Description

Charpentier - Louise / Ileana Cotrubas, Placido Domingo, Gabriel Bacquier, Jane Berbié / Ambrosian Opera Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Georges Prêtre / The Sony Opera House / Sony Classical 3x Audio CD 2009, Box Set / 88697526312

UPC 886975263127

Louise is a “musical novel,” or “roman musical,” in four acts and five scenes by Gustave Charpentier. It can be considered an opera. The composer himself penned the French libretto with contributions from Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists. It is an atmospheric story of working-class life in Paris, with the city itself invoked along the way: young Louise, a seamstress living with her parents, loves Julien, an artist; she desires freedom, associated in her mind with him and the city. (Charpentier would later write a sequel, the opera Julien, describing the artist's aspirations.) Musically the work is verismo, it marks the beginning of naturalism in French opera.

Label:	Sony Classical – 88697526312
Series:	The Sony Opera House
Format:	3 x CD, Album, Box Set
Country:	Europe
Released:	2009
Genre:	Classical
Style:	Opera, Romantic

Tracklist:

1-1		Act I: Prelude
1-2		Scene I - IV
1-3		Scene I - IV
1-4		Scene I - IV
1-5		Scene I - IV
1-6		Scene I - IV
1-7		Scene I - IV
1-8		Act II: Prelude Premier Tableau
1-9		Scene I - IV (Beginning)
1-10		Scene I - IV (Beginning)
1-11		Scene I - IV (Beginning)
1-12		Scene I - IV (Beginning)
2-1		Scene IV (Conclusion)
2-2		Scene IV (Conclusion)
2-3		Scene IV (Conclusion)
2-4		Scene IV (Conclusion)
2-5		Scene IV (Conclusion)
2-6		Interlude: Deuxieme Tableau
2-7		Scene I - III
2-8		Scene I - III
2-9		Scene I - III
2-10		Act III: Prelude
2-11		Scene I
2-12		Scene I
2-13		Scene I
2-14		Scene I
3-1		Scene II
3-2		Scene III
3-3		Scene III
3-4		Scene IV
3-5		Acte IV Prelude
3-6		Scene I
3-7		Scene I
3-8		Scene I
3-9		Scene II
3-10		Scene II
3-11		Scene II
3-12		Scene III