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Martinu's Greek Passion
Posted by paul corfield godfrey on June 14, 2017, 1:58 pm
I note that in his review of the old Mackerras recording on Supraphon (which I had no hesitation in preferring to this new issue) Rob Barnett complained that, although the Supraphon set contained a full libretto and translation, there were no notes on the music itself in the booklet. In fact there was, at any rate in the copy I purchased, a second booklet which contained a very full discussion on the history of the opera, including translations into all the main European languages. Another reason to prefer the Mackerras set - and an earnest recommendation to anyone who has yet to encounter this marvellous opera to purchase it while it remains available.
Re: Martinu's Greek Passion
Posted by Dafydd Jones on June 15, 2017, 12:57 pm, in reply to "Martinu's Greek Passion" 51.7.9.155
I have the original Supraphon release of the opera on 2 musicassettes and can confirm that my set includes five pages of very thorough notes,which cover;Martinu on The Greek Passion-extracts from his letters,Martinu:the Opera Composer,Martinu:The Musician,Manolios as Christ,The Greek Orthodox Church,Religious Regalia as well as a Synopsis and English libretto.I can only assume that the cd set includes this. I have yet to purchase a Supraphon set that did not include notes.Unlike some other labels I can think of,they always seemed to,thoughtfully,include a libretto;even if some of their translations were unintentionally hilarious;in an endearing way (Cpo take note!) I still have a cassette deck in g.w.o and playing it recently,I can confirm that opera itself is a simply stunning experience,as is the Mackerras performance,itself. I have not heard the new recording,but I would be amazed if it is any kind of improvement.For fans of retro style equipment I can also confirm that the sound quality of the Supraphon cassettes is very good!!! Best wishes!
Re: Martinu's Greek Passion
Posted by Dominy Clements on June 19, 2017, 7:25 am, in reply to "Martinu's Greek Passion" 94.209.201.13
I have the Libor Pesek 2 LP set (1981/2), cat. 10 3661-1 brought back from Prague in the 1980s just after the Russians withdrew. It has reasonably extensive notes on the work, artist biographies and libretto - all in Czech.
