Monteverdi’s opera “L’Orfeo”, based on the legend of Thracian singer Orpheus and his love of Eurydice, is a masterpiece of musical declamation and ornamentation. It was first performed during the 1607 carnevale in the “Palazzo Ducale” in Mantua. When an edition remains true to its sources, this certainly does not mean that it is not also practical to use, as is demonstrated in this Bärenreiter edition of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo”. Edited by Rinaldo Alessandrini, the new publication follows the Bärenreiter edition of Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria”. Two contemporary prints of “L’Orfeo” from the years 1609 and 1615 have been passed down to us. Four copies of each of these prints still survive today in public libraries. The later print includes many corrections to the earlier edition and was accordingly used as the primary source for this Bärenreiter edition. However, when solving musical problems the editor frequently follows the more coherent style of the earlier print. The numerous interesting variants, not only between the two editions but also amongst the eight surviving copies, are listed in the critical commentary. This edition of “L’Orfeo” offers in addition to Monteverdi’s somewhat sparse original figures also figures added to the bass line by the editor. The continuo player should, however, feel free to follow his own judgment. The notation has been, when necessary, adapted to suit modern practice, for example with regard to the clefs. The sections that were originally written in “chiavetta” have been transposed a fifth lower. In the appendix these sections also appear in their original notation in facsimile as well as transposed a fourth lower. - Detailed introduction by the editor (Ital/Eng/Ger) on the work’s genesis and performance practice - Comprehensive critical commentary (Eng) in the score - Idiomatic piano reduction Edition no.: BA 8793-90 ISMN: 9790006533121 Composer / Author: Monteverdi, Claudio Title: L'Orfeo Favola in musica in one prologue and five acts Detailed instrumentation: Soprano solo (7), Tenor solo (4), Bass solo (3), Mixed choir: SSATTB, Male choir: TTBBB, Orchestra Librettist: Striggio, Alessandro (junior) Editor: Alessandrini, Rinaldo Foreword / Introduction: Alessandrini, Rinaldo Product format: Piano reduction, Urtext edition Language(s) of work: Italian Language(s) of text: German, Italian, English Publisher: Bärenreiter Binding: Paperback Print run: 1st printing 2012 Pages / Format: XIV, 143 S. - 27,0 x 19,0 cm Weight: 428 g

Opera with a Prologue and four Acts (First version) / Opera in five Acts (Second version) Dialogue versions. Par GOUNOD CHARLES. Charles Gounod’s “Faust” secured its international recognition in the version as an entirely sung opera, which from thenceforth has largely obscured the fact that the work was originally composed with spoken dialogues. The early versions staged prior to the 1869 performance at the Paris Opéra containing substantial unknown material and with dialogues and melodramas are the subject of this new edition. (The third version “version opera” was published in a separate edition BA 8713 in 2016.) Even as the rehearsals were taking place at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1858, during the first series of performances at the theatre in 1859, furthermore as the 1862 revival was approaching and during the performances on the smaller stage at the Place du Châtelet, there were constant changes and revisions. It is, thus, impossible to identify manifestly definitive versions. Nevertheless, by drawing on the entire source material now at hand (including fascinating material only recently discovered) and on the whole gamut of aspects communicated by the reception, Paul Prévost systematically presents us with a score laid out in two main versions in whose chronology constancy and change become transparent. With all the musical changes having been documented, the result is a practicable score for performances which reveals a still far too unknown “Faust” – a “Faust” that is rooted in the tradition of the opéra comique. Quite a few musical numbers are published as a score for the first time in this edition: the trio for Faust, Wagner and Siebel “À l’étude ô mon maître”, the duet of Valentin and Marguerite “Adieu, mon bon frère!”, Méphistophélès’ air “Maître Scarabée”, Siebel’s romance “Versez vos chagrins dans mon âme!”, Valentin’s air with chorus “Chaque jour, nouvelle affaire”, the chorus of witches “Un deux et trois”, and also seven melodramas whose missing or incomplete orchestration has been written for our edition. It was only recently that the long-lost second part of Faust’s original cavatina “Salut! demeure chaste et pure” was unearthed. Only in details of orchestration do other numbers differ from the well-known pieces./ Répertoire / Opéra

Par VIVALDI ANTONIO. C'est seulement en 1713 que Vivaldi aborde l'opéra ; certaines sources parlent de 94 productions, mais seules 50 ont été identifiées. La musique de ces opéras n'ayant pas été imprimée, contrairement aux livrets, il ne reste trace (complète ou partielle) que d'une vingtaine d'opéras. Impresario du Teatro San Angelo de Venise, Vivaldi écrira la majorité de ces opéras pour ce théâtre. Les 30 airs de ce recueil sont proposés en réduction chant-clavier, pour voix de contre-ténor, extraits des opéras : Andromeda Liberata, Ottone in villa, L'Olimpiade, Tietiberga, Tito Manlio, Il Tigrane, Bajazet, Il Giustino, Olando finto pazzo, La Verità in cimento, La Fida nonfa, Orlando Furioso. / Date parution : 2014-07-01/ Recueil / Contre Ténor

Ed. critica di Charles S. Brauner - Riduzione per canto e pianoforte-Mosè in Egitto (1818) is the fourth of the nine opere serie that Rossini composed for Naples between 1815 and 1822. As his letters to his mother show Rossini was very proud of this opera considering it an especially fine achievement that might appeal more to posterity than to the audiences of his day. In fact it proved to be one of his most frequently performed opere serie. The present reduction for voice and piano in two volumes derives from the critical edition of the score published by Fondazione Rossini Pesaro in collaboration with Casa Ricordi by Charles S. Brauner: the edition is based mainly on the autograph score now housed in theBibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. This autograph score is complete but it is not completely autograph and many sections have offered some problems for the reconstruction of the text: the recitative in Act I and the Aria Mosè in Act II are not by Rossini the first five recitatives in Act II are not in Rossini’s hand and may or may not be by Rossini also not in Rossini’s hand is the Aria Amaltea although undoubtedly by Rossini because borrowed from his earlier opera Ciro in Babilonia. The Preface and the Critical Commentary offer for the first time some valid tools to reconstruct the entire history of the opera since the first performance in Naples (1818 1819) to the Parisian ones (1822 – 1840). In particular in the appendices are included the original Aria Faraone which composed by Michele Carafa for the first two productions of the opera in Naples in 1818 and 1819 was later replaced by the Aria Faraone Rossini himself composed in 1820 and in Appendix II the new ending of the recitative following Duetto N. 3 which Rossini composed for one of the Parisian performances after 1822. 

Vocal Score for the Opera in Two Acts.Caritas’ is in two acts the first consisting of 12 short scenes the second being a continuous scena.The overall form of the opera retains the architecture of Wesker’s stage play butalters the proportions in order to create a musically dynamic form. While each scene of the first act is centred around a specific pitch the second act is a Passacaglia whose ‘ground’ is a Cantus Firmus each repetition ofwhich begins on a different note from those of its previous statements. These large-scale architectural features are both reflected in and derived from the musical material itself.

This short opera (duration of 50 minutes) aptly designed for children to perform with modest resources is a version of the familiar tale though with certain adaptations. Cinderella is an au pair girl who arrives on the scene bytrain and there are three ugly sisters who get their just deserts in marriage to the appalling leaders of the armed forces. Writing for children in the Orkney Islands Davies has also included some local references: these can bechanged to suit other times and places. Musically the piece is a bright sequence of little songs choruses dialogue scenes and dances probably best suited to children between the ages of eight and twelve though the parts of theugly sisters can usefully be taken by boys with broken voices.Text only.Duration c. 50mins.

Operas in three acts Version of the premiere, London 1737. Par HAENDEL GEORG FRIEDRICH. “Charming Berenice” – the Earl of Shaftesbury attended a rehearsal of the opera on 12 May 1737 and went into raptures about this “inexpressible delight”. “Berenice” was premiered at Covent Garden Theatre in London just a few days later on 18 May 1737. “Berenice” is one of the “light” operas and offers a wealth of musical gems, the second movement of the overture having become famous as “The Minuet from Berenice”, for instance, as has Berenice’s extended aria in the third act, in which she reflects on the inconstancy of the god Amor in duet with the solo oboist. The musical imagery which Handel worked into the opera is likewise enchanting, such as the imitation of bees humming in Fabio’s “Vedi l’ape” and the sorrowful cooing of a dove in Selene’s “Tortorella che rimira”. The scholarly-critical new edition contains the musical text of the first performance together with pieces in the appendix which Handel excised or shortened in preparation for the premiere. As is customary with our editions, a preface provides a detailed introduction to the genesis of the work, the story’s historical context, the source material and reception. Furthermore, the edition includes a translation of the libretto and an exhaustive Critical Report./ Répertoire / Opéra

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat investigates the world of a person with visual agnosia such people ?see but do not see?. This Chamber Opera by Michael Nyman with libretto by Oliver Sacks ChristopherRawlence and Michael Morris was based on the book of the same title by Oliver Sacks and first performed in London on 27 October 1986.This full score edition contains introductions in English French German and Italian.Scored for Soprano Tenor Baritone Harp Piano 2 Violins Viola and 2 Cellos it has duration 70 minutes. Performance material is available to hire from the publishers.

This short opera (duration of 50 minutes) aptly designed for children to perform with modest resources is a version of the familiar tale though with certain adaptations.Musically the piece is a bright sequence of littlesongs choruses dialogue scenes and dances probably best suited to children between the ages of eight and twelve though the parts of the ugly sisters can usefully be taken by boys with broken voices.The music is scored foran orchestra of recorders trumpet percussion strings and keyboard and ranges through a variety of styles. The opera has eleven solo parts and a chorus who act as a train ball guests and the magic kittens. It is alsosuitable for performance by children aged eight and upwards.

Poul Ruders' opera Tycho in 3 Acts was premiered May 15 1987 by Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Kaare Hansen (conductor) at Helsingør Theater in Aarhus Denmark. Libretto in Danish by Henrik Bjelke. Vocal score: WH31457C Synopsis: In 1597 the famous Danish astronomer and astrologist the nobleman Tycho Brahe flees his castle cum observatory Uraniburg on one of the small islands off the Danish coast. The newly coronated King Christian the Fourth has a grudge against Tycho who in 1572 discovered a new star Stella Nova by using his naked eye only; the telescopewasn’t invented yet. This discovery gained Tycho tremendous fame among his contemporaries within the European scientific circles. The now weakened and embittered old man moves together with his wife Christina whom he raped when she was an adolescent and Jeppe the Dwarf his fool-servant whose life Tycho once saved to the plague-infested city of Prague. There at the Benatky Castle Tycho encounters the main reason for his departure from Denmark: the young German mathematician Johannes Kepler the only scientist among his contemporaries Tycho acknowledges - Tycho is in severe need of intelligent challenge. Which he gets and with a disastrous result for himself. The encouraging encounter with Kepler turns into Tycho's scientific and earthly death verdict. Slowly Tycho realizes that his own conception of the Earth as the indisputable axes of the Universe is shattered by Kepler s theory about Earth encircling the stationary Sun. The ancient picture of the Universe collapses Tycho feels deceived by Kepler who leaves the castle shaken by Tycho's wrath. But they meet again and reunite in a Romanza a Due at Tycho’s death bed. The opera hovers above immense sadness and extreme ridicule - the cast is most peculiar indeed - so in many ways 'TYCHO' may be described at the best as a'Tragic Operetta'

Opérette-Bouffe En Un Acte-An opera buffa in one act by Offenbach in Germany mainly known under the title of 'Salon Pritzelsberger' which has enjoyed continuous popularity since its world premiere in 1860 until the present day. Since original performance materials were lost after the death of the composer several numbers like the overture and the legendary Trio italien could not be reconstructed in their original instrumentation. Therefore the access to the autograph of the score granted to the editor Jean-Christophe Keck by the descendants of Offenbach was of inestimable value in order to publish this gem of opera literature in an authentic source-critical edition for the first time. In theirvariant of the 'Bourgeois Gentleman' Offenbach and his co-author the Duc de Morny President of the Ministry of Internal Affairs under Napoleon III make fun not only of the airs and graces of the nouveaux riches but also of the musical star cult of the 19th century which apparently was hardly any different from that of today?

With a libretto written by Judith herself based on the cryptic supernatural short story Der blonde Eckbert by Ludwig Tieck. This one act pocket version of the opera makes use of a Chamber group rather than a fullorchestra and omits the chorus.'Eckbert and his wife Berthe live in seclusion in the Harz Moutains. One stormy night Eckbert's friend Walther arrives and to while away the time Berthe tells him her lifestory.Walther mysteriously knows a great deal about Berthe' s early life and Eckbert's suspicions grow eventually leading him to murder Walther during a hunting expediton.Consumed by terror and suspicion Eckbertretreats into seclusion and revisits the fairy-tale scenes of Berthe's childhood accompanied by a magical singing bird. He encounters the old woman who raised Berthe and at last learns the terrible truth about Walther Berthe and himself.'                 - Judith Weir