Floyd: Prince of Players / Boggs, Milwaukee Symphony, Florentine Opera

$21.99
Label
Reference Recordings
Release Date
April 24, 2020
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      FLOYD, CARLISLE
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Florentine Opera, Boggs
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      April 24, 2020
    • UPC
      030911173623
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      FR-736
    • LABEL
      Reference Recordings
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Chamber Music & Recitals
    Works ⌄

    1. Prologue

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: William Boggs

    2. Act I Scene 1: Not again, never again! I shall not be humiliated again! (Male Emilia, Thomas, Miss Frayne, Lady Meresvale, Edward, Margaret)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Nicholas Huff, Alexander Dobson, Nicole Heinen, Briana Moynihan, Keith Phares, Kate Royal

      Conductor: William Boggs

    3. Act I Scene 2: Do you know how many roles we've seen you in? (Lady Meresvale, Edward, Miss Frayne, Sir Charles)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Briana Moynihan, Keith Phares, Nicole Heinen, Frank Kelley

      Conductor: William Boggs

    4. Act I Scene 3: Oh! You startled me! (Edward, Margaret, Villiers)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Keith Phares, Kate Royal, Vale Rideout

      Conductor: William Boggs

    5. Act I Scene 4: The Duke of Buckingham, Your Majesty. (Hyde, Charles II, Villiers, Nell, Edward, Margaret, Sir Charles)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Nathaniel Hill, Chad Shelton, Vale Rideout, Rena Harms, Keith Phares, Kate Royal, Frank Kelley

      Conductor: William Boggs

    6. Act II Scene 1: Tom! Tom! The King's edict is now a law! (Edward, Thomas, Nell, Margaret, Charles II, Sir Charles)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Keith Phares, Alexander Dobson, Rena Harms, Kate Royal, Chad Shelton, Frank Kelley

      Conductor: William Boggs

    7. Act II Scene 2: Ned, it's been a while. You look a fright (Villiers, Edward)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Vale Rideout, Keith Phares

      Conductor: William Boggs

    8. Act II Scene 3: Gents, it's my esteemed pleasure to introduce to you … (Mistress Revels, Edward, Margaret, Sir Charles)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Sandra Piques Eddy, Keith Phares, Kate Royal, Frank Kelley

      Conductor: William Boggs

    9. Act II Scene 4: Shall I get a physician? (Margaret, Edward)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Kate Royal, Keith Phares

      Conductor: William Boggs

    10. Act II Scene 5: Ned, Ned! It's Tom! (Thomas, Edward)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Alexander Dobson, Keith Phares

      Conductor: William Boggs

    11. Act II Scene 6: Bring Mistress Hughes to the stage at once (All)

      Composer: Carlisle Floyd

      Ensemble: Florentine Opera Chorus, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Kate Royal, Rena Harms, Briana Moynihan, Nicole Heinen, Jessica Timman Schwefel, Sandra Piques Eddy, Nicholas Huff, Frank Kelley, Vale Rideout, John A. Stumpff, Chad Shelton, Nathaniel Hill, Keith Phares, Alexander Dobson

      Conductor: William Boggs


A 2020 GRAMMY Nominee for Best Contemporary Classical Composition!

World Premiere Recording! The Florentine Opera brings Carlisle Floyd's daring new opera, "Prince of Players", to life! Floyd is one of the foremost composers and librettists of opera in the world today, and is considered the "Father of American Opera." During his long career, Floyd has composed 13 operas. His most recent, "Prince of Players", which premiered in March 2016 at the Houston Grand Opera, is based on the true story of the Restoration-era actor Edward Kynaston (1640–1706). The plot centers on the crisis faced by Kynaston when, by royal decree, he is prohibited from plying the craft that made him famous—playing female roles. With this Milwaukee production, the Florentine Opera gives Prince of Players its world-premiere live recording.

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REVIEW:

The full-orchestral version of Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players does full justice to the sexual tensions of the historical period it adores, if less provocatively so without the visuals. Floyd and his collaborative team also gnaw at the relationship between words and music or, as in this case, between music and words. The structure is signposted by three fragments from a truncated version of the death scene from Othello during which Edward Kynaston (Keith Phares) segues from being strangled as Desdemona to strangling as Othello. The dramatic impact is heightened by Phares’s unswerving classical line and intense underlying emotion set against Kate Royal’s stunning portrayal of the era’s first female superstar, moving from the music hall to starring with her lover. The Florentine Opera production features Alexander Dobson’s powerful, compassionate Thomas Betterton, tenors Chad Shelton, Frank Kelley and Vale Rideout as the King and his courtiers, and Rena Harms as Nell Gwyn, each of whom give full reign to their key roles. The participation of the Milwaukee Symphony further justifies the decision to record the full-orchestral version, to which Reference does its usual audiophile justice.

– Gramophone