This second volume of excerpts from Jewish operas continues Naxos' Milken Archive of American Jewish Music series, and includes selections from two operas based on contemporary literature, and one derived from the Bible. David Schiff's Gimpel the Fool (1974-1985) is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's most famous story and was originally in Yiddish, but is presented here in an English version. Schiff's eclectic score incorporates Ashkenazi cantorial traditions, as well as klezmer, jazz, and blues influences, and its directness ...
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This second volume of excerpts from Jewish operas continues Naxos' Milken Archive of American Jewish Music series, and includes selections from two operas based on contemporary literature, and one derived from the Bible. David Schiff's Gimpel the Fool (1974-1985) is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's most famous story and was originally in Yiddish, but is presented here in an English version. Schiff's eclectic score incorporates Ashkenazi cantorial traditions, as well as klezmer, jazz, and blues influences, and its directness, humor, and melancholy are perfectly suited to the tone of the Singer story. If these brief excerpts are representative of the opera as a whole, it would be a very attractive piece to hear (and see) in its entirety. The excerpts receive assured performances from Kenneth Kiesler leading the University of Michigan Opera Orchestra and Chorus and soloists. Theodore Bikel provides the narration that ties the excerpts together. Elie Siegmeister's 1985 Lady of the Lake is based on the...
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