The Enchanted Island (opera)

The Enchanted Island DVD cover with Joyce DiDonato (top), Danielle de Niese (bottom left), and Plácido Domingo (bottom center)

The Enchanted Island is a pasticcio (pastiche) of music by various baroque composers, including George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Jean-Philippe Rameau,[1] devised and written by Jeremy Sams[2] after The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It was created by Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott and premiered by the Metropolitan Opera on December 31, 2011, starring David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato, Danielle de Niese, Luca Pisaroni, and Lisette Oropesa. The popular 70-year-old Spanish tenor, Plácido Domingo, played the small but important part of the sea god Neptune. The following month a performance of the pasticcio was broadcast live into movie theaters across the world as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series. In late 2012, Virgin Classics released this broadcast version on DVD. The Met revived The Enchanted Island two seasons later. Daniels, de Niese, Pisaroni, and Domingo revived their roles from the premiere. Susan Graham assumed the role of Sycorax from DiDonato.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 31 December 2011[3]
(Conductor: William Christie)[3]
Prospero countertenor David Daniels
Sycorax mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato
Ariel coloratura soprano Danielle de Niese
Caliban bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni
Miranda soprano Lisette Oropesa
Neptune tenor Plácido Domingo
Ferdinand countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo
Helena soprano Layla Claire
Hermia mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong
Demetrius tenor Paul Appleby
Lysander baritone Elliot Madore
Quartet soprano
soprano
tenor
bass-baritone		 Ashley Emerson
Monica Yunus
Philippe Castagner
Tyler Simpson
Spirits, courtiers, water nymphs

Recording

Year Cast
(Ariel, Sycorax, Prospero, Neptune, Caliban)		 Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra		 Label
2011 Danielle de Niese,
Joyce DiDonato,
David Daniels,
Plácido Domingo,
Luca Pisaroni 		William Christie,
Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus		 DVD: Virgin Classics
(The Met Live in HD Series)

References

  1. ↑ The Enchanted Island: The Music, The Metropolitan Opera.
  2. ↑ The Enchanted Island synopsis, The Metropolitan Opera.
  3. 1 2 Jeremy Sams: The Enchanted Island, Schirmer.

External links

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