Fuoco di Gioia! Beruhmte Opernchore (CD, Br-Klassik)

‘Fuoco di gioia’ – at the beginning of Verdi’s Otello, the compatriots of the victorious protagonist cheer his triumphant return to his home port in a vocal fire of joy. The opera quote is the motto of the new CD that the Bavarian Radio Choir recently recorded together with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester under the direction of its chief conductor Ivan Repu i; the opera choir scene that begins with these words opens up a selection of famous choirs and instrumental pieces from the stage works of Italian bel canto (Verdi) and verismo (Leoncavallo, Puccini, Mascagni), Russian opera (Borodin, Glinka, Tchaikovsky) and the romantic operas of Richard Wagner. The recordings, which were just produced in January, February and July 2019, present well-known melodies to enjoy and also to sing along (secretly or confidently). Choral pieces from stage works have been a popular part of the repertoire of large and small choirs and choral societies from the start. For the most part, they also work independently of the context of the respective opera and they also reach an audience that may have a certain reluctance to go to the opera. Usually the choirs are less elaborate than virtuoso opera arias and scenes; they often develop a catchy, catchy tune that can be grasped and reproduced instantly and that sticks in the memory. Some choirs in opera history have even contributed to global political history: for example the prisoner’s choir from Verdi’s Nabucco, which became the hymn of the Risorgimento par excellence of the national unification movement in Italy at the end of the 19th century. A musical firework with famous choirs and instrumental pieces from Italian, German and Russian operas on the new CD from BR-KLASSIK.