Kate Royal - Midsummer Night (2009)
Artist: Kate Royal
Title: Midsummer Night
Year Of Release: 2009
Label: EMI Classics
Genre: Classical, Vocal
Quality: FLAC (tracks) / MP3 320 Kbps
Total Time: 01:01:57
Total Size: 258 Mb / 158 Mb
WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist: Title: Midsummer Night
Year Of Release: 2009
Label: EMI Classics
Genre: Classical, Vocal
Quality: FLAC (tracks) / MP3 320 Kbps
Total Time: 01:01:57
Total Size: 258 Mb / 158 Mb
WebSite: Album Preview
Miss Julie (William Alwyn)
1. Miss Julie, Act 1 Scene 1: "Midsummer Night, O, night of magic" (Miss Julie) 03:42
Le Rossignol (Igor Stravinsky)
2. The Nightingale, Act 2: "Ach, serdtse dobroe" (The Nightingale, The Fisherman) 03:36
Troilus and Cressida (Sir William Walton)
3. Troilus and Cressida, Act 2 Scene 1: "At the haunted end of the day" (Cressida) 03:06
Susannah (Carlisle Floyd)
4. Susannah, Act 2 Scene 3: "The trees on the mountains are cold" (Susannah) 05:09
Rusalka (Antonín Dvořák)
5. Rusalka, Op. 114, B. 203, Act 1: Song to the Moon, "Mesicku na nebi hlubokém" (Rusalka) 06:36
Peter Grimes (Benjamin Britten)
6. Peter Grimes, Op. 33, Act 3 Scene 1: "Is the boat in? … Embroidery in childhood was a luxury of idleness" (Balstrode, Ellen) 06:08
Die Lustige Witwe (Franz Lehár)
7. Die lustige Witwe, Act 2: No. 7, Vilja-Lied, "Nun lasst uns … Vilja, o Vilja, Du Waldmägdelein" (Hanna, Chorus) 06:07
Vanessa (Samuel Barber)
8. Vanessa, Op. 32, Act 1 Scene 1: "Do not utter a word" (Vanessa) 04:49
Paul Bunyan (Benjamin Britten)
9. Paul Bunyan, Op. 17, Act 1 Scene 2: No. 15a, Song, "Ah! Whether the sun chine upon children playing" (Tiny, Chorus) 04:11
Monsieur Beaucaire (André Messager)
10. Monsieur Beaucaire, Act 2: No. 13, Chanson, "Philomel" (Lady Mary) 04:24
The Turn of the Screw (Benjamin Britten)
11. The Turn of the Screw, Op. 54, Act 1 Scene 4: "How beautiful it is" (Governess 05:35
Wuthering Heights (Bernard Herrmann)
12. Wuthering Heights, Act 2: "I have dreamt in my life dreams" (Catherine) 02:30
Die tote Stadt (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)
13. Die tote Stadt, Op. 12, Act 1: "Glück, das mir verblieb" (Marietta) 06:04
Performers:
Kate Royal (soprano)
Andrew Staples (tenor)
Thomas Allen (baritone)
Orchestra of the English National Opera
Crouch End Festival Chorus
Edward Gardner, conductor
For her second solo album for EMI, lyric soprano Kate Royal has created an ambitious program: songs of love or longing from twentieth century opera and operetta, excluding the obvious choices of Puccini or Strauss, and more than half are in English. She has come up with a gorgeous selection of arias, ranging from the very popular ("Song to the Moon" from Dvorák's Rusalka and "The trees on the Mountain" from Floyd's Susannah) to the very obscure (the rhapsodic "Midsummer Night" from Alwyn's Miss Julie, Rossignol from Messager's Monsieur Beaucaire, and "I have dreamt" from Bernard Hermann's Wuthering Heights). Some of the arias are not infrequently heard in recital, including "Vilja-Lied" from Lehár's Die Lustige Witwe, "Do no utter a word" from Barber's Vanessa, and "Mariettas Lied" from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt, but the rest are rarely sung apart from the complete opera, and it's a pleasure to hear how effective they are in a recital setting. This is especially true of two stunning Britten excerpts, "Embroidery in childhood" from Peter Grimes, and "How beautiful it is" from The Turn of the Screw. Royal's voice is pure and strong, with a silvery sheen, and she brings a wide expressive range to these selections. The quality of the repertoire and the warmth and depth of Royal's interpretations make this an album that should be of interest to any fan of modern opera. Edward Gardner leads the Orchestra of English National Opera and Crouch End Festival Chorus in intensely passionate performances that emphasize the Romantic lyricism of the music. The sound is warm and clean, with an excellent sense of presence.