes first..? ('Prima le parole')
In the second of three programmes, librettist Emma Jenkins reflects on the peculiar requirements of text for opera and features some of the finest practitioners as her guide.
In the second of three programmes about the history and nature of the opera libtretto, librettist Emma Jenkins reflects on the peculiar requirements of the text in one of the most collaborative of all art forms. She looks back on the work some the finest exponents of the genre as her guide. To quote author Terry Pratchett, "opera only happens because a large number of things amazingly fail to go wrong". Emma offers generous examples of where it all goes gloriously right. She turns to examples from Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Benjamin Britten and EM Forster with Eric Crozier, Verdi with Arrigo Boito, and WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Why is less more when it comes to writing words for opera? And what do we mean by a singable text?
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Music Played
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Marriage of Figaro - Overture
Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Riccardo Muti.- EMI.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Marriage of Figaro - Act 2, Finale
Performer: Thomas Allen. Singer: Lucia Popp. Singer: Kiri Te Kanawa. Singer: Jane Berbi茅. Singer: Robert Tear. Singer: Kurt Moll. Singer: Samuel Ramey. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Georg Solti.- DECCA.
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Richard Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier, Act 3: Marie Theres
Performer: Kiri Te Kanawa. Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter. Performer: Barbara Hendricks. Performer: Staatskapelle Dresden. Performer: Bernard Haitink.- WARNER CLASSICS.
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Henry Purcell
Dido & Aeneas Act 3: Thy Hand Belinda - When I Am Laid In
Singer: Catherine Bott. Ensemble: Academy of Ancient Music. Conductor: Christopher Hogwood.- Dido and Aeneas.
- DECCA.
- 33.
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Gioachino Rossini
Barbiere di Sivilia Act 1: Una voce poco fa
Singer: Joyce DiDonato. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Conductor: Edoardo M眉ller.- Rejoyce ! - The Best Of Joyce DiDonato.
- ERATO.
- 2.
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Benjamin Britten
Billy Budd - Act I Scene 3: Over the water
Singer: John Tomlinson. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Choir: London Symphony Chorus. Conductor: Richard Hickox.- Billy Budd.
- Chandos.
- 2.
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Arthur Sullivan
The Mikado - Act 1 Trio: I am so proud
Singer: Richard Suart. Singer: Richard van Allan. Singer: Nicholas Folwell. Orchestra: Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.- The Mikado.
- TELARC.
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Arthur Sullivan
Iolanthe: Love, unrequited, robs me, "The Nightmare Song"
Singer: Richard Suart. Conductor: Bramwell Tovey. Orchestra: Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.- A Gilbert & Sullivan Gala.
- CBC.
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Giuseppe Verdi
Otello - Act 1: Opening and Esultate
Singer: Luciano Pavarotti. Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Choir: Chicago Symphony Chorus.- Otello.
- DECCA.
- 1.
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Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff Act 1 - "Alice" - "Meg" - "Nannetta" (Letter Quartet)
Singer: Adrianne Pieczonka. Singer: Dorothea R枚schmann. Singer: Larissa Diadkova. Singer: Stella Doufexis. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.- Verdi: Falstaff.
- Deutsche Grammophon.
- 5.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Marriage of Figaro - Act 4 finale: Gente, gente, all'armi
Performer: Thomas Allen. Singer: Lucia Popp. Singer: Kiri Te Kanawa. Singer: Jane Berbi茅. Singer: Robert Tear. Singer: Kurt Moll. Singer: Samuel Ramey. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Georg Solti. Singer: Frederica von Stade. Singer: Yvonne Kenny. Singer: Philip Langridge. Singer: Giorgio Tadeo.- DECCA.
Broadcast
- Sun 14 May 2023 23:00大象传媒 Radio 3