- Artist: Victoria Livengood
- Runtime: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 44 Songs
- Genre: Hip Hop
Commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to celebrate its 100th anniversary, John Corigliano’s The Ghost of Versailles received its premiere at the Met in 1991, twelve years after it had been commissioned and eight years past the centennial season for which it had first been envisioned. Nonetheless, it was an instant success. Because of the unique situation, a large cast and extravagant orchestral forces were made available, but aside from that specific context, both John Corigliano and librettist William Hoffman conceived of Ghosts as a work of music theater that celebrates and even takes as one of its principal themes the artistic power of opera: it puts into use lavish operatic resources precisely to introduce a contemporary audience to grand opera. More particularly, a ”grand opera buffa” is what John Corigliano decided to create, to combine his love for opera buffa, with the requirements of a grand opera house, which is the Met.
The success of Ghosts resulted in many performances throughout the North-American continent in the 25 years to follow, one of which took place in February 2015 at the LA Opera, to great critical acclaim.
“It’s comic and serious, entertaining and erudite, silly and thoughtful, emotional and mysterious, harrowing and uplifting, intimate and over-the-top — and the more times you see it, the more you’ll find in it and the more you’ll get out of it.” -Los Angeles Times
Written:
Victoria Livengood John Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles (Live) Album Tracklist
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Prologue: Mon coursier hors d'haleine (Woman with Hat, Louis XVI, Marquis, Gossips, Aristocrats)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: My wife was always hard to please (Louis XVI, Aristocrats, Woman with Hat, Marquis, Gossips, Beaumarchais)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Oh no. Here we go again!! (Chorus, Figaro, Susanna, Almaviva, Aristocrats)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: And with the one million pounds, grant Her Majesty a safe refuge in the New World (Almaviva, Figaro, Susanna, Louis XVI, Wilhelm)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Recitative: I can't wait to betray Almaviva (Begearss, Florestine)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: I remember, Master, I remember! (Wilhelm, Begearss, Susanna, Figaro, Aristocrats, Woman with Hat)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: New Scene: Rosina's boudoir. They say New York is a lively town (Beaumarchais, Louis XVI, Begearss, Rosina, Almaviva)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Now we go back in time - Cherubino, Cherubino (Rosina, Beaumarchais, Cherubino)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Finale: His Excellency, the English Ambassador (Page, English Ambassador, Almaviva, Pasha)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Finale: I am in a valley and you are in a valley (Samira, Pasha)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act I: Act I: Finale: Ya omri. Limatha hajartani? (Samira, Figaro, Chorus)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act II: Act II: Welcome, Madeleine, welcome (Rosina, Aristocrats, Almaviva, Florestine, Bishop, Leon)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act II: Act II: Quartet: Remember the chestnut trees in the gardens of the Tuileries? (Leon, Florestine, Almaviva, Rosina)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act II: Act II: I am very well, my dear Marquis (Duchess, Aristocrats, Marquis, Wilhelm, Chorus, Rosina, Florestine, Susanna, Leon, Almaviva)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act II: Act II: We are finished - Farewell, my faithful friend (Susanna, Rosina, Florestine, Leon, Almaviva, Figaro, Duchess, Beaumarchais, Wilhelm)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act II: Act II: Look, her breathing is diminished (Florestine, Rosina, Almaviva, Beaumarchais, Figaro, Leon, Wilhelm, Susanna, Begearss, Duchess, Chorus)
The Ghosts of Versailles, Act II: Act II: Come, Antonia (Beaumarchais, Chorus)
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