One caould also mention the total absence of any recording of the works of Stephen Storace (1762-1706). He achieved early career success in Vienna, having a few productions there of his first works. After his sister's banishment from Vianna* the Storaces moved home to London, where both took up major positions with Sheridan at the Drury Lane Theatre. Stephen died (allegedly of flu contracted during long overnight rehearsals) in his 30s.  Nancy went on to sing in the Oxford UK premiere of The Seasons by her old Vienna friend - Joseph Haydn.

Most of Stephen's London works were issued in vocal score editions by his publishers, Longman & Broderip - these are extenisvely cued with the orchestral solo parts (SS was a meticulous client for Longman & Broderip) and could be rairly easily returned to a putative full version.  Sadly his greatest work (according to the memoirs of orchestral players who performed them), Dido, Queen of Carthage, didn't survive. (The oboist Parke claimed it was 'too complicated for the London public).

While still a student, I staged the first modern revival of The Siege Of Belgrade (1791) - but no recording (perhaps luckily!) survives :-)  His operas are an endearing amalgam of Mozartian ensembles and arias (for the rest of his 'Vienna' crew in London) plus comic songs for the established audience favourites among the cast. He also wrote some solo shows for the theatre's 'music-ha;;' stars, such as the popular singing comedian Richard 'Dicky' Suett. 'My Grandmother' remained in the Drury Lane repertoire for nearly 50 years - with its famous comic dance routine 'Dicky's Walk'.


* the soprano Anna 'Nancy' Storace - prima buffa in Vianna, the first to perform Susanna in Mozart's FIGARO, and for whom many other Vienna roles were written, e.g. by Salieri.  Allegedly the Austrian Emperor's mistress, we can only guess at the reasons behind her catastrophic overnight fall from favour

Hardly 'in opposition' to this site - since it had no original content, and more pertinently - no members (since all of the 'members' were simply empty bogus profiles).  But yes - I think you've done the right thing by quarantining this delinquent (ex-)member.

If you have been banned from this forum for persistent abuses, you should not be able to saunter back in under a fresh assumed username.

As far as the ad-hominem politcal invective is concerned - that, too, has no place here.

Frankly, the only use for the Kiev Post is when the Andrex runs out. 

A fresh pile of old cobblers, peopled entirely by Sydney and the roster of sock-puppet bogus identities ('Gerard', 'Rita', 'Granny Smith', 'Henry Ate A Pedal', et al) which follows inevitably in his wake.

"immanent'?? (sic)  Says it all.

Almost every culture can find a point of contact with Carmen... if they are ready to square up to it

It's true that there are not very many operas set in India!  Even the only opera about an Indian leader (Satyagraha) features only Gandhi's time spent in S Africa.

The Pearl Fishers is set in ancient Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka)

Elgar's cantata Crown Of India is not an opera - but was originally presented in a fully staged and costumed version, at the London Coliseum, with the composer himself conducting.  I have previously expressed my contempt for this piece on this forum, so I won't repeat it all again.

Oh, you sophist!  :-))  Bravo.


'Nuff said about Gurgle Translate  ;)

Meanwhile, Happy Christmas to those whose lives are geared to the Eastern Rite - we celebrated it yesterday.  And Old New Year's Night is still to come, next week :)

Surely no performance of Dvorak's marvellous TE DEUM could engender 'lack of enthusiasm'?   ::)  It leaves even confirmed atheists like myself quite enthused :) Although I don't know Sargeant's recording.  Keeps the tympanists busy!

Gara Garavev's VC (1967)

According to the rolling titles at the end of Episode 1, the incidental music was by Kanneth Platts.

But the other music includes Mahler, DSCH, and Verdi's Il Trovatore

You;re welcome!  I only happen to know this stuff since I once had to score some arrangements for solo (Ukrainian) dom(b)ra & string orchestra, and I wanted to know as much as possible about the dombra's specifics.

In fact Wikipedia is often inconsistent between acticles (naturally so, since there is no single author or editor)

Theiir page giving the tunings of all stringed instruments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stringed_instrument_tunings) lists both the domBra and also the domra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domra) on whose (separate) page the 4-string tuning (and its similarity to violins and mandolins) is mentioned. 

It's a pity the domBra page makes no mention of the other instrument, even by way of clarification. Here in Russia, the domra is a popular instrument in schools - as it makes a starting point for the violin, for those who have the patrience and enthusiais :-))

When I was at the Pokrovsky Chamber Opera last year for their production of DSCH's THE NOSE,  I noticed that the fiddle players nobly put down their violins as marked in the score - but instead of picking up triangular balaklaikas (as Shostakovich marked), they all used domras instead. Only the purest of purists might quibble? 

There are nomenclature issues with the dombra. While the Bashkir or Kalmykh dombras are three-string long-neck lutes - whose origins are probably in Turkic traditions - there is also a Ukrainian instrument (known as the dombra too) which is a four-string guitar-shaped instrument, strung (and tuned) like a violin.  In fact some uncharitable people have called the Ukranian dombra "a concert balalaika, for violinists to play".  When tuned like this, the dombra becomes a  kind of stand-in for a mandolin, and there are many players who play baroque mandolin concerti on it.

'Maud' is one of a number of mischievous sockpuppet identities formerly used by 'Sydney Grew'.  Other such identities included 'Gerard', 'Granny Smith', 'Henry Ate A  Pedal'  and numerous others.

Do, please, relocate yourself, 'Maud' - as far away from this forum as possible.

We are all sick to death of your bleating.  And take Gerard, Henrietta Pedal, and the rest of your weary sockpuppet identities with you.

For anyone within easy reach of Yakutsk, N Siberia :-)  Great to see such enterprising programming there :-)