BERLIOZ Benvenuto Cellini

 

Gregory Kunde

Patrizia Ciofi

Joyce di Donato

Jean-Francois Lapointe

Laurent Naouri

Renaud Delaigue

Eeic Salha

 

Orchestre National de France/ Chœur de Radio France

John Nelson

 

Virgin Classics presents a new recording of Berlioz’s gigantic operatic work Benvenuto Cellini, Recorded at La Maison de Radio France in December 2003 in parallel to concert performances. Berlioz aficionado John Nelson conducts an Orchestre National de Radio France.

 

Having recorded the work in its original version, this is a world premiere recording certain to seduce all Berlioz enthusiasts:

 

“Benvenuto Cellini was performed complete fourteen times in Berlioz lifetime, though almost every time in a different version. As Pierre-Rene Serna observes, “no other work of Berlioz has undergone such a disturbed gestation”. For the concerts in December 2003, John Nelson elected to use the so-called “Paris 1 version” (which corresponds to the score as delivered by Berlioz to the copyists at the Opera early in 1838, for use in the first performance), thus presenting Berlioz first thoughts in all their creative freedom, and at the same time revealing many unknown passages.”

 

Virgin 3cds 5457062