Berlioz: Lélio, ou Le Retour à la vie; Le Carnaval romain; Hélène (2007)

Berlioz conceived Lélio, ou La retour à la vie as a sequel to his Symphonie Fantastique, and intended the two to be performed together. The genre of Lélio is difficult to pin down. The composer calls it a "Monodrame lyrique," which isn't a very helpful description. There are multiple characters, and the score includes stage directions more detailed than those for most operas, including the instruction for part of the orchestra to leave the stage at one point, for no apparent dramatic reason. The eccentricity of Lélio's ... Read More

Berlioz conceived Lélio, ou La retour à la vie as a sequel to his Symphonie Fantastique, and intended the two to be performed together. The genre of Lélio is difficult to pin down. The composer calls it a "Monodrame lyrique," which isn't a very helpful description. There are multiple characters, and the score includes stage directions more detailed than those for most operas, including the instruction for part of the orchestra to leave the stage at one point, for no apparent dramatic reason. The eccentricity of Lélio's structure and the demands of the performing forces, to say nothing of its nearly inscrutable text, have kept it from enjoying the same popularity as Symphonie Fantastique. Lélio opens with the premise that the actions depicted in Symphonie Fantastique were only a dream, and the artist (here identified as Lélio, a composer) wakes to ruminate upon the meaning of life, love, art, etc. Mostly, though, he soliloquizes about Shakespeare, specifically Hamlet and The Tempest, the latter of which... Read Less

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2007, Chandos UPC: 095115141625 CD See All