Sylvain Cambreling - Debussy (1862-1918);Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien : Sylvain Cambreling / SWR Sinfonieorchester, Nathalie Stutzmann, etc - Import CD

Credits:

Sylvain Cambreling

Description:

In 1910, the Italian poet Gabriele d'Annunzio wrote The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. Debussy composed an hour-long music drama on this voluminous script, consisting of choral music, orchestral interludes, and arias. It was premiered the following May 1911 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. At that time, Debussy's close friend André Capré conducted the production, which caused an uproar not only because of the music, which blended Christian and pagan traditions, but also because of the Jewish-Russian ballerina Ida Rubinstein's performance as Sebastian. It drew the ire of the Archbishop of Paris, who banned Catholics from viewing it, and D'Annunzio's book was also banned by the Papacy. Debussy, who loved the work, had planned to adapt it into an opera, but his death prevented him from doing so, and it has rarely been performed in its original form since then. Today, the opera is performed either in Capre's "Symphonic Affair" or in an oratorio version with orchestra and voices by Engelbrecht.This performance of Camplain is accompanied by a new German reading by author Martin Mosebach, born in 1951, in the Angellbrescht edition (sung in French). The text of the reading summarizes the central parts of D'Annunzio's work, interpreting the original work from a modern perspective. Cambourin's masterful control of the orchestra brings out delicate harmonies with a touch of Eastern European sound, and the soloists, including Nathalie Stutzman, the chorus of Collegium Vocale Ghent, and Derthe Lisewski's reading bring this mystical story to life beautifully. This CD is the same recording released on the Glor Classics label as GC08181. Naxos Japan