BBC Radio 3: Sunday 14:00 - Berlioz, Romeo et Juliette OAE
Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:27 pm
Something to help you digest the Sunday roast:
Presented by Catherine Bott
The OAE conducted by Sir Mark Elder perform Berlioz' Romeo & Juliet, a rare performance of the piece by a period-instrument orchestra, with Sonia Ganassi, Orlin Anastassov and John Mark Ainsley.
Berlioz was never one to do things by halves, and Romeo & Juliet is probably one of his most ambitious ever projects - the first performance had an orchestra of over 100, a chorus of 101 voices, plus soloists. It is a passionate, lush piece which pushed the limits of what an orchestra could do, its vivid and dramatic scene-setting upstages that of many operas.
Berlioz: Romeo et Juliette
Patricia Bardon mezzo-soprano
John Mark Ainsley tenor
Orlin Anastassov bass
BBC Symphony Chorus
Schola Cantorum
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Sir Mark Elder conductor.