Verdi: Complete Ballet Music From The Operas / Serebrier, Bournemouth Symphony

$29.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
March 27, 2012
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      VERDI, GIUSEPPE
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Serebrier
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      March 27, 2012
    • UPC
      747313281879
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8572818-19
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. Otello, Act III Scene 7: Ballabile

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    2. Macbeth, Act III Scene 1: Ballo I

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    3. Macbeth, Act III Scene 1: Ballo II

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    4. Macbeth, Act III Scene 1: Ballo III

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    5. Jerusalem, Act III Scene 1: Pas de quatre

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    6. Jerusalem, Act III Scene 1: Pas de deux

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    7. Jerusalem, Act III Scene 1: Pas de solo

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    8. Jerusalem, Act III Scene 1: Pas d'ensemble

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    9. Don Carlo, Act III Scene 2: Ballo della regina, "La Peregrina"

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    10. Act I Scene 2: Dance No. 3: Danza sacra delle sacerdotesse

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    11. Aida, Act II: Danza dei piccoli schiavi mori

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    12. Aida, Act II: Ballabile

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    13. Act III Scene 1: Pas des Bohémiens

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    14. Act III Scene 1: Gitanilla

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    15. Act III Scene 1: Ensemble

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    16. Act III Scene 2: Sevillana

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    17. Act III Scene 2: Echo du soldat

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    18. Act III Scene 2: La Bohemienne

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    19. Act III Scene 2: Galop

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    20. Act III Scene 2: Le quattro stagioni: L'inverno

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    21. Act III Scene 2: Le quattro stagioni: La primavera

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    22. Act III Scene 2: Le quattro stagioni: L'estate

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier

    23. Act III Scene 2: Le quattro stagioni: L'autunno

      Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

      Ensemble: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: José Serebrier



The only other serious competition in this repertoire, and it’s not as complete as this release (the Aida items are missing), is an old Philips Due mostly conducted by the late Antonio de Almeida. Those are good performances, but they don’t outclass these, either interpretively or sonically. You might say that it doesn’t take much interpretive insight to conduct Italian ballet music, but ultimately the goal is always the same: to avoid boredom. This may be even harder in music whose purpose is largely decorative and expressively limited. It’s to Serebrier’s (and Verdi’s) credit that there isn’t a bar here that fails to entertain, or that doesn’t make an excellent case for believing that this music is of much higher quality than its reputation suggests.

The ballet from Aida is well known, of course, but that from Otello is a minor masterpiece in a strikingly similar vein. “The Four Seasons” ballet from I vespri siciliani is Verdi’s largest, lasting a solid half an hour, and it’s wonderfully performed here. It has moments that you might mistake for Delibes or Tchaikovsky. Don Carlos is also fully mature Verdi, while the ballet in Macbeth is pretty well known as it’s often included in modern performances of the opera (the witches’ waltz at the end is particularly fun). The two big “finds” for most listeners will be the extensive ballet music from Jérusalem (a.k.a. I lombardi), and the similarly large-scale (20 minutes) dance episodes from Il trovatore. This last item quotes the “gypsy” tunes from the opera’s first act, including the Anvil Chorus, and it’s really delightful. The sonics are clear and vivid, and with a playing time of nearly two hours, this set easily becomes the modern reference for this undervalued repertoire.

-- ClassicsToday.com