Baton Music

Verdi composed "Un Ballo in Maschera" for the San Carlo Theatre in Naples where it was to have been staged during the 1858 carnival season. The libretto told the true story of the liberal King Gustavu...

Dutch composer Johan Wagenaar (1862 - 1941) parodied the conventions of Romantic opera in his own operas and secular cantatas, his music itself is staunchly Romantic in voice, little troubled by even...

1812 Ouverture Solenelle wurde von Tschaikowsky 1880 zum Gedenken an die Verteidigung Moskaus gegen Napoleons vorrückende Grande Armee in der "Schlacht von Borodino" im Jahr 1812 geschrieben. Die Ouve...

1812 Ouverture Solenelle" was written by Tschaikowsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the "Battle of Borodino" in 1812. The overture debu...

Il Pirata (The Pirate) was Bellini's third opera. "Il Pirata" is an opera in two acts to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani from a French translation of the tragic play "Bertram", or "The Castle of...

After completing and premiering his powerful and controversial 13th Symphony, Babi Yar, in 1962, Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) spent the next year in a state of physical and creative recuperation. T...

After completing and premiering his powerful and controversial 13th Symphony, Babi Yar, in 1962, Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) spent the next year in a state of physical and creative recuperation. T...

Franz von Suppé composed about 30 operettas and 180 farces, ballets, and other stage works. Although the bulk of Suppé's operas have sunk into relative obscurity, the overtures - particularly 'Dichter...

Franz von Suppé composed about 30 operettas and 180 farces, ballets, and other stage works. Although the bulk of Suppé's operas have sunk into relative obscurity, the overtures - particularly 'Dichter...

As a contribution to the opera "Armer Columbus" by German composer Erwin Dressel, Shostakovich composed two of his quirkiest and oddest early orchestral pieces. An energetic "Entr"acte" in c minor (Al...

French composer Adolphe Adam composed his opera 'si j'etais roi' (if I Were King) in 1852. Though less popular than 'Le postillon de Lonjumeau', it is often regarded as Adam's finest work. The well-de...

French composer Adolphe Adam composed his opera "Si j'étais roi" (if I Were King) in 1852. Though less popular than "Le postillon de Lonjumeau", it is often regarded as Adam's finest work. The well-de...

Verdi composed "Un Ballo in Maschera" for the San Carlo Theatre in Naples where it was to have been staged during the 1858 carnival season. The libretto told the true story of the liberal King Gustavu...

Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (WWV 49) (Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Bulwer-Lytton's novel of t...

Since its premiere in 1892, "Werther" has ranked among Jules Massenet's most admired and beloved scores; it has also proved the most enduring. He was inspired to compose the opera about the doomed poe...

George Gershwin composed his "Cuban Overture" in July and August 1932. Originally was the work titled "Rumba" and was the result of a two-week holiday which Gershwin took in Havana, Cuba in February 1...

The romantic, picturesque and dramatic appeal of medieval Christianity furnished Richard Wagner, after "Tannhäuser", with "Lohengrin". It's a romantic opera in three acts first performed in 1850 un We...

'Vorspiel und Liebestod' ist eine Konzertfassung der Ouvertüre und Isoldes Arie 'Mild und Leise' aus dem dritten Akt der Oper 'Tristan und Isolde' von Richard Wagner. Diese Fassung stammte vom Komponi...

Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (1816) is one of the greatest of all comic operas. Based on an excellent play by Beaumarchais, The 'Barber of Seville' delights audiences with its keenly sketched c...

Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (1816) is one of the greatest of all comic operas. Based on an excellent play by Beaumarchais, The 'Barber of Seville' delights audiences with its keenly sketched c...

'La forza del destino (The Power of Fate) is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, 'Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino', by Ángel...

'La forza del destino (The Power of Fate) is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, 'Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino', by Ángel...

The idea of a 'Hamlet overture' had first occurred to Tschaikowsky in 1876. However, by 1888 he had altered these plans when he was asked to write incidental music for a production of Shakespeare's pl...

The idea of a 'Hamlet overture' had first occurred to Tschaikowsky in 1876. However, by 1888 he had altered these plans when he was asked to write incidental music for a production of Shakespeare's pl...

The Wasps is incidental music composed by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909. It was based on Aristophane's ancient Greek comedy The Wasps for a production at Trinity College, Cambrid...