Organic Opera

It’s all about the theatre of the imagination on our next Pipedreams program, as we put away our hymn books and follow the King of Instruments to the opera house. Enjoy familiar melodies from Rossini, Puccini, Mozart and Gounod, excerpts from Thais and I Puritani, The Barber of Seville and Die Fledermaus done up in a way you’d never expect. Hear Simon Gledhill at the Sanfilippo Music Salon and Thomas Heywood at Melbourne Town Hall. Delight in mechanical player-organs from the 19th century, and the stunning virtuosity of Wayne Marshall at Peterborough Cathedral.

These magic flutes sing a different song, as we explore repertoire from the lyric stage minus the prima donas and helden tenors. Enjoy highlights from Puccini and Donizetti, Mozart, Massenet and Vincenzo Bellini, as we present the extraordinary, even nutritious (?) sounds of organic opera this week on Pipedreams.

Audio Listen to the program

Program Broadcast dates:

May 20, 2002

Music played in the program

JOHANN STRAUSS II: Die Fledermaus Overture –Wayne Marshall (1894 Hill; 1982 Harrison & Harrison/Peterborough Cathedral, England, UK) Virgin Classics 61703

JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU: Suite in D, from Dardanus –Viviane Loriaut (1987 Loriaut/Église Saint-Laurent, Aubenas, France) Gallo CD-768

GIACOMO PUCCINI: Nessun dorma, from Turandot –Michael Miller, trumpet; Davie Lowry (1989 Casavant Frères/First Baptist, Charlotte, NC) Pro Organo CD 7026

LOUIS-JAMES-ALFRED LEFÉBURE-WÉLY: Fantasy on Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte –Jean-Paul Imbert (1885 Cavaillé-Coll/Abbaye aux Hommes [Saint-Etienne], Caen, France) Festivo FECD-157

GIACOMO PUCCINI: O mio babbino caro, from Gianni Schicci –Ron Rhode (1929 Kimball/Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA) Roxy Productions CD-105

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: The Thieving Magpie Overture –Simon Gledhill (1927 Wurlitzer/Place de la Musique, Sanfilippo Residence, Barrington, IL) Musical Contrasts CD-210

CHARLES GOUNOD: Waltz, from Faust (1870 Gavioli Band Organ/Jean Ducloux Collection, Tournus, France) FY CD-049

GIACOMO MEYERBEER: Robert le Diable Suite (1827 Danrainville player organ/National Mechanical Instrument Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands) NM CD-002

VINCENZO BELLINI: Suoni la tromba e intrepido, from I Puritani –Roberto Cognazzo (1849 Lingiardi/Parish Church, La Brigue, France) ADDA CD-581181

JULES MASSENET: Meditation, from Thais –Virgil Fox (1953 Aeolian-Skinner/Riverside, New York, NY) EMI Classics CDC 65426

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: The Barber of Seville –Thomas Heywood (1929 Hall, Norman & Beard; 2000 Schantz/Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia) Pro Organo CD 7141