The Belasco Connection
The two operas Puccini composed to plays by David Belasco showed him to be making real advances in orchestral techniques.
With Donald Macleod. The two operas Puccini composed to plays by the American dramatist David Belasco showed him to be making real advances in orchestral techniques and the handling of characters. While these developments were largely ignored in the first of them, Madama Butterfly, the premiere of La fanciulla del West was a different story altogether.
Un bel di vedremo (Madama Butterfly, Act 2)
Mirella Freni (soprano)
Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
Viene le sera... Vogliatemi bene (Madama Butterfly, Act 1)
Mirella Freni (soprano)
Luciano Pavarotti (tenor)
Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
Datele voi qualche soccorso... Addio fiorito asil (Madama Butterfly, Act 2)
Luciano Pavarotti (tenor)
Robert Kerns (baritone)
Elke Schary, Christa Ludwig (mezzo-sopranos)
Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
La fanciulla del West (Act 1, excerpt)
Mara Zampieri (soprano)
Placido Domingo (tenor)
Orchestra of La Scala, Milan
Lorin Maazel (conductor)
La fanciulla del West (Act 3, excerpt)
Juan Pons (baritone)
Placido Domingo (tenor)
Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan
Lorin Maazel (conductor).
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Broadcasts
- Thu 3 Jan 200812:00BBC Radio 3
- Thu 3 Jan 200820:45BBC Radio 3
- Christmas Day 200812:00BBC Radio 3
- Christmas Day 200823:00BBC Radio 3
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