The August 6, 1966, premiere of Hans Werner Henze's opera Die Bassariden at the Salzburg Festival has, over time, become regarded as a justly famous event. It isn't often that you can travel back in time and take a front row seat for such a show, but in the case of Orfeo's first-time release of the recording of this event, you can. This production also proved an early triumph for its 36-year-old conductor, Christoph von Dohnányi. Die Bassariden is nowhere near as difficult a listen now as it may have been in 1966. While ...
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The August 6, 1966, premiere of Hans Werner Henze's opera Die Bassariden at the Salzburg Festival has, over time, become regarded as a justly famous event. It isn't often that you can travel back in time and take a front row seat for such a show, but in the case of Orfeo's first-time release of the recording of this event, you can. This production also proved an early triumph for its 36-year-old conductor, Christoph von Dohnányi. Die Bassariden is nowhere near as difficult a listen now as it may have been in 1966. While there are occasional dramatic stings that go a little over the top, most of it is no more difficult than average current-day movie music. The operatic and dramatic components of the work are seamlessly developed, and the action is easy to follow even without an English-language libretto (an English summary is included). Also included is the intermezzo "Das Urtell der Kalliope," originally presented as a centerpiece within the opera, but since 1966 withheld from most productions of Die...
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