"A Village Romeo and Juliet", from which "Paradise Garden" is excerpted here, is an opera by Frederick Delius - the fourth of his six operas. The composer himself, along with his wife Jelka, wrote the English-language libretto based on the short story Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe by the Swiss author Gottfried Keller. The first performance was at the Komische Oper Berlin on 21 February 1907, as Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe. Sir Thomas Beecham conducted the British premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London on 22 February 1910.
While the opera has rarely been staged, this orchestral interlude between Scenes 5 and 6, "The Walk to the Paradise Garden", is heard separately in concerts and has been recorded many times as one of Delius' most popular orchestral pieces. The "Paradise Garden" is a tavern, hangout of bohemians, vagabonds, riffraff, and the Dark Fiddler who haunts the children.
PERFORMANCE
Jonathan Lemalu, Baritone
The London Brass
The BBC Symphony Chorus
The BBC National Chorus of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Tadaaki Otaka, conductor
Royal Albert Hall, London, 2012
Technical Note: The native resolution of the upload is 360p. In error, I uploaded at 1080p. Apologies.
4 окт 2024
