THOMAS ADÈS

The Tempest

 

CD 1

Act 1

[1] Scene I Chorus

[2] Scene II “Oh father…” Miranda, Chorus

[3] Scene II [Fig 20] “Miranda – you are my care” Prospero, Miranda

[4] Scene II [fig 36] “What you have told me”  Miranda, Prospero

[5] Scene III “Fear. Fear to the sinner…”  Ariel, Prospero

[6] Scene IV “Sorcerer die”  Caliban, Prospero

[7] Scene V “Sir?” “Have you recovered them?” Ariel, Prospero

[8] Scene V [Fig 90] “Five fathoms deep” Ariel

[9] Scene VI “As I sat weeping…” Ferdinand, Miranda, Prospero, Ariel

 

Act 2

[10] Scene I      Chorus

[11] Scene I [fig 125] “I had the notion I flew” Stefano, Trinculo, Chorus, Prospero, Ariel, Antonio, Sebastian, Gonzalo, King, Court

[12] Scene II “A monster!” Court, Caliban, Sebastian, Stefano, Trinculo, Gonzalo, Antonio, Ariel

[13] SceneII fig [170] “Friends don’t fear…” Caliban, Court, Gonzalo, Antonio, Sebastian

[14] Scene II [fig191] “We’ll find the prince” Gonzalo, Court,King, Prospero

[15] Scene III “They won’t find him” Stefano, Trinculo, Caliban

[16] Scene IV “What was before…”  Ferdinand, Miranda, Prospero

 

Total Time 01.12.38

 

CD 2

Act 3

[1] Scene I

[2] Scene I [fig 228] “This way…”  Caliban, Trinculo and Stefano

[3] Scene II “Spirit must I right…”  Prospero, Ariel, Court, Gonzalo

[4] SceneII [fig 249] “Fool. You’ve tired us out…” Sebastian, King, Gonzalo, Antonio, Ariel, Court, Prospero

[5] Scene II [fig 261] Molto Moderato  Court, King, Gonzalo, Antonio, Sebastian

[6] SceneII [fig 269+2 bars]  Court, King, Antonio, Sebastian, Gonzalo, Ariel, Prospero

[7] Scene III “Father…”   Miranda, Ferdinand, Prospero, Ariel

[8] Scene III fig 293 “Murder this man”    Caliban, Trinculo, Stefano, Prospero, Miranda, Ariel

[9] Scene IV “Quietness…”  Prospero, Antonio, King, Gonzalo, Ferdinand

[10] Scene IV [fig 311] “How good they are”  Miranda, Ferdinand, Prospero, King, Gonzalo

[11] Scene IV [fig 314+9 bars] “How these things…” Gonzalo, Prospero, Court, Sebastian, Miranda, King, Ariel, Stefano, Trinculo, Antonio

[12] Scene V “Who was here…”  Caliban, Ariel

 

Total Time 44.50

 

Simon Keenlyside, Kate Royal, Toby Spence, Ian Bostridge, Cyndia Sieden, Philip Langridge, Donald Kaasch, Jonathan Summers, David Condier, Stephen Richardson, Graeme Danby

The Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden / Thomas Adès

 

Recorded live 23 & 26 March 2007 at the Royal Opera House, London

 

Producer: David Gallagher / Recording Engineers: Paul Waton and Rebecca Jaworska / Executive Producer: Edward Blakeman

Commissioned by Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Librettist: Meridith Oakes after William Shakespeare

EMI Classics would like to thank the Peter Moores Foundation for supporting the release of this recording.

 

When Thomas Adès conducted his opera The Tempest at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2007, EMI Classics microphones were on hand to record this “masterpiece of airy beauty and eerie power.” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker). The cast included Simon Keenlyside, Cynthia Sieden, Ian Bostridge, Toby Spence, Kate Royal, Philip Langridge, and Stephen Richardson, many of whom took part in the critically acclaimed world premiere three years earlier.

 

Edward Seckerson of The Independent wrote, “In the three years since its premiere, Thomas Adès and Meredith Oakes's haunting re-imagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest has marinated in the mind. It now has the bearing of a modern classic. With a second, or in my case, third visit, you really start to appreciate the ingenious way in which Oakes alludes to Shakespeare without necessarily quoting him. Then there is Adès's instinctive feeling for the pulse of the drama, his unerring sense of the magic that may provide the key to ‘a brave new world’ where the sins of the parents might not be revisited on the children.” Rupert Christiansen of The Daily Telegraph said, “it's hard to imagine a better case for the piece than the one made by this performance. Authoritatively conducted by the composer … it was blessed with a magnificent cast.”

 

The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, commissioned Thomas Adès to compose a new opera in the late 1990s, following the success of Powder Her Face. The opera became a co-production with the Copenhagen Opera House and Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg. The Tempest received its world premiere at the Royal Opera House in February 2004. Productions in Strasbourg and Copenhagen followed in 2005 and the work was performed at Santa Fe Opera in the summer of 2006.

 

“Adès has provided Covent Garden and British opera in general with one of its great moments. The cheering from every corner of the theatre on Tuesday - orchestra pit included - felt like what it was:

British opera’s equivalent of the England World Cup rugby win.” - The Guardian

 

EMI Classics 2cds 6952342