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DvoΕ™Γ‘k's Armida

Love, sorcery and tragedy at the time of the crusades combine in DvoΕ™Γ‘k's Armida. Recorded at the Wexford Festival, this is a rare chance to hear DvoΕ™Γ‘k's final opera.

For those who seek out obscure and neglected operas, the siren call coming from the small town of Wexford on the south-east coast of Ireland has long been irresistible. Among the resurrected treats from this year's Wexford Festival is DvoΕ™Γ‘k's final operatic essay, Armida. A flop at its 1904 Prague premiere, and rarely revived since, Armida is based on Torquato Tasso’s mythic account of the Crusades, Gerusalemme liberata. By the time DvoΕ™Γ‘k chose part of the 16th-century Italian epic poem for his opera, the text (once all the rage for librettists and composers) had been out of fashion for more than a century. Perhaps that accounted for the Prague audience's lukewarm reaction which might have been more positive if DvoΕ™Γ‘k had, as usual, chosen a Slavonic setting.

Sean Rafferty introduces this tale in which a de rigueur love triangle and a dollop of good and evil magic ends in tragedy when the Crusader knight Rinald kills not only his love rival Ismen (a wicked sorcerer) but also, by mistake, Armida – the woman he loves.

Recorded earlier this month.

AntonΓ­n DvoΕ™Γ‘k: Armida

King Hydraoth of Damascus ..... Jozef Benci (bass)
Armida ..... Jennifer Davis (soprano)
Ismen ..... Stanislav Kuflyuk (baritone)
Petr ..... Jan Hnyk (bass)
Bohumir / Muezin ..... Rory Dunne (bass-baritone)
Rinald ..... Gerard Schneider (tenor)
Dudo ..... Chris Mosz (tenor)
Sven ..... Josef Moravec (tenor)
Roger ..... Thomas Birch (tenor)
Gernand ..... Andrii Kharlamov (baritone)
Ubald ..... Josef Kovačič (bass)
Siren / A nymph ..... Libuse Santorisova (soprano)

Chorus and Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera
Norbert Baxa (conductor)

Read the synopsis and further details about the production on the Wexford Festival web page: https://bit.ly/3TIDnPq

3 hours, 29 minutes

Last on

Sat 19 Nov 2022 18:30
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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Music Played

  • AntonΓ­n DvoΕ™Γ‘k

    Armida, Op. 115 - Act 1

    Performer: Stanislav Kuflyuk. Performer: Jan Hnyk. Performer: Rory Dunne. Performer: Gerard Schneider. Performer: Chris Mosz. Performer: Josef Moravec. Performer: Thomas Birch. Performer: Andrii Kharlamov. Performer: Josef Kovacic. Performer: Libuse Santorisova. Performer: Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra. Performer: Norbert Baxa. Singer: Jozef Benci. Singer: Jennifer Davis. Choir: Wexford Festival Opera Chorus.

  • AntonΓ­n DvoΕ™Γ‘k

    Armida, Op. 115 - Act 2

    Performer: Stanislav Kuflyuk. Performer: Jan Hnyk. Performer: Rory Dunne. Performer: Gerard Schneider. Performer: Chris Mosz. Performer: Josef Moravec. Performer: Thomas Birch. Performer: Andrii Kharlamov. Performer: Josef Kovacic. Performer: Libuse Santorisova. Performer: Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra. Performer: Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra. Singer: Jozef Benci. Singer: Jozef Benci. Singer: Jozef Benci. Singer: Jennifer Davis. Singer: Jennifer Davis. Singer: Jennifer Davis. Choir: Wexford Festival Opera Chorus. Choir: Wexford Festival Opera Chorus. Choir: Wexford Festival Opera Chorus. Conductor: Norbert Baxa. Conductor: Norbert Baxa. Conductor: Norbert Baxa.

  • AntonΓ­n DvoΕ™Γ‘k

    Armida, Op. 115 - Act 3

    Performer: Stanislav Kuflyuk. Performer: Jan Hnyk. Performer: Rory Dunne. Performer: Gerard Schneider. Performer: Chris Mosz. Performer: Josef Moravec. Performer: Thomas Birch. Performer: Andrii Kharlamov. Performer: Josef Kovacic. Performer: Libuse Santorisova. Performer: Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra. Performer: Norbert Baxa. Singer: Jozef Benci. Singer: Jennifer Davis. Choir: Wexford Festival Opera Chorus.

  • AntonΓ­n DvoΕ™Γ‘k

    Armida, Op. 115 - Act 4

    Performer: Stanislav Kuflyuk. Performer: Jan Hnyk. Performer: Rory Dunne. Performer: Gerard Schneider. Performer: Chris Mosz. Performer: Josef Moravec. Performer: Thomas Birch. Performer: Andrii Kharlamov. Performer: Josef Kovacic. Performer: Libuse Santorisova. Performer: Wexford Festival Opera Orchestra. Performer: Norbert Baxa. Singer: Jozef Benci. Singer: Jennifer Davis. Choir: Wexford Festival Opera Chorus.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K. 504 "Prague"

    Orchestra: London Classical Players. Conductor: Sir Roger Norrington.
    • Mozart: Symphonies No. 38 "Prague", No. 39, No. 40 & 41 "Jupiter".
    • Warner Classics.
    • 101.

Broadcast

  • Sat 19 Nov 2022 18:30
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3