Seiji Ozawa, Saito Kinen Orchestra - Poulenc: Les Mamelles de Tirésias / Le Bal Masqué (1997)

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Artist:
Title: Poulenc: Les Mamelles de Tirésias / Le Bal Masqué
Year Of Release: 1997
Label: Decca
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Total Time: 01:12:02
Total Size: 341 Mb
WebSite:

Tracklist:

Les mamelles de Tirésias - Poème de Guillaume Apollinaire ()
1. Prologue 06:27
Les mamelles de Tirésias - Poème de Guillaume Apollinaire - Act 1 ()
2. Scene 1 "Non, Monsieur mon mari" 05:13
3. Scene 2 "Donne moi du lard je te dis" 01:50
4. Scene 3 "Je déménage" 00:24
5. Scene 4 "Avec vous vieux Lacouf" 02:02
6. Scene 5 "Ah chère liberté" 04:03
7. Scene 6 "Ah puisqu'enfin voici un agent" 04:32
8. Scene 7 "Fameux représentant de toute autorité" 02:52
9. Scene 8 Final "Elle sort un bobard" 03:23
Les mamelles de Tirésias - Poème de Guillaume Apollinaire ()
10. Entr'acte 02:37
Les mamelles de Tirésias - Poème de Guillaume Apollinaire - Act 2 ()
11. Scene 1 "Ah, c'est fou les joies de la paternité" 01:07
12. Scene 2 "Hands up! Bonjour Monsieur le mari" 04:43
13. Scene 3 "Eh oui! c'est simple comme un périscope" 01:33
14. Scene 4 "Mon cher papa si vous voulez savoir" 02:17
15. Scene 5 "Celui-ci n'est pas réussi" 00:45
16. Scene 6 "Il paraît que vous en faites de belles" 00:31
17. Scene 7 "Chastes citoyens de Zanzibar me voici" 05:43
18. Scene 8 "Il faut s'aimer ou je succombe" 03:46
Le Bal Masqué - Poèmes de Max Jacob ()
19. 1. Préambule et air de bravoure 04:18
20. 2. Intermède 02:19
21. 3. Malvina 02:14
22. 4. Bagatelle 02:14
23. 5. La Dame aveugle 02:36
24. 6. Finale 04:33

Performers:
Soprano Vocals [Newspaper Woman] – Akemi Sakamoto
Soprano Vocals [Thérèse] – Barbara Bonney
Tenor Vocals [Graham Clark] – Graham Clark
Tenor Vocals [Husband] – Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
Tenor Vocals [Journalist] – Gordon Gietz
Tenor Vocals [Son] – Anthony Dean Griffey
Vocals [Presto] – Mark Oswald
Baritone Vocals [Director] – Jean-Philippe Lafont
Baritone Vocals [Gendarme] – Wolfgang Holzmair
Tokyo Opera Singers
Saito Kinen Orchestra
Conductor – Seiji Ozawa

Set to a text by Guillaume Apollinaire that combines nonsensical images with some serious underlying thoughts, Les mamelles de Tirésias is a 52-minute, two-act operatic romp and makes a fascinating contrast to Poulenc's more familiar La voix humaine. With his usual pert lyricism and cabaret-like rhythmic underpinnings, the composer keeps his listeners thoroughly entertained. Along with Apollinaire, Max Jacobs was a leader of the Dada movement, and some of his rather illogical poems were delightfully set as a cantata for baritone and small instrumental ensemble as Le bal masqué. Wolfgang Holzmair sings effectively, as does the entire cast for Les mamelles. The orchestra plays with great proficiency, and the international cast sings well. If the opera performance lacks the charm of the early-1950s Angel recording by André Cluytens, there is no use crying over spilt milk. The new version is far better recorded and is the only one currently available. -- Paul Turok