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Special offer. Corigliano, J: The Ghosts of Versailles

Victoria Livengood (Woman with Hat), Kristinn Sigmundsson (Louis XVI), Scott Scully (Marquis), Christopher Maltman (Beaumarchais), Patricia Racette (Marie Antoinette), Lucas Meachem (Figaro), Lucy Schaufer (Susanna), Joshua Guerrero (Count Almaviva), Guanqun Yu (Rosina), Renée Rapier (Cherubino),...

Christopher Maltman [is] solidly incisive as Beaumarchais, Robert Brubaker [is] vigorous as the villain Bégearss, and Broadway’s Patti LuPone [is] in for a colourful bit as the Turkish singer... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2016, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 22nd Apr 2016
Catalogue No: PTC5186538
Label: Pentatone
Series: American Operas
Length: 2 hours 35 minutes

Grammy Awards

59th Awards (2016)

Best Engineered Album, Classical
Grammy Awards

59th Awards (2016)

Best Opera Recording

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This release includes a digital booklet

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Corigliano, J: The Ghosts of Versailles

Work length2:35:17

$48.95

$60.45

$74.40

Victoria Livengood, Kristinn Sigmundsson, Scott Scully, Young Park So, Vanessa Becerra, Peabody Southwell, Summer Hassan, Lacey Jo Benter, Frederick Ballentine, Patrick Blackwell, Christopher Maltman, Patricia Racette, Lucas Meachem, Lucy Schaufer, Joshua Guerrero, Joel Sorensen, Robert Brubaker, Stacey Tappan, Guanqun Yu, Renée Rapier, Philip Cokorinos, Brenton Ryan, Museop Kim, Gregory Geiger, Patti LuPone, Lucas Meachem, Joshua Guerrero, Museop Kim, Robert Brubaker, Joel Sorensen, Patricia Racette, Summer Hassan, Lacey Jo Benter, Frederick Ballentine, Patrick Blackwell, Stacey Tappan, Guanqun Yu, Lucy Schaufer, Los Angeles Opera Chorus, Los Angeles Opera Or, Omar Crook, Robert Brubaker, Joshua Guerrero, Summer Hassan, Lacey Jo Benter, Frederick Ballentine, Patrick Blackwell, Guanqun Yu, Brenton Ryan, Stacey Tappan, Lucas Meachem, Christopher Maltman, Patricia Racette, Kristinn Sigmundsson, Joel Sorensen, Lucy Schaufer, L, Victoria Livengood, Summer Hassan, Lacey Jo Benter, Frederick Ballentine, Patrick Blackwell, Scott Scully, Joel Sorensen, Guanqun Yu, Stacey Tappan, Lucy Schaufer, Brenton Ryan, Joshua Guerrero, Los Angeles Opera Chorus, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Ja
Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Opera Chorus
James Conlon
Recorded: February and March 2015
Recording Venue: Live Recording, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Music Center, Los Angeles, California, United States

Act I: Prologue: Mon coursier hors d'haleine (Woman with Hat, Louis XVI, Marquis, Gossips, Aristocrats)

Track length7:11

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Act I: All-powerful Queen of Beauty and ruler of my willing heart (Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette)

Track length1:44

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Act I: Aria: They are always with me: the unbounded waiting, the odor of blood on steel, the terrible sound (Marie Antoinette)

Track length8:09

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Act I: My wife was always hard to please (Louis XVI, Aristocrats, Woman with Hat, Marquis, Gossips, Beaumarchais)

Track length2:17

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Act I: Oh no. Here we go again!! (Chorus, Figaro, Susanna, Almaviva, Aristocrats)

Track length1:39

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Act I: Prologue: They wish they could kill me (Figaro, Marie Antoinette, Woman with Hat, Aristocrats)

Track length8:43

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Act I: Bravo, Beaumarchais! Brilliant! - Then why are you weeping, your Majesty? (Louis XVI, Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette, Aristocrats)

Track length2:12

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Act I: Magic! It is Paris, the autumn of '93 (Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, Almaviva)

Track length2:52

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Act I: And with the one million pounds, grant Her Majesty a safe refuge in the New World (Almaviva, Figaro, Susanna, Louis XVI, Wilhelm)

Track length3:51

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Act I: Fool! Idiot! Moron! You forgot where Almaviva plans to sell the jewels? (Begearss, Wilhelm, Aristocrats, Marie Antoinette)

Track length1:12

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Act I: Recitative: I can't wait to betray Almaviva (Begearss, Florestine)

Track length2:20

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Act I: Aria: Oh, the lion may roar and the eagle may soar. (Begearss)

Track length3:58

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Act I: I remember, Master, I remember! (Wilhelm, Begearss, Susanna, Figaro, Aristocrats, Woman with Hat)

Track length1:18

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Act I: Poor Florestine, I pity her. (Marie Antoinette, Beaumarchais, Louis XVI, Aristocrats)

Track length1:59

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Act I: New Scene: Rosina's boudoir. They say New York is a lively town (Beaumarchais, Louis XVI, Begearss, Rosina, Almaviva)

Track length2:09

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Act I: Now we go back in time - Cherubino, Cherubino (Rosina, Beaumarchais, Cherubino)

Track length0:48

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Act I: Duet: Look at the green here in the glade (Beaumarchais, Rosina, Cherubino, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI)

Track length7:33

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Act I: No. I've had enough. I see what's happening here (Louis XVI, Beaumarchais, Woman with Hat, Aristocrats, Marie Antoinette, Marquis, Chorus)

Track length2:27

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Act I: Finale: Selamunaleykum, (Welcome!) (Pasha, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Leon, Florestine, Almaviva, Rosina, Susanna, Marquis, Beaumarchais, Begearss)

Track length4:01

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Act I: Finale: His Excellency, the English Ambassador (Page, English Ambassador, Almaviva, Pasha)

Track length2:36

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Act I: Finale: I am in a valley and you are in a valley (Samira, Pasha)

Track length3:37

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Act I: Finale: Ya omri. Limatha hajartani? (Samira, Figaro, Chorus)

Track length3:01

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Act I: Finale: Tafaddaloo marhabun bikoom - Shall we? (Figaro, Chorus, Almaviva, English Ambassador, Begearss, Wilhelm, Marie Antoinette, Aristocrats, Florestine, Rosina, Susanna)

Track length5:10

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Act II: Hurry, hurry… It's late! The second act is beginning! (Beaumarchais, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Almaviva, Marquis, Susanna, Florestine, Woman with Hat, Rosina)

Track length3:02

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Act II: Watch. Now Figaro comes back (Beaumarchais, Louis XVI, Almaviva, Susanna, Figaro, Marie Antoinette, Florestine, Rosina, Woman with Hat, Marquis)

Track length2:21

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Act II: Wait!… Figaro was supposed to return the necklace (Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, Woman with Hat, Marquis

Track length5:12

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Act II: Damn that Figaro. He's your husband (Almaviva, Marquis, Susanna, Woman with Hat, Marie Antoinette, Florestine, Rosina)

Track length1:36

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Act II: Duet: As summer brings a wistful breeze (Susanna, Rosina, Marie Antoinette, Leon)

Track length3:05

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Act II: And now I must go - Bless you, Madam, bless you (Rosina, Susanna, Figaro, Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette)

Track length1:24

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Act II: What is happening? (Susanna, Marie Antoinette, Figaro, Chorus)

Track length1:56

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Act II: Antoinette, we want your head! - Order! Order! (Chorus, Beaumarchais)

Track length0:54

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Act II: Marie Antoinette of Lorraine and Austria (Marie Antoinette, Chorus, Beaumarchais, Figaro)

Track length6:38

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Act II: Monarchy. Revolution. It's all the same to me - Women of Paris, listen! (Begearss, Chorus)

Track length5:46

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Act II: Welcome, Madeleine, welcome (Rosina, Aristocrats, Almaviva, Florestine, Bishop, Leon)

Track length3:09

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Act II: Quartet: Remember the chestnut trees in the gardens of the Tuileries? (Leon, Florestine, Almaviva, Rosina)

Track length3:03

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Act II: I hope I'm not too late for your party (Begearss, Almaviva, Aristocrats, Rosina, Leon, Florestine, Chorus, Figaro, Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, Wilhelm, Susanna)

Track length5:20

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Act II: Interlude

Track length3:01

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Act II: I am very well, my dear Marquis (Duchess, Aristocrats, Marquis, Wilhelm, Chorus, Rosina, Florestine, Susanna, Leon, Almaviva)

Track length4:05

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Act II: Quintet: O God of love, O Lord of light (Almaviva, Rosina, Florestine, Leon, Susanna, Marie Antoinette)

Track length7:06

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Act II: We are finished - Farewell, my faithful friend (Susanna, Rosina, Florestine, Leon, Almaviva, Figaro, Duchess, Beaumarchais, Wilhelm)

Track length3:09

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Act II: Look, her breathing is diminished (Florestine, Rosina, Almaviva, Beaumarchais, Figaro, Leon, Wilhelm, Susanna, Begearss, Duchess, Chorus)

Track length3:12

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Act II: Goodbye, Figaro. Goodbye, Beaumarchais (Beaumarchais, Marie Antoinette)

Track length1:59

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Act II: Aria : No, Beaumarchais. It is as it should have been. Once there was a golden bird (Marie Antoinette, Beaumarchais)

Track length5:01

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Act II: Come, Antonia (Beaumarchais, Chorus)

Track length3:31

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Interview, John Corigliano - The Ghosts of Versailles

27th April 2016

Katherine talks to the American composer about his 'grand opera buffa', which has just been released on CD for the first time by Pentatone.

Commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to celebrate its 100th anniversary, John Corigliano’s The Ghost of Versailles received its premiere at the Met in 1991, twelve years after it had been commissioned and eight years past the centennial season for which it had first been envisioned. Nonetheless, it was an instant success. Because of the unique situation, a large cast and extravagant orchestral forces were made available, but aside from that specific context, both John Corigliano and librettist William Hoffman conceived of Ghosts as a work of music theater that celebrates and even takes as one of its principal themes the artistic power of opera: it puts into use lavish operatic resources precisely to introduce a contemporary audience to grand opera.

More particularly, a ”grand opera buffa” is what John Corigliano decided to create, to combine his love for opera buffa, with the requirements of a grand opera house, which is the Met. The success of Ghosts resulted in many performances throughout the North- American continent in the 25 years to follow, one of which took place in February 2015 at the LA Opera, to great critical acclaim.

“It's comic and serious, entertaining and erudite, silly and thoughtful, emotional and mysterious, harrowing and uplifting, intimate and over-the-top — and the more times you see it, the more you'll find in it and the more you'll get out of it.” Los Angeles Times

Conducted by James Conlon, the production was recorded live by the renowned Soundmirror recording company and will now be released on a splendid 2-SACD album as part of PENTATONE’s newly launched American Opera Series.

“The artists of Los Angeles Opera’s 2014 production made as compelling a case for The Ghosts of Versailles as I heard on its first night at the MET in 1991. To have that performance preserved in a recording of this quality is, for this composer, a dream come true.” John Corigliano

Artists

LA Opera Orchestra & Chorus, James Conlon

Reviews

July 2016

Christopher Maltman [is] solidly incisive as Beaumarchais, Robert Brubaker [is] vigorous as the villain Bégearss, and Broadway’s Patti LuPone [is] in for a colourful bit as the Turkish singer Samira. The biggest star remains the music itself. Listening to the ensemble numbers, all floating beauties, sparklingly orchestrated, you can only hope for a second Corigliano opera.

June 2016

The LA Opera production is well cast, with strong contributions from soprano Patricia Racette, who is a dramatically effective…Marie Antoinette, Christopher Maltman as Beaumarchais, Lucas Meachem as Figaro and an effectively nasal and histrionic Patti LuPone in the small role of Samira

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Special offer. Corigliano, J: The Ghosts of Versailles

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Interview, John Corigliano - The Ghosts of Versailles

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