Herrmann: Wuthering Heights (Complete Opera)

1. Wuthering Heights, opera
   Composed by Bernard Herrmann
   Performed by Pro Arte Orchestra
   with Joseph Ward, Elizabeth Bainbridge, Donaldson Bell, John Kitchiner, Pamela Bowden, David Kelly, Michael Rippon
   Conducted by Bernard Herrmann
   
   

Herrmann: Wuthering Heights (Complete Opera),David Kelly,Donaldson Bell,John Kitchiner,Michael Rippon,Bernard Herrmann,Bernard Herrmann,Elizabeth Bainbridge,Pamela Bowden,Pro Arte Orchestra,Joseph Ward,Unicorn,American 20th/21st Century Opera,Classical,Classical Music,Film Music,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio,Orchestral,Original Score,Soundtracks

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Average customer rating: All-American Fun A great listening pleasure. Better than some other selections I wish I could give more than 5 stars This music needs a lot less diva Bringing American opera to the forefront

Renée Fleming - I Want Magic! ~ American Opera Arias George Gershwin , Carlisle Floyd , Leonard Bernstein , Douglas S. Moore , Bernard Herrmann , Gian Carlo Menotti , Igor Stravinsky , Samuel Barber , André Previn , Metropolitan Opera Orchestra , James Levine , and Renée Fleming Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Barber | Barber, Samuel | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Bernstein | Bernstein, Leonard | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gershwin | Gershwin, George | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Herrmann | Herrmann, Bernard | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Menotti | Menotti, Gian Carlo | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Previn, André | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Stravinsky | Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Fleming, Renee | C to G | Featured Performers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Renée Fleming Renee Fleming - The Beautiful Voice ~ Gounod, Lehaair, Orff, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Strauss Reneé Fleming & Jean-Yves Thibaudet - Night Songs (Fauré, Debussy, Marx, Strauss, Rachmaninov) Renée Fleming: Bel Canto Renée Fleming - Signatures ~ Great Opera Scenes / Sir Georg Solti ASIN: B00000AFR4 Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

1. Wuthering Heights: I Have Dreamt
2. The Ballad Of Baby Doe: The Letter Song
3. The Medium: Monica's Waltz
4. Porgy And Bess: Summertime
5. Porgy And Bess: My Man's Gone Now
6. Candide: Glitter And Be Gay
7. Susannah: Ain't It A Pretty Night
8. Susannah: The Trees on the Mountains
9. The Rake's Progress: No Word From Tom ... I Go, I Go To Him
10. VANESSA: He Has Come, He Has Come
11. A Streetcar Named Desire: I Want Magic!

Amazon.com

Like Dawn Upshaw's The World So Wide on Nonesuch, this program is such an inviting cross section of American opera of the last 50 years, you wonder why more of it hasn't been recorded. Composers include Carlisle Floyd, Douglas Moore, Samuel Barber, and Gian Carlo Menotti, whose childlike "Monica's Waltz" from the otherwise lurid opera The Medium is a highlight. Old favorites are here, such as Gershwin's "Summertime." And new favorites, too: Andre Previn's forthcoming "A Streetcar Named Desire" graciously offers Straussian lushness and bitonal wind-instrument details suggesting Blanche DuBois's mind departing from reality, all sounding remarkably true to Previn's pre-World War II upbringing in Berlin. This dramatically alert arioso isn't so melodically memorable but makes all necessary dramatic points eloquently. Though she performs vividly throughout, Fleming often lets her vocal tone overwhelm articulation of the words--a middling drawback. And comedy is not her thing: Bernstein's "Glitter and Be Gay" is way too hammy. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

All-American Fun.......2007-01-01

I love this CD. It's so incredibly American. It features American lyric soprano Renee Fleming singing American opera arias. Ms. Fleming is capably accompanied by the Met orchestra, America's best opera orchestra, conducted by another distinguished American, Maestro James Levine. The only way this CD could be more American is if it were released on July 4th, with two baseball tickets included. I'm grateful that Decca made this release.

This CD starts out very strong with a gorgeous aria "I have dreamt" from "Wuthering Heights". I've never seen this opera nor heard of this opera. If the opera is half as good as the aria, I would love to see it. Renee cruises through "The Letter Song" from "The Ballad of Baby Doe" with heartfelt interpretation. "Monica's Waltz" is not one of my favorite arias in the world, but Ms. Fleming sings it beautifully.

Here's where we depart, and the reason I gave this CD only 4 stars. First, Renee sings two arias from "Porgy and Bess": "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now". Renee's voice is way too rich and lush for these arias. Listen to Renee sing it, then listen to the gold standard, Leontyne Price. You'll see what I mean. Renee's rendition of "My Man's Gone Now" was just way too pretty. The score calls for some extended glissandos, which are supposed to be wails of grief. Renee sang the glissandos beautifully, but no grief was in sight. Her next choice "Glitter and Be Gay" from "Candide" is just not a good choice for her. I think even Renee would tell you that a voice like hers is just not right for Cunegonde. This aria (and role) calls for a smaller voice. [...].

Then Renee reminds me of why I love her in the first place, by returning to two arias from "Susannah", a signature role for her. Her performances of "Ain't it a pretty night!" and "The trees on the mountains" are too good for words. She completely understands this role, and communicates the mood in these arias right through your speakers. Just imagine how good it must be live!

Renee closes with "No word from Tom" (The Rake's Progress), "He has come, he has come!" (Vanessa), and "I want magic! (A Streetcar Named Desire). I wish more opera companies would produce "The Rake's Progress". This is a wonderful opera by an "adopted" American composer, Igor Stravinsky. The aria from "Streetcar" is kind of an odd choice to close this CD, but Renee did premiere the role of Blanche in this Previn piece with the SF Opera. So maybe it's not so strange after all.

Highly recommended for fans of Renee Fleming, and those who need to add some good old American opera to round out their Puccini collections. This is a nice performance record by a woman surely destined to be one of the greatest lyric sopranos in history.

A great listening pleasure. Better than some other selections.......2006-04-05

'I Want Magic' sung by superstar mezzo Renee Fleming, backed by James Levine and his Metropolitan Opera Orchestra follows the same pattern of severa of Fleming's other releases, in that there is one widely known and very familiar piece (Gershwin's 'Summertime' from 'Porgy and Bess') plus many less familiar pieces.

The theme of all the pieces is that they are arias from American operas, all in English. And, I get a lot more from this selection than I do from, for example, her recording of Shubert Lieder. One thing I learn is how totally typical is Leonard Bernstein's piece from 'Candide', which sounds like it stepped right out of a production of 'The Fantasticks'. Gershwin's two great songs, on the other hand, are icons of American music and even Herrmann's movie song from Wuthering Heights makes Bernstein's song sound ordinary.

But, the album is really all about Fleming's realization of these songs, which is simply nothing less than spectacular. While I tend to prefer hearing works 'in situ', Fleming's talent is so great that hearing her do eleven pieces out of context is worth it. The album is also more interesting than the average collection of Lieder in that it has the backing of a major American dramatic orchestra.

Better than average Fleming choice.

I wish I could give more than 5 stars.......2005-09-30

This recording is truly wonderful! I really feel that American composers have written some incredible things. I think that American opera is much better than British opera, with the exception of Benjamin Britten. My favorites on this track are actually all of them, but if I had to choose, I would pick: "No word from Tom" (The Rakes Progress, Stravinsky), "Ain't it a pretty night" (Sussanah, Floyd), "Glitter and be Gay" (Candide, Bernstein), and my absolute favorite "Monica's Waltz" (The Medium, Menotti). This is such a great album. Some of Renee's diction isn't completely clear, but that's opera. In order to acheive a beautiful sound, especially in English, certain vowels need to be altered. ESPECIALLY for the soprano voice. When singing so high, certain vowels and consonants need to be altered a bit. Anyway, it's an incredible album!!

This music needs a lot less diva.......2005-09-18

Renee Fleming has a glorious voice, and there's not a note here that isn't ravishing. Decca's engineers have caught the voice very well, and Levine's conducting is all it could be. The problem? Well, having her sing Summertime and My Man's Gone NOw was a bad idea, not only because both are cliches. Felming has a hard time sounding emotionally natural. She tends to apply her incredible voice with diva-like self-consciousness and play-acted emotion far too often.

Which means that her CD recitals are hit-and-miss. Glitter and Be Gay is a disaster here because she tries to be funny and winds up being self-conscious and embarrassing. But the big aria form Susannah, a role Fleming sings at the Met, is perfect. I expected a lot more adventurousness from this American collection, since Felming is, after all, an American singer. But it's mostly overplayed, like Puccini in English, sobs and all. I enjoyed the voice, but after a while the mannerisms became tiresome.

Bringing American opera to the forefront.......2005-01-20

American opera is not as well-known to many people because it can be complex, both musically and dramatically, and requires amazing vocal technique to sing things that sound simple. Fleming's recording highlights some familiar arias (the Susannah arias, for example) as well as some that are almost unknown. If you are an opera fan, and especially if you want to learn more about American opera, this CD is a great place to start. My favorite: Glitter and Be Gay, from Bernstein's Candide. Wow.

Average customer rating: The Opera Was First A lost treaure! Memo to Renee Fleming: what are you waiting for Bronte aned Herrmann are an Unbeatable Combo! A Treasure That Should Never Be Lost!

Herrmann: Wuthering Heights (Complete Opera) Manufacturer: Unicorn ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Herrmann | Herrmann, Bernard | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Bainbridge, Elisabeth | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000001PBO Release Date: 1993-12-07

Tracks:

1. Prologue: Intro - Pro Arte Orchestra/Bernard Herrmann
2. Prologue; Lockwood: 'Wuthering Heights!' - David Kelly/Elizabeth Bainbridge
3. Prologue; Lockwood: 'Snow, everlasting snow' - David Kelly
4. Prologue; Lockwood: 'Catherine Earnshaw, her book' - David Kelly/Donald Bell
5. Prologue; Heathcliff: 'Is anyone here?' - David Kelly/Donald Bell
6. Act 1, Scene 1: Intro - Pro Arte Orchestra/Bernard Herrmann
7. Act 1, Scene 1: 'I have been wandering' - Morag Beaton/Donald Bell
8. Act 1, Scene 1: 'Look, Cathy' - Morag Beaton/Donald Bell
9. Act 1, Scene 1: 'On the moors, on the moors' - Morag Beaton/Donald Bell
10. Act 1, Scene 1: 'Ha! so this is what you do, is it?' - John Kitchiner/Morag Beaton
11. Act 1, Scene 1: 'Be quiet ye ill children' - Michael Rippon
12. Act 1, Scene 1: 'Look-the moon' - Morag Beaton/Donald Bell
13. Act 1, Scene 1; Orchestral Interlude (Noturne) - Pro Arte Orchestra/Bernard Herrmann
14. Act 1, Scene 2: Intro - Michael Rippon
15. Act 1, Scene 2: 'Joseph-enough of your christmas music' - Elizabeth Bainbridge/Donald Bell
16. Act 1, Scene 2: 'I am the only being' - Donald Bell
17. Act 1, Scene 2: The postillion call of the coach - Donald Bell/John Kitchiner/Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton
18. Act 1, Scene 2 'It is now Christmas' - Elizabetthan Singers/Louis Halsey/Michael Rippon/Morag Beaton

Tracks:

1. Act 2: Intro - Morag Beaton/Elizabeth Bainbridge/Donald Bell
2. Act 2: 'Come, Cathy-' - Morag Beaton/Donald Bell
3. Act 2: 'I'm not come too soon, am I?' - Morag Beaton/Elizabeth Bainbridge
4. Act 2: 'Nelly, Nelly, hide me' - John Kitchiner/Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton
5. Act 2: 'Poor Bairn. poor Bairn' - Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton
6. Act 2: 'Nelly, will you keep a secret for me?' - Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton
7. Act 2: 'I have dreamt' - Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton
8. Act 2: 'Isn't that Heathcliff? - Michael Rippon/Morag Beaton/Elizabeth Bainbridge
9. Act 3: Intro - Pamela Bowden/Morag Beaton/Joseph Ward
10. Act 3: 'Now art thou, dear' - Joseph Ward
11. Act 3: 'A person from Gimmerton' - Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton/Joseph Ward
12. Act 3: 'Sit down, sir' - Joseph Ward/Donald Bell/Pamela Bowden
13. Act 3: 'Love is like the wild rose-briar' - Pamela Bowden/Morag Beaton
14. Act 3: 'Heathcliff! I want to talk to you' - Pamela Bowden/Morag Beaton/Donald Bell/Joseph Ward
15. Act 3: 'She goes to the window - Morag Beaton
16. Act 3: 'There's A face in the window' - Elizabeth Bainbridge/Morag Beaton/Pamela Bowden
17. Act 3: 'Love is like the wild rose-briar' - Morag Beaton/Elizabeth Bainbridge

Tracks:

1. Act 4: Prld - Pro Arte Orchestra/Bernard Herrmann
2. Act 4: 'Tell me, Nelly' - John Kitchiner
3. Act 4: Slowly hindley begins to awaken - John Kitchiner/Pamela Bowden
4. Act 4: Hindley picks up one of the bottles - John Kitchiner/Donald Bell
5. Act 4: 'Silence!' - Pamela Bowden/John Kitchiner/Donald Bell
6. Act 4: Orchestral Interlude (Mediation) - Pro Arte Orchestra/Bernard Herrmann
7. Act 4: Cathy Enters - Morag Beaton/Donald Bell
8. Act 4: 'May she wake in torment!' - Donald Bell
9. Act 4: 'Heathcliff,-Heathcliff-' - Donald Bell

Customer Reviews:

The Opera Was First.......2006-10-31

Yes, the sweeping First Act Love Duet does appear in the soundtrack of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," but the music was written for the opera and only plugged into the film when it seemed the opera would never be performed. As for Donald Bell and Morag Beaton, the opera was recorded in a few lengthy sessions, and sometimes the singers' exhaustion comes through. It only adds to the desperate intensity of the performance, however, and no one will ever conduct Herrmann with the savagery of the composer.

A lost treaure!.......2004-12-22

I love this opera! Why! oh why hasn't it been performed. Thank God for this recording, the only document that we have of this masterpiece. As another reviewer has written Renee Fleming would be a perfect Cathy and what about Bryn Terfel as Heathcliff. WOW!! What a production that would be. Until then we can only dream.. Ahhh!

Memo to Renee Fleming: what are you waiting for.......2003-10-11

Actually, the memo is addressed to Decca as well as Fleming. This is a jewel of an opera, and while the existing recording has lovely moments, the piece really deserves deluxe treatment. Fleming's recording a few years ago of Cathy's heartbreaking aria was simply gorgeous -- so what on earth is stopping her, and Decca's executives, from pushing forward with the whole opera?? If Fleming's not interested, maybe Hei-Kyung Hong could be persuaded -- she would be perfect as Cathy.

Bronte aned Herrmann are an Unbeatable Combo!.......2003-05-10

Bernard Herrmann - Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is a book that is just dying to become an opera. And Bernard Herrmann was one of the most dramatic and operatic of mid-twentieth century American composers. The marriage of story and composer should have made for one of the most popular operas in the literature. And yet Herrmann's masterwork took ten years to write and never really held the stage. Like many people, I chalked it up to a great film composer who tried to reach to far and failed. Then I heard the opera and I must say, I am mystified as to why this work isn't in the repertoire. It's extremely powerful, beautifully written and worthy of standing next to any of the best modern operas.

The libretto of the work is excellent. Herrmann's first wife is responsible for it. She and the composer decided that only the first half of the Bronte work should be treated as opera, a wise decision. Though the second half of Wuthering Heights is marvelous in it's own way, dramatically, it wouldn't hold the stage well. In addition to this cut, much of the action is telescoped into discreet scenes. And yet all of the spirit and power of the Bronte original is kept, along with almost all of the language. The libretto is constructed either of lines lifted directly from the book, though sometimes translated to different characters, or lifted sensitively from Bronte's own poetry. The result is an old-fashioned 19th century libretto complete with set pieces, and yet completely faithful to the Bronte and to 20th century dramatic practices.

Herrmann's music is from beginning to end, brilliant. Herrmann is one of a half a dozen composers active in the late 20th century who could take a traditional romantic language and say something deeply personal with it. From the first measures of the stormy prelude you know that this is Herrmann's music. All of the hallmarks from his film music are present, stormy dissonances, bold and colorful orchestrations, repeated pithy motives, and a harmonic language that can border on atonality, but is never far removed from it's tonal and romantic origins. Each scene is discreetly composed to project the physical and emotional atmosphere. The prologue is developed from three tense and haunting motives which will dominate the opera. The first scene of Act I contains some of the most lovely lyric singing in modern opera as Heathcliff and Cathy sing a paean to the wild Moors of Yorkshire. Hindley's music is violent and careens drunkenly, as his character should. The Thrushcross Grange scene is all elegance and taste, a beautiful counterpoint to the darker music of the Heights.

As it should be, the music for Heathcliff and Cathy are the heart of this work. Cathy is by turns ecstatic, lyrical and controlled, as befits a character who's unbridled nature is wild, but who is just barely tamed by the society around her. Heathcliff is all storm and tempest, at any moment about to break into passion and yet as ardent as any lover. Their duets are the high points of the opera...the sexual tension between them is felt palpably throughout the score. And the final scene, the death of Cathy and the beginning of Heathcliff's long vigil is unbelievably haunting...sends shivers up and down my spine in exactly the same way as the Fool in Boris Godanov or the Child's hop-hops in Wozzeck do.

This CD is a reissue of the original recording done by Herrmann at his own expense in England. The cast is not first rate. Particularly disappointing are the principals. Donald Bell's voice strains at the extremes of his register and his diction is not very good...Cathy comes out sounding like caddy way too often from my taste...And Moerag Beaton is unpleasantly shrill in her role and has some lapses in intonation. But the Pro Arte Orchestra under Herrmann is fabulous, and until someone sees the light and redoes this work, this is all we have...and unfortunately for many of you, this CD is increasingly hard to get...Unicorn is defunct. I had to get this through the Amazon.com used channels.

It is worth it all in the end though. The work is terrific, romantic and deeply moving. I'm surprised actually that, given the interest in Herrmann's film music evidenced by so many orchestras, that an opera company doesn't do a "crossover" tie-in and programs this work. I would predict it to be a hit with audiences and critics alike. This is an unjustly neglected work!

A Treasure That Should Never Be Lost!.......2002-03-26

Bernard Herrmann's obsession in his life, Wuthering Heights, an opera that he had started to work on in the 1940s and didn't finish until the 1950s, and had so hoped to perform it. It wasn't until 1966 that his grand opera was finally performed. This opera I thought I was never ever in my life going to hear. When I did listen to it, I found out why Herrmann was so obsessed. I also noticed that there were numerous amounts of music that he's used in other films. For example, in Act I, he used the music from the beginning of the film The Ghost And Mrs. Muir, and on cd 2, track 7, Herrmann used the Second Nocturne from The Magnificent Ambersons, which was cut out of the final cut. At the end of Act II, he used the sea music from The Ghost And Mrs. Muir, when they are showing the passing years for Mrs. Muir, and on track 6 on cd 3, he used the Andante Cantabile from The Ghost And Mrs. Muir. I also found out why people say the What Lies Beneath score sounds like Bernard Herrmann's music is because Alan Silvestri wrote the main theme similar to Herrmann's main theme for the opera (the 5 note sequence). The last part of the opera, when Cathy's voice is heard on the moors was very spine-tingling with the sound of the wind and the low flute. I will admit though that the love scenes of the opera were sometimes just too dragging for me. I just still can't believe it, after finding out his obsession and love for the opera, I finally get to hear it, with him as the conductor. I love you Bernard Herrmann, and I wish you were still here today. Your music will never stop inspiring others.

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