Opera matin茅e: Ethel Smyth's F锚te galante
Ethel Smyth's F锚te galante. Poetic version by Edward Shanks, after Maurice Baring鈥檚 story, with the Lontano Ensemble conducted by Odaline de la Martinez.
Presented by Penny Gore.
Ethel Smyth's one-act opera F锚te galante, which was described by the composer as a Dance Dream. It was inspired by the commedia dell'arte and aristocratic open-air festivities of old, with costumes and masques. The piece, written in the neo-classical style to pay homage to its legacy, has dark connotations though, as it features the death of Pierrot, hanged by a jealous king. This version was recorded last year by the Lontano Ensemble under conductor Odaline de la Martinez, accompanying a cast including Felix Kempe as Pierrot and Charmian Bedford as Columbine.
It's followed by another excerpt from the recent 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra's Total Immersion cycle, dedicated to the music of the German composer Detlev Glanert. Today we've selected his Three Pieces for Clarinet, performed by musicians of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
Then the 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Michael Seal, present a concert with pieces by female composers, among them Dani Howard, Florence Price, Elzabeth Maconchy and Isidora 沤ebeljan. Violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen makes an appearance too.
The afternoon closes with the ensemble performing Shchedrin's Carmen Suite, inspired in the opera by Georges Bizet, under the baton of Gergely Madaras.
2.00pm
Ethel Smyth: F锚te galante - a Dance-Dream in One Act: Poetic version by Edward Shanks, after Maurice Baring鈥檚 story
Columbine - Charmian Bedford (soprano)
The Queen - Carolyn Dobbin (mezzo-soprano)
Pierrot - Felix Kemp (baritone)
The King - Simon Wallfisch (baritone)
The Lover - Mark Milhofer (tenor)
Harlequin - Alessandro Fisher (tenor)
Lontano Ensemble
Odaline de la Martinez, conductor
2.50pm
Glanert: Three Pieces for Clarinet (2003)
Raymond Brien, clarinet
Matthew Gemmill, piano
3.10pm
Dani Howard: Argentum
Florence Price: Sinner Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass
Elizabeth Maconchy: Serenata Concertante*
Isidora 沤ebeljan: The Horses of Saint Mark
Tamsin Waley-Cohen, violin*
成人快手 Symphony Orchestra
Michael Seal, conductor
4.10pm
Bizet-Shchedrin: Carmen Suite
成人快手 Symphony Orchestra
Gergely Madaras, conductor
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Music Played
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Ethel Smyth
F锚te galante; a Dance-Dream in One Act
Ensemble: Lontano Ensemble. Conductor: Odaline de la Martinez.- Retrospect Opera.
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Detlev Glanert
Three Pieces for Clarinet
Performer: Raymond Brien. Performer: Matthew Gemmill. -
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Dani Howard
Argentum
Orchestra: 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Seal. -
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Florence Price
Sinners Please Don't Let this Harvest Pass
Orchestra: 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Seal. -
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Elizabeth Maconchy
Serenata Concertante
Performer: Tamsin Waley-Cohen. Orchestra: 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Seal. -
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Isidora Zebeljan
The Horses of Saint Mark
Orchestra: 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Seal. -
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Franz Schubert
On the River (Winterreise, D.911)
Singer: Roderick Williams. Performer: Christopher Glynn.- Schubert: Winter Journey.
- Signum Classics.
- 7.
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Rodion Shchedrin
Bizet-Shchedrin - Carmen Suite
Composer: Georges Bizet. Orchestra: 成人快手 Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gergely Madaras. -
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Variations on 'Bei M盲nnern, welche Liebe f眉hlen', WoO 46
Performer: J谩nos Starker. Performer: Rudolf Buchbinder.- Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello & Piano.
- Apex.
- 6.
SYNOPSIS - F锚te galante
The action starts by moonlight in a garden, described in the score as painted by Watteau. The King and Queen host a courtly fete, which opens with a ceremonial Sarabande, with guests in attendance and a commedia dell鈥檃rte troupe ready for action too. The Queen sees in shock a mysterious masked man, her Lover, pick up her dropped handkerchief. A puppet-drama quickly starts, introduced by a fanfare, and the traditional characters of Harlequin, Pantaloon, Pierrot, and Columbine perform. When the show ends, The King claims one dance with Columbine while Pierrot rests by the bushes. The Queen now in disguise meets her Lover, whom she embraces, but when he takes off his cloak, he鈥檚 also dressed as Pierrot. Columbine, who catches the scene, mistakenly believes she鈥檚 now been betrayed. The real Pierrot swiftly confronts the Lover and asks him to leave, and he disappears just in time as the King summons the Queen and their guests to get together again. Columbine challenges Pierrot adding that she鈥檚 always suspected he had feelings for the Queen. The King now intervenes stating that the man Columbine saw was a different person, but still Pierrot refuses to say what really happened. His silence is suspicious, though, and despite pleas by the Queen the guards seize Pierrot as the King declares that he must be punished. Pierrot is prepared to die for the Queen, but avoiding being hanged he stabs himself to death. As the opera closes the opening gentle dance heard at the beginning comes back, but Pierrot鈥檚 body hangs from a beam.
Broadcast
- Thu 5 Mar 2020 14:00成人快手 Radio 3
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