#Ottorino Respighi

[lesser-known-composers]

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) - 6 Pezzi, P. 44: No. 6. Internmezzo-Serenata ·

Konstantin Scherbakov, piano

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

雷史畢基(Ottorino Respighi, 1879-1936)：交響詩「羅馬之松 Pines of Rome」 指揮/Conductor maestro: Nejc Bečan 管弦樂團: Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra 首席小提琴手/Concertmaster: Nina Pirc; 音響師/Sound engineer: Matjaž Culiberg; Head of Production: Grega Jeraša; Director: Primož Zevnik

[princesssarisa]

Sleeping Beauty Spring: "La Bella Dormente nel Bosco" ("The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood") (1922 Italian opera by Ottorino Respighi)

Name any famous story, and it's almost certain to have been adapted as an opera, whether or not that opera is often performed. Here we find an Italian operatic Sleeping Beauty, with a libretto by Gian Bistolfi, and music by the renowned composer Ottorino Respighi, best known for his tone poems Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, and Roman Festivals. It was originally conceived and performed as a marionette opera, with the story enacted by puppets while the singers sang from offstage. While rarely performed today, it does have occasional revivals, some with singing actors performing the roles onstage as in any other opera, and others with marionettes. One complete sound recording is also commercially available, as is a filmed performance from the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.

Divided into three acts, but fairly short at an hour and forty minutes long, this opera follows the familiar plot of the fairy tale, yet with interesting creative embellishments. Act I opens with an atmospheric nature scene where a nightingale, a cuckoo, and a chorus of frogs sing their evening songs, before the King and Queen's ambassador arrives in search of fairies to attend the newborn Princess's christening, and seven fairies heed his call. At the christening, the villainous Green Fairy curses the Princess to prick her finger at age twenty rather than fifteen or sixteen (some productions of Tchaikovky's ballet make the same change), and not to die, but to sleep forever. Twenty years later, in the old spinning woman's tower, the spindle itself is sentient and sings, as does a cat: the Princess dances a cheerful dance with the two of them, but when she pricks her finger, the spindle gloatingly reveals itself as an agent of the Green Fairy. The following scene begins comically, with pompous doctors trying to diagnose the sleeping Princess's "illness," but then gives way to lamentations by the King, the Queen, and their court. That is, until the kindly Blue Fairy arrives to put them all to sleep as well, and only now does she alter the curse so that it will break when the Princess receives "the kiss of love." In place of the traditional briars or thick forest surrounding the castle, giant spiders weave an enormous web around the castle to protect it.

Act III reveals an especially unusual and quirky change from traditional versions of the story. The Princess and her court have slept for three hundred years rather than just one century, and the action now takes place in the 1920s of the opera's premiere. The entourage of Prince Aprile (yes, his name means "April" – the libretto is full of springtime imagery) includes a club of rich Americans led by the comical "Mr. Dollar Cheque," who resolves to buy the sleeping Princess after they learn her story from a woodcutter. But Prince Aprile takes a more romantic approach and battles the last of the monstrous spiders, causing the web to fall away, and then wakes the Princess with a kiss. After the lovers sing a romantic duet, the newly awakened court joins the modern world in a playful dance finale, which starts as a minuet and ends as a foxtrot.

Respighi's music lacks any particularly "hummable" melodies, but its beauty stands out all the same, with a tone of shimmering fairy-tale Romanticism balanced here and there with moments of humor. The influence of many great Classical and Romantic composers can be heard, particularly from Wagner, but with a welcome lighter touch than the famous German composer brought to his operas. The "modern day" final act also includes passages of ragtime and jazz, which somehow never clash with the rest of the score's Romanticism.

Ultimately, this opera's blend of gossamer beauty and quirky playfulness give it a unique charm. Whether or not it's anyone's favorite opera, or anyone's definitive version of Sleeping Beauty, it most definitely deserves to be performed more often. At any rate, as both an opera lover and a fairy tale lover, I'm glad to have discovered it, and I plan to listen to it again before long.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @thealmightyemprex, @faintingheroine, @reds-revenge, @thatscarletflycatcher, @comma-after-dearest, @the-blue-fairie, @paexgo-rosa, @autistic-prince-cinderella

[caviarsonoro]

Andrei Tarkovsky - The Sacrifice / Antiche danze ed arie per liuto

“If you look for a meaning, you’ll miss everything that happens.” 

― Andrei Tarkovsky

[mikrokosmos]

Ottorino Respighi

(9 July 1879 – 18 April 1936)

Happy Birthday, Otto!

[capn-o-my-soul]

went back to the cd store today! they had EVEN MORE classical music and it was fabulous! i got four things

(top left) Respighi's Roman Trilogy (pines of rome, fountains of rome, roman festivals) recorded by Riccardo Muti and the philadelphia orchestra. muti's a great conductor and i love the philly orchestra's sound! however this was quite cheap so that makes me curious about it. i haven't listened to it yet but i look forward to it!

(bottom left) Trumpet music by Maurice Andre! this is 2 cds with a shit ton of baroque and classical trumpet solo pieces recorded by possibly the best trumpet player in the world before he died, so, as a trumpet player, i was obligated to purchase this once i saw it. i also have not heard this yet but i look forward to hearing it! one of the pieces he plays is the Haydn trumpet concerto in e-flat, which in addition to being perhaps the most well-known trumpet concerto in existence is the piece i played at my district solo & ensemble festival this year! maurice's recording of the haydn concerto is probably one of the best out there, alongside tine thing helseth in my opinion

(bottom right) Sibelius 5th symphony & Andante Festivo & Karelia Overture recorded by Neeme Jarvi & Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Gothenburg isn't my favorite orchestra but the 5th is just a fabulous symphony and was a nice addition to my small collection! i am not familiar with how Jarvi conducts sibelius so it will be interesting to see how it goes! i also have not heard the two couplings (i've heard the karelia suite but not the overture) so it should be fun!

(top right) Shostakovich opera Katerina Ismailova recorded by the soloists, choir, and orchestra of the Kiev Opera under the direction of Stepan Tourtchak. i have never heard of this orchestra, this choir, these singers, this conductor, or even this record label but i am listening to it as i write this and the sound is not terrible (it gets a little distorted when the full chorus sings loudly but it is completely managable) and it seems to be a pretty good performance! and i wanted to get it because it seems to be pretty rare and thought it might get swiped up soon! (the last time i went there was a full performance of Berg's Wozzeck and i wanted to get it this time and it was gone :'( )(interestingly Wozzeck was purchased but the two copies of Carmen and the many copies of several Wagner operas all remained unsold)

in conclusion, a successful trip! i only spent like 23 dollars after tax so i'm happy with that. they had a recording of khachaturian's gayane suite (also the only khachaturian cd in the whole store) that i really wanted to get but it alone was 17 dollars and i did Not have the money for that lol

[hayleylovesjessica]

I'm a little sad that I'm going to miss seeing Jessica as a presenter at the SAG Awards tonight, but I'm going to the symphony (classy!) instead. I could skip the concert, but they're playing a piece that I've always wanted to hear live, Respighi's Feste Romane, so that ain't happening.

[mrbacf]

Ottorino Respighi : Aria and Berçeuse for string orchestra P 32/38 (1901...

[jeremyesteban]

Ottorino Respighi, Notturno in G flat major, P. 011: No 3(1902).

Konstantin Scherbakov, piano.

V.

[lesser-known-composers]

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) : Sonata in B minor for Violin and Piano, (1917), II. Andante espressivo.

Artists: Paul Huang, violin; Alessio Bax, piano.

[faccaldo]

I pini di Villa Borghese, Roma

[icymusicdiary]

daily song rec 35

[princesssarisa]

Coming up next in Sleeping Beauty Spring:

Ottorini Respighi's 1922 opera La Bella Dormente nel Bosco

This filmed performance has no English subtitles, unfortunately, but at least it's complete.

[musicianrambles]

I will never forgive Fantasia for what they did to cultural perception of Rite Of Spring but in a similar vein whoever decided that space whales should be set to Pines Of Rome was a genius and I will forever love them.

[dedoholistic]

The Classic Month with Roberto Roganti: Ottorino Respighi