Stanford - The Travelling Companion
£21.80 £18.53
save £3.27 (15%)
special offer ending 27/05/2024
In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Somm
Cat No: SOMMCD2742
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 2
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 27th September 2019
Contents
Artists
David Horton (tenor)Julien Van Mellaerts (baritone)
Kate Valentine (soprano)
Pauls Putnins (bass-baritone)
Ian Beadle (baritone)
Felix Kemp (baritone)
Tamzin Barnett (soprano)
Lucy Urquhart (soprano)
New Sussex Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor
Toby PurserWorks
The Travelling CompanionArtists
David Horton (tenor)Julien Van Mellaerts (baritone)
Kate Valentine (soprano)
Pauls Putnins (bass-baritone)
Ian Beadle (baritone)
Felix Kemp (baritone)
Tamzin Barnett (soprano)
Lucy Urquhart (soprano)
New Sussex Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor
Toby PurserAbout
The live recording features Julien Van Mellaerts in the title role and a cast that includes David Horton (John), Kate Valentine (The Princess), Pauls Putnins (The King), Ian Beadle (The Wizard) and Felix Kemp (The Herald) with Toby Purser conducting the New Sussex Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
First staged in 1925 and the last of Stanford’s nine completed operas, The Travelling Companion is based on a fantasy-laced story by Hans Christian Andersen with a libretto by Henry Newbolt (whose Songs of the Sea and Songs of the Fleet Stanford had previously set). It finds the composer at his most economic but expressive – a last, remarkable demonstration of his brilliance as an orchestrator.
The result, says Stanford biographer Jeremy Dibble in his authoritative booklet notes, “seems like an antidote to the heavier textures of Wagner and Richard Strauss and rivals the fairy-tale operas of the Russians”.
Anticipating Puccini’s Turandot, at the heart of The Travelling Companion is a Princess whose suitors must answer an impenetrable riddle to win her hand or die when they fail. There are intimations of Britten’s Peter Grimes, too, in the sophisticated use of the chorus, leading Jeremy Dibble to observe: “If Stanford’s last opera was given time to establish itself in the repertoire, not only would it provide an entirely new perspective of this highly versatile and imaginative composer, but it might also change our view of our operatic history”.
This first recording of The Travelling Companion was recorded live at Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden in December, 2018.
Cast:
- John: David Horton (tenor)
- The Travelling Companion: Julien Van Mellaerts (baritone)
- The Princess: Kate Valentine (soprano)
- The King: Pauls Putnins (bass-baritone)
- The Wizard/Ruffian: Ian Beadle (baritone)
- The Herald/Ruffian: Felix Kemp (baritone)
- Two Girls: Tamzin Barnett (soprano), Lucy Urquhart (soprano)
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here