Description
Gustav Holst – The Perfect / Arte Nova Classics Audio CD 2001 / 74321 27785 2
UPC 743212778526
The Perfect Fool is an opera in one act with music and libretto by the English composer Gustav Holst. Holst composed the work over the period of 1918 to 1922. The opera received its premiere at the Covent Garden Theatre, London, on 14 May 1923. Holst had originally asked Clifford Bax to write the libretto, but Bax declined.
In the score, Holst pokes fun at the works of Verdi, Wagner's Parsifal and Debussy. In the opera, the part of the Fool consists of no singing and only one spoken word ("No"). One interpretation of the possible symbolism of the opera, from Donald Tovey, is that the Princess symbolizes the world of opera and the Fool represents the British public.
The opera was not a success, and audiences found the story confusing. Although the opera did receive a live BBC broadcast a year after its premiere, performed by the British National Opera Company and relayed from His Majesty's Theatre, London, revivals of the work have been rare. In 1995, Vernon Handley conducted a performance of the complete opera for the BBC, broadcast on 25 December.
| Label: | Arte Nova Classics – 74321 27785 2 |
|---|---|
| Format: |
CD
|
| Country: | Europe |
| Released: |
2001 |
| Genre: | Classical |
| Style: | Modern |
Tracklist:
| The Perfect Fool | (11:17) |
| 1 | Dance Of The Spirits Of Earth | 4:54 |
| 2 | Dance Of The Spirits Of Water | 2:31 |
| 3 | Dance Of The Spirits Of Fire | 3:52 | |
|
The Planets |
(50:53) |
| 4 | Mars, The Bringer Of War | 7:31 |
| 5 | Venus, The Bringer Of Peace | 8:21 |
| 6 | Mercury, The Winged Messenger | 4:15 |
| 7 | Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity | 8:07 |
| 8 | Saturn, The Bringer Of Old Age | 9:22 |
| 9 | Uranus, The Magician | 5:49 |
| 10 | Neptune, The Mystic | 7:28 |
- Artwork – Herbert Muckenschnabl
- Chorus – Coro de la Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
- Chorus Master – Digna Guerra
- Composed By – Gustav Holst
- Conductor – Adrian Leaper
- Engineer [Producing] – Enrique Mateu De Villavicencio
- Engineer [Sound], Mastered By, Edited By – Antonio Miranda
- Liner Notes – Petra Hinterholzer-Leinhofer
- Orchestra – Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
- Producer – Wulf Weinmann
