Overtures for Orchestra

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) composed the four-act opera Prince Igor between 1869-1887, although it remained unfinished at his death. Fellow Russian composers Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov completed a...

IL MATRIMONIO SEGRETO (THE SECRET MARRIAGE) by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) is his only work still to be regularly performed today and arguably among the greatest 18th century opera buffa. The dramma...

IL MATRIMONIO SEGRETO (THE SECRET MARRIAGE) by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) is his only work still to be regularly performed today and arguably among the greatest 18th century opera buffa. The dramma...

The well-known Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) opera La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) tells the story of a young servant girl named Ninetta, who is sentenced to death for the theft of her employer'...

The well-known Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) opera La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) tells the story of a young servant girl named Ninetta, who is sentenced to death for the theft of her employer'...

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed PIQUE DAME (THE QUEEN OF SPADES), Op. 68, for a commission by the Imperial Theatre. The libretto, adapted from an 1834 novella by Alexander Pushkin, was w...

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed PIQUE DAME (THE QUEEN OF SPADES), Op. 68, for a commission by the Imperial Theatre. The libretto, adapted from an 1834 novella by Alexander Pushkin, was w...

LOHENGRIN, first performed in 1850, is a Romantic opera in three acts, written by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) . Based on the legendary 13th century romance of Lohengrin, a knight of the Holy Grail, who...

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg) WWV 96 is a music drama/opera in three acts by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Taking nearly four and a half hours to perform in its entire...

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg) WWV 96 is a music drama/opera in three acts by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Taking nearly four and a half hours to perform in its entire...

Premiering on May 22, 1813 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice, L'italiana in Algeri by Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) was a success, with subsequent performances in Vicenza, Milan, and Naples. It w...

LA TRAVIATA (THE FALLEN WOMAN), an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), is based on La Dame aux camélias (1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. The opera was originall...

LA TRAVIATA (THE FALLEN WOMAN), an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), is based on La Dame aux camélias (1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. The opera was originall...

Composed by Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) in 1830, the two-act opera I CAPULETTI E I MONTECCHI (THE CAPULETS AND THE MONTAGUES) stands as one of only two successful opera adaptations of Shakespeare's R...

Composed by Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) in 1830, the two-act opera I CAPULETTI E I MONTECCHI (THE CAPULETS AND THE MONTAGUES) stands as one of only two successful opera adaptations of Shakespeare's R...

Zaïs by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) was first performed on February 29, 1748 at the Opéra in Paris. It is a pastorale héroïque, a form of the opéra-ballet genre of French Baroque opera that draws...

Carl Nielsen's (1865-1931) three-act opera buffa MASKARADE (MASQUERADE) was written between 1904 and 1906, though Nielsen had first begun to consider an opera based on Ludvig Holberg's play of the sam...

Carl Nielsen's (1865-1931) three-act opera buffa MASKARADE (MASQUERADE) was written between 1904 and 1906, though Nielsen had first begun to consider an opera based on Ludvig Holberg's play of the sam...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote the two-act opera DON GIOVANNI, K. 527, in 1787 following a commission from Prague impresario Pasquale Bondini. With the success of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Mo...

Ariane et Barbe-bleue: Act III, Introduction forms part of Paul Dukas' (1865-1935) only completed opera, composed between 1899 and 1906, and premiered on May 10, 1907, at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. D...

MADAMA BUTTERFLY, one of the most popular operas of Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), is the story of the conflicting expectations of Lieutenant Pinkerton, an American naval officer, and Madame Butterfly (...

MADAMA BUTTERFLY, one of the most popular operas of Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), is the story of the conflicting expectations of Lieutenant Pinkerton, an American naval officer, and Madame Butterfly (...

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg) is a music drama/opera in three acts by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Taking nearly four and a half hours to perform in its entirety, thi...

WILLIAM TELL, Rossini's last opera, was first producted in Paris in 1829 and is still widely regarded as his masterpiece. This finale to the celebrated overture encapsulates the enthralling experience...

This overture, written two days before the fairy-tale opera's 1791 premiere, is among the best known in the classical literature. This version is edited by Steven Rosenhause. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2:...