29 September – 3 October
Hélène | Nuit Persane
Illing | Davislim | McKendree-Wright | Kenneally
Orchestra Victoria | Guillaume Tourniaire</B< td>
Melba Recordings MR301114-2

Saint-Saëns wrote Hélène for Melba Recordings label’s namesake, Dame Nellie Melba, who sang the title role in its first performance in Monte Carlo in 1904. Melba recording’s founder Maria Vandamme rediscovered the piece and committed to returning it to the catalogue. French conductor Guillaume Tourniaire conducts a cast led by tenor Steve Davislim and soprano Rosamund Illing with Orchestra Victoria. Hélène is coupled with another world premier recording, the orchestral version of Saint-Saëns’s hypnotic cycle for narrator, tenor, alto, chorus and orchestra of Armand Renaud’s Nuit Persane. This 2 disc set includes a 100-page colour booklet featuring essays, illustrations and translations, with full libretto and song text. Distributed throughout Australia by Fuse.

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