Sir Arthur Sullivan - The Tempest (1/4)

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 - 22 November 1900) was an English composer, of Irish and Italian descent, best known for his operatic collaborations with librettist W. S. Gilbert, including such continually popular works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado.

Incidental music from: "The Tempest", Op. 1 (1861)

1. Introduction

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Vivian Dunn

The Tempest, incidental music (1861)

First Performance: Leipzig, Gewandhaus, 6 April 1861
Revised Version: Crystal Palace, 5 April 1862
Staged: Manchester, Prince's Theatre, 15 October 1864

Sullivan composed his incidental music to The Tempest as a kind of graduation exercise from the conservatory at Leipzig, where he had studied through the aid of the prestigious Mendelssohn scholarship. The work consisted of twelve numbers, of which six received their premiere in Leipzig on 6 April 1861. When the complete work was performed at the Crystal Palace on 5 April 1862, it caused an immediate sensation, effectively launching Sullivan on his professional career. So popular was The Tempest that it was repeated just a week later, and it continued to be one of Sullivan's most popular concert works. It was also used for its originally-intended purpose, as incidental music to the play, in a production at Manchester's Prince's Theatre, on 15 October 1864.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Sir
• Arthur
• Sullivan
• The
• Tempest

[BandWagon1987]

Finesse