opera
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The publisher Edward B Marks Music Company is now in the database, home to Darius Milhaud and William Bolcom
As I keep searching, new works by notable composers get added to the database. The publisher Edward B Marks is home to American composer William Bolcom and includes Bolcom’s collaborations with Darius Milhaud. Milhaud’s output for this publisher is unique, as it includes new arrangements of existing operas and plays. The first work in this…
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Musica Brasilis is now added to the database
Brazilian music publisher, Musica Bralisis is now listed in the database. Musica Brasilis documents the long rich history of Brazilian music beginning in the 1500s. The website includes downloadable scores, videos, and soundclips documenting over 100 years of Brazilian recorded music. Searching for operas, I was listening to choros, tangos, bossa novas, and sambas listed…
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Duke Ellington’s lost opera, Queenie Pie is now in the database
In the 1930s, Duke Ellington started working on an opera about Madame C.J. Walker, the first African American woman millionaire. These sketches became the basis for the opera, Queenie Pie. Queenie, one of New York’s finest beauticians, is challenged by a rival, Cafe O’Lay a lighter skinned Creole. Cafe O’Lay sells skin-whitening concoctions to residents…
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One of the first Operas with the saxophone, Meyerbeer’s 1849 Le Prophète
When I started this project, I was researching all Romantic operas that were orchestrated for the saxophone. 800+ works of operas and ballets later, I am still finding early Romantic operas, including Giacomo Meyerbeer’s (1791-1864) 1849 grand opera, Le Prophète, which makes it the second oldest opera in the database after George Kastner’s 1844 opera,…
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Hamlet: Streaming on Met on Demand, 5/5-5/6
One of the first operas to feature the alto saxophone, Ambroise Thomas’s 1868 opera, Hamlet is streaming tonight on Met on Demand. You can watch it here until Thursday, May 6th: https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/opera/?upc=811357013625 Here is the Metropolitan Opera’s description of this 2010 production. “After over a century out of the Met’s repertoire, audiences were thrilled to…
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Anthony Braxton’s Trillium operas are now listed in the database
Saxophonist, composer, improviser, and an early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Anthony Braxton is now listed in the database. His works are performed and recorded through his organization, Tri-Centric Foundation. The three works listed in this database are operas from his Trillium Cycle. The Trillium Cycle is a work in…
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Werther streaming on Met on Demand 4/2-4/3
Jules Massenet’s tragic opera about the love struck poet, Werther, is streaming on Met on Demand on April 1st. You can watch the production here: https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/opera/?upc=811357017296 From the Metropolitan Opera, “Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann brings aching intensity and vocal charisma to the tortured title hero of Massenet’s Goethe adaptation. Sophie Koch, in her Met debut,…
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Database hits 700 entries! New ballets from Faber Music and Dilia
The Database now has over 700 entries of ballets and operas that include the saxophone in the orchestration. Here are today’s entries. Faber Music is a London based publisher that focuses on English language stage works. In the saxophone database, the earliest work from Faber Music is Benjamin Britten’s 1940 Paul Bunyan. Other composers listed…
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New Publishers in the Database: Theodore Presser and PromoMusica
As I fill out the the database with Latin American composers, I also find many American composers. A few highlights from today’s search. PromoMusica publishes the works of Mexican and Mexican American composers. Listed in the database are two operas by Juan Trigos, a Mexican American composer. The operas are DeCachetitoRaspado and Ella-Miau. Theodore Presser…
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The Music of Fred Ho is now listed in the database
Saxophonist, author, composer, band leader, and social activist Fred Ho (1957-2014) is now listed in the database. Ho’s inclusion showcases some of the challenges that I encounter while compiling this database. Ho as a composer and instrumentalist exist outside of the traditional opera and ballet world. His music is not listed on any of the…
the Operatic Saxophone 