Inspired by models from the Commedia dell?Arte the plot is set in Seville and presents the old ?Greybeard? Don Belflor (a retired bullfighter and womanizer) his young wife Coraline and her lover Tracolin. In a highly contemporary way this leads to a three-way relationship of which everyone approves. The ?accord parfait? is a perfect triad consisting of exactly three notes. It is noticeable that the libretti of the Second Republic were no longer subject to censor.Two arias were planned for each role. As a flautist Tracolin also knows how to evoke famous melodies from the French opera repertoire in his advances. The centrepieces are the two trios.Oneof these the variation number ?Ah! vous dirai-je maman ? is the jewel of the opera: here vocal virtuosity and the comedy of the situation are combined with brilliant ease.The Vocal score is based on the first scholarly-critical edition of the opera. This appears in the series ? L'Opéra français ? edited by Paul Prévost. Here the spoken dialogue text is integrated with the music for the first time.Based on the Urtext of the new series ? L?Opéra français ?.Original French text with singing German translation.Extensive foreword (Fr/Ger/Eng).Full score (BA8701) and Vocal score (BA8701-90) available for sale and performance material available for hire.

This opera had its premiere on December 31 1879 at the Fifth Avenue Theater in New York with Arthur Sullivan conducting. It opened on April 3 1880 at the Opera Comique in London and ran for 363 performances.

Benvenuto Cellini, premiered in 1838, is inspired by the life of the legendary Florentine goldsmith and Renaissance figure. The premiere was a disatster yet even by Berlioz?s high standards it contains music of exceptional inventiveness and beauty. The work is challenging not least due to the three versions which exist: the original version (Paris 1) as Berlioz composed it the version premiered in Paris (Paris 2) after rehearsal and copied into an archival full score the Weimar version based on the revival in 1852 following changes suggested by Liszt Our edition offers a solution to the problem of publishing operas which have been heavily revised by their composers, so that any of its many versions may be adopted on stage today. Urtext of the New Berlioz Edition Full score (BA5441) and vocal score (French) with a supplementary libretto French-German (BA5441-90) available for sale Performance material (BA5441-72) available for hire

Conductor composer and pianist André Previn continues to redefine the possibilities in his extraordinary career already one of the most distinguished musicians of our time. This wonderful opera in three acts is based onthe famous play by Tennessee Williams and with the libretto by Philip Littell Previn has beautifully created music which truly evokes a sense of place and setting and reflects the fragility violence and passions of thecharacters. Available here is the piano/vocal score of Previn?s marvelous work which was commissioned by San Francisco Opera and premiered on 19th September 1998.

Saariaho’s L’armour De Loin is an opera in five acts and was premiered in Salzburg in August 2000 with additional productions being staged at the theatre Bern in Switzerland. The story is based on the life ofPrince of Bleye one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century and follows his glowing passion for a woman from the East of whom he has only heard is the central theme of the libretto. Libretto written by AminMaalouf.This is the Vocal Score of Saariaho’s remarkable opera.

in Full Score-The magical tale of the Swan-Knight in a comprehensive full instrumental and vocal score Breitkopf

Jacques Offenbach (1819?80) ranks among the greatest composers of lighthearted operettas, and his famous songs continue to charm millions who know neither their names nor their composer. This volume features the sheet music for 38 popular songs from 14 operettas. All are reproduced from the original sheet music ? a few from the original piano-vocal scores, and some with lively pictorial covers. Contents include four songs from Orpheé aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld), five songs from La belle Hélène, four songs from La vie parisienne, six songs from La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, seven songs from La Périchole, three songs from La fille du tambour-major, and more. The complete French texts appear on the music pages, and a separate section offers English translations. All songs were chosen by Antonio de Almeida, a renowned conductor and authority on Offenbach, who also provides an informative Introduction.