Today it's Opera Day

Today, the 12 the of January had plenty of operas that were first performed on this day. There were also a number of composers born on this day but they are not the major ones.

1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer in Venice. Major works includes operas, violin concerto, cello concerto and concertos for wind instruments.

1888 - Claude Delvincourt, French composer in Paris.

1926 - Morton Feldman, American composer in New York. Popular works include Cello and Orchestra, For Philip Guston, The Viola in my Life and Rothko Chapel.

Here are some of the classical works that had the First Performance today.

1723 - Ottone, opera by Handel, in Paris

Selected recording
Rated 3 stars by Penguin Guide. ".......singing is full of colour. Added to that is the richness and bloom of the instrumental sound."


1737 - Arminio, opera by Handel in Covent Garden, London.
Selected recording
Rated 3 stars by Penguin Guide. "Clear, well-balanced sound."

1832 - Fausta, opera by Donizetti in theatre San Carlo, Naples.
Recommended by Gramophone Guide. "........this very fine recording......."

1955 - Symphony No.6 (Fantaisies Symphoniques) by Martinu in Boston.

Selected recording
Rated 4 stars and a Key Recording by Penguin Guide. ".............recording is in the demonstration class yet sounds completely natural.........."
Recommended by Gramophone Guide. "........recordings are beautifully clear, with plenty of ambience.........."

So that's it for today until my next post.

Ronald Kwok
http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok