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Alberic Magnard: Berenice (1911)
Opera in three acts, Running Time 145 minutes. Magnard was something of an odd French composer. Known rightly or wrongly as the “French Bruckner”, he was the son of a very wealthy family that owned the French newspaper Le Figaro, and did not have to work, but he wanted to write music and operas anyways,…
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Ernest Reyer -Sigurd (1884)
I am not fond of late Wagner. Early Wagner I can tolerate up to a point, but Sigurd, which is a French version of Gotterdammerung, is neither. Rather, it more closely resembles Berlioz in musical form, and the influence of Les Troyens should not be ruled out. Although Sigurd is based on the same story…
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Louise Bertin-La Esmeralda (1836)
Let me begin by saying that I have heard this recording twice already, and I really enjoy it. This is a forgotten gem among operas, and unfortunately suffers from massive neglect, mostly because of sexism. It is that rare opera, written by a female composer. The libretto is beyond reproach, Victor Hugo himself wrote it…
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Gaetano Donizetti-Gemma di Vergy (1835)
This is a very interesting example of a once extremely popular opera (until around 1900 it had enjoyed more performances than Lucia di Lammermoor!) but because of the difficulty of the title role it disappeared until 1975 and since then has only rarely been revived. This is surprisingly the reason for the opera’s neglect (and…
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Giacomo Puccini-Le Villi (1884)
Opera Ballo in Two Acts (Originally One) with Intermezzo. Running Time: 68:45 minutes, or shorter* NOTE:All information and pictures not directly by me are from the Wikipedia entry for Le Villi. *Since this rarity is rather frequently performed, a seeming contradiction, I would suggest looking in on the different versions, some staged, some concert form,…
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