OPERA WITHOUT SINGING - BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA, BARRY WORDSWORTH

Opera has entrenched itself in popular consciousness thanks to the much publicised concerts of The Three Tenors, outdoor stagings of such operatic blockbusters as ‘Aida’ and ‘Turandot’, opera concerts in the park, not to mention their ready incorporation into television advertisements – be it a British Airways aircraft floating in the clouds to the ‘Lakme’ Flower Duet or an Italian mamma making a steaming pasta sauce to the sounds of the Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’. What’s important is these defining moments in opera – tear-jerkers many – speak a universal language. Perhaps the public at large doesn’t know about Turandot’s riddles and Calaf’s dilemma but they would be hard pressed not to recognise ‘Nessun dorma’. This collection then, brings together those operatic apexes without the words – just the tunes, gloriously played by orchestra.

GIACOMO PUCCINI:
‘Quando m’en vo’ (Musetta’s Waltz) La Bohème
‘O mio babbino caro’ Gianni Schicchi
LEO DELIBES: ‘Sous le dôme épais (Flower Duet) Lakmé
GIACOMPO PUCCINI: Humming Chorus Madama Butterfly
PIETRO MASCAGNI: Intermezzo sinfonico Cavalleria rusticana
GIACOMO PUCCINI:
‘Nessun dorma’ Turandot
‘E lucevan le stelle’ Tosca
‘Donna non vidi mai’ Manon Lescaut
‘Che gelida manina’ La Bohème
JACQUES OFFENBACH: Barcarolle Les Contes d’Hoffmann
GIACOMO PUCCINI:
‘Un bel dì’ Madama Butterfly
‘Vissi d’arte’ Tosca
GIUSEPPE VERDI: ‘Celeste Aida’ Aida
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO: ‘Vesti la giubba’ Pagliacci
GAETANO DONIZETTI: ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ L’elisir d’amore
GEORGES BIZET: ‘L’amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habañera) Carmen
GIACOMO PUCCINI: ‘Nessun dorma’ (Reprise) Turandot

BBC Concert Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth