Beatrice et Benedict (Complete opera) [Recorded in 1981]

Beatrice et Benedict (Complete opera) [Recorded in 1981] cover $25.00 Out of Stock
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BERLIOZ
Beatrice et Benedict (Complete opera) [Recorded in 1981]
Yvonne Minton, Placido Domingo, Ileana Cotrubas, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Orchestre de Paris / Daniel Barenboim

[ Brilliant Classics Opera Collection / 2 CD ]

Release Date: Wednesday 1 April 2009

This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.

'Minton's beautiful voice and her warm understanding of Berlioz's style are again evident … Daniel Barenboim conducts with enthusiasm.' Gramophone

Béatrice et Bénédict was borne of Berlioz's lifelong fascination with Shakespeare. A performance by the Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet reportedly inspired him to commence work on his own Roméo et Juliette, a large-scale dramatic symphony. He had fallen headlong in love with her after seeing her as Ophelia in 1827 and later wrote, 'I came out of Hamlet shaken to the core.'

He also contemplated setting Antony and Cleopatra to music, but it was not until many years later (1860) that he settled on Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. Although he had considered the idea of an opera on this play as early as 1833, it turned out to be his final opera. Berlioz produced his own libretto - a much revised version of the story, with several of the original characters absent. It nonetheless remains faithful to Shakespeare's play.

Berlioz claimed he wrote this opera to relax after the stress of completing the vast Les Troyens - and said it was 'a caprice written with the point of a needle'. Indeed, it is scored lightly, and has a warm and gentle wit to it, ideally suited to the subject.

Recording made in 1981

'Minton's beautiful voice and her warm understanding of Berlioz's style are again evident … Daniel Barenboim conducts with enthusiasm.' Gramophone

Booklet contains an introduction to the opera and a comprehensive synopsis of the plot

Complete non-copyright libretto available to download at www.brilliantoperacollection.com