Mathieu van Bellen, Mathias Halvorsen - Puccini: La Bohème (Arr M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano) (2022) [24/96]

Mathieu van Bellen and Mathias Halvorsen present an ambitious and first ever completly instrumental arrangement of Giaccomo Puccini’s entire opera La Bohème. The musicians have arranged the score themselves, bringing together the parts of the soloists, the choir and the orchestra into a hyper-virtuosic piece for just violin and piano. Recorded live in front of an audience, van Bellen and Halvorsen give everything they have; bringing forth each scene in an expressive and highly evocative tour de force. Drawing on styles and techniques from Puccini’s contemporaries Kreisler and Godowsky, the musicians have strived to utilise a wide array of colours and textures. Ranging from intimate love scenes to buzzing streets filled with soldiers and children, the arrangement is meant not only to reflect Puccini's orchestration, but also to build the scenic imagery and bring the characters to life.

The project was initiated as part of the program BeBeethoven, investigating new ways of interpreting classical core repertoire. Inspired by the theatre company Forced Entertainment and their legendary stagings of Shakespeare, van Bellen and Halvorsen set out to find a new way to approach opera.

Even though the core philosophy initially embraced a ‘less is more’ attitude, the arrangement of the musical material soon leaned hard the other way. Committed to get every note from the full score into the arrangement, they flexed every creative muscle; often resulting in rather wild solutions. Another, similarly ambitious task, was trying to recreate the different characters and give them strong, audible personalities. The part of every character is performed by either piano or violin, and each is given a distinct colour and temperament.

The goal of the project is to bring Puccini’s masterpiece to life in a new, transparent and more intimate way. In this marvellous opera the music and the story melt together in a uniquely poetic fashion. The aim is to spotlight these achievements, opening up the piece to an audience not normally invested in opera. This production wishes to tell, rather than show a story, and leans heavily on the power of imagination as a trigger for entering Puccini’s world.

Tracklist:
CD1
01. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 1, Questo mar rosso [Live]
02. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 2, Pensier profondo! [Live]
03. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 3, Abasso l’autor! [Live]
04. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 4, Olà! [Live]
05. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 5, Al quartiere Latin [Live]
06. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 6, Non sono in vena [Live]
07. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 7, Si sente meglio [Live]
08. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 8, Che gelida manina [Live]
09. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 9, Si Mi chiamano Mimì [Live]
10. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 1 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 10, O soave fanciulla [Live]
11. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 2 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 11, Aranci ninnoli! [Live]
12. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 2 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 12, Dal mio cervel [Live]
13. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 2 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 13, Parpignol, Parpignol [Live]
14. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 2 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 14, Oh! Musetta! [Live]
15. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 2 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 15, Quando me'n vo' soletta [Live]
16. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 2 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 16, Caro! [Live]

CD2
01. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 3 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 17, Ohè, là, le guardie! [Live]
02. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 3 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 18, Mimì! [Live]
03. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 3 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 19, Marcello finalmente! [Live]
04. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 3 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 20, Mimì è una civetta [Live]
05. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 3 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 21, Donde lieta usci al tuo grido d’amore [Live]
06. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 3 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 22, Dunque è proprio finita! [Live]
07. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 23, In un coupé? [Live]
08. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 24, O Mimì tu più non torni [Live]
09. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 25, L'ora del pranzo di ieri [Live]
10. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 26, Gavotta [Live]
11. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 27, C'e Mimì [Live]
12. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 28, Vecchia zimarra, senti [Live]
13. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 29, Sono andati [Live]
14. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 30, Oh Dio! Mimì! [Live]
15. La Bohème, SC 67, Act 4 (Arr. M. van Bellen & M. Halvorsen for Violin & Piano): No. 31, Che ha detto il medico [Live]


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