IOLANTA: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1892. Although blind from birth, Iolanta is unaware of her affliction, kept in ignorance by her father, King René in hopes that he may find a cure before she realises her predicament. A knight and his companion stumble across the isolated garden that has been her sanctuary, and she is granted sight and love simultaneously.
KASHCHEY THE IMMORTAL: Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, 1902. A late, one-act work which is a kind of pendant-piece to his ‘spring tale’, the Snowmaiden. This ‘autumn tale’ is an allegory of oppression and liberation, in which the evil Kashchey has magically concealed his death within his daughter’s tears, whose hard heart should keep it safe forever. He has reckoned without the power of love.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA; Gioacchino Rossini, 1816. The capers of a horny young nobleman in pursuit of an (apparently) unattainable beauty, with the assistance of Seville’s most in-demand barber. A racy and fluent reading of this comedy classic, in broadly contemporary language designed to reproduce the wit and sparkle of the original libretto.
TOSCA: Giacomo Puccini, 1900. Opera diva, Tosca, tries to save her republican-sympathising lover, the painter Cavaradossi, from the jealous revenge of the venal Chief of Police, Scarpia. The tragic dénouement leaves all three dead. A new commission from the Oxford Opera Company, this version has a contemporary, Latin-American slant, easily adaptable to a more traditional reading.
THE SNOWMAIDEN (SNYEGUROCHKA): Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1882. A panoramic yet intimate folk-parable of the cycle of the seasons and the mutability of love. Original commission from University College Opera. This version of his masterpiece observes Rimsky’s own proposed cuts but is otherwise complete.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1791. Prince Tamino is sent on a quest by the Queen of the Night to liberate her daughter from captivity. Original commission from British Youth Opera. The tone is broadly modern in spirit and the score includes full dialogues.
FAUST: Charles Gounod, 1859. Sentimental yet irresistible, this story of a fatal bargain with the Devil has proved to be one of the most popular operas ever written. Original commission from Surrey Opera. This is the full five-act version as presented at English National Opera – for completists I have also assembled the material from the original version with spoken dialogue. It was recorded for Chandos with Mary Plazas, Paul Charles Clarke and Alastair Miles.
CARMEN: Georges Bizet, 1875. A fiercely independent gypsy destroys the honour and mental stability of her soldier lover and in revenge he kills her. Original commission from English National Opera. This is a complete version with dialogues, used for Calixto Bieito’s ENO production but there are various reduced versions of it available, produced over the years for Scottish Opera-go-round and Co-opera Co. among others.
IL COMBATIMENTO DI TANCREDI E CLORINDA: Claudio Monteverdi, 1624. The crusader, Tancredi, challenges and kills a soldier that he fails to recognise as his lover, Clorinda. Original commission from Birmingham Opera Company. This short dramatic cantata, from a poem by Tasso, is for a narrator and two characters although it can be performed as a monologue.
L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA: Claudio Monteverdi, 1643. A scheming harlot works her way into the emperor’s affections in order to displace his wife and take the throne. Original commission from English National Opera. There are various performing versions encompassing most of the generally accepted original material. Please get in touch if you would like any of the sections in a separate format.
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