Pearls of Music Theater
The program broadcasts the best performances of famous operas, ballets, musicals, and operettas, presenting their plots and the history of their creation. Before each act, the corresponding part of libretto is read, which makes the listening experience more vivid and comprehensible.
- Author of the program: Inessa Khachatryan
Georges Bizet, The Pearl Fishers
The authors of the libretto of the opera “The Pearl Fishers” (“Les pêcheurs de perles”) are Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on September 30, 1863, at the Paris Lyric Theater. Bizet, who had not yet reached the age of 25, was welcomed by the audience who, in addition to singers, also demanded the composer.
Gaetano Donizetti, Dom Sébastien
This episode presents Gaetano Donizetti's Opera Dom Sébastien. This is the last opera of the composer. Its libretto was written by the famous French playwright Eugène Scribe, based on the drama of the same name by Paul-Henri Foucher. It was premiered at the Paris Opera on November 13, 1843.
Hector Berlioz, Benvenuto Cellini
The authors of the libretto of this opera by French composer Berlioz are Léon de Wailly and Henri Auguste Barbier. It is based on the memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini, the famous Italian sculptor, jeweler, painter, soldier and musician of the period of Renaissance.
Jean-Philippe Rameau, Hippolyte et Aricie
French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera "Hippolyte et Aricie" is based on Jean Racine's tragedy "Phaedra." No later than December 1732, Rameau's patron Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière introduced Rameau to Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin. The latter agreed to write the libretto for the opera.
The opera premiered on October 1, 1733, at the Royal Academy of Music in Paris (now Paris National Opera Theater).
Friedrich von Flotow, Martha, or The Fair at Richmond
In 1844, the famous French librettist Jules Saint-Georges invited Flotow to participate in the creation of the three-act ballet "Lady Harriette" for Grand Opera. The premiere of the ballet on April 21, 1844, was a success and marked the beginning of Flotow's cooperation with Saint-Georges, whose librettos were used by Flotow in a number of operas.
But Flotow also collaborated with the Hamburg-born singer Friedrich Wilhelm Riese. It was the latter who persuaded Flotow to use the plot of the ballet "Lady Harriette" for the opera "Martha, or The Fair of Richmond."
The premiere of the romantic-comic opera "Martha" took place on September 25, 1847, in Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
The opera consists of four acts, which are presented in four parts of our broadcast, respectively.