Jack Ophenbach THE BEAUTIFUL ELENA 2 CDs (legendary premiere series)
Issued: 2005
Style: Classical Music
Company: Kanev
CD 0772-2 ADD
The Beautiful Elena is one of Jack OphenbachÂ’s masterpieces, as the opera admirers know. Obsessed by the galloping drive of the epoch and by the philosophy of boulevard Paris skepticism, Ophenbach is ready to mock at everything and everyone without having any scruples about it.
The Beautiful Elena is introduced to the Bulgarian opera scene in 1921 for the first time. It was appreciated in the 1930s, after it was staged by the director Christo Popov in the Bulgarian National Opera.
The opera is presented on two CDs. The performers sing in BULGARIAN.
The first CD features the following:
Introduction 5.40
Classical choir 2.00
The Celebration of Adonis (Calhas and Philcom) 1.35
Choir of the weeping women and Elena’s aria: “O, dear God…” 5.37
Orest’s couplets “Tsing la-la, tsing la-la!” 2.24 “That’s Kalhas” scene (Orest, Kalhas and hetteras) 1.30
Duet of Elena and Orest “I want you to teach me, my queen!” 1.43
Kalhas’s prophecy (Kalhas and Elena) 4.49 Paris’s aria: “Shepherd in a remote land” 4.11
“Arbiter of the three goddesses” scene (Mercury and Paris) 2.08
Quartet of the goddesses and Paris: “Evoe, I did everything…” 5.55
Dance intermedia 1.27
Pretext for waging war on Troy (Kalhas, Philokom, the two Ajaxes; Paris and Elena 3.45
Duet of Paris and Elena: “O, Elena!” 4.59 Parade of the kings, welcoming speech to Paris: “I am a King…” 10.22
Sacrifice scene: “Slaughter the ship” 6’ 16” End of 1st Act
CD 2 – 45’ 34
2nd Act
Introduction and Bachis’ song: “Oh, Queen you are goddess to us” 1.58
The Dancer of Zither (dance) 1.21
“Bachis, He Loves me” Scene 2.14
Elena’s Prayer “Why, why, tell me, oh Venus… 2.56
Feast of Kings scene 9.53
A toast of the Kings and prince Paris “Glasses in hands…1.32
Elena and Paris’s duet “This is only a dream…” 6.31 “Elena, open the door” scene (Menelaus and Mercury) 7.12
Scene in ElenaÂ’s bedroom (Menelaus, Elena, Paris and Mercury) 3.13
End of Act II – 8.42
Among the performers can be seen the names of Emil Penchev, Vidin Daskalov, Lilyana Koshlukova, Stefan Anastassov, Lidiya Staneva and many more. The recording is made during the premiere of “The Beautiful Elena” on Bulgarian stage, in 1963.
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