A Fine Agitation
Catalog #: NV6524
Release Date: June 9, 2023
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceStrong convictions make for strong emotion, and in Michael J. Evans' case, emotion transforms into operatic scenes. A FINE AGITATION is an eight-part stage work based on Susan B. Anthony's letters during her infamous voting trial, which sheds light on the beloved social reformer from a personal, intimate, and profoundly charming angle. Both biographies and political subjects are notoriously difficult to set to music without becoming either dry tragedies or kitschy pastiches, but Evans circumvents this pitfall with a compositional style that is subtly, tastefully shaded, and at times almost light-footed. It shows Anthony, an American social justice icon, from a perspective that might have been disregarded for the better part of a century – the perspective of being human.
Hamlet
Catalog #: NV6396
Release Date: April 22, 2022
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceNavona Records presents HAMLET from Joseph Summer. In this installment of the Shakespeare Concert Series, composer Joseph Summer brings us along to Elsinore with The Bard’s classic play in an all new setting complete with the lyric integrity of Shakespeare’s words in a contemporary musical arrangement. Performed by Bulgaria’s State Opera Ruse orchestra, choir, and selected Bulgarian soloists with nine international soloists singing the lead roles, the celebrated revenge tragedy bursts with a new modern flair while keeping the spirit and riveting narrative of the original alive.
Tristan Und Isolde
Catalog #: NV6321
Release Date: November 20, 2020
RomanticOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceThe Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava stuns with a new recording of Richard Wagner's three-act opera TRISTAN AND ISOLDE. Skillfully conducted by German conductor Robert Reimer, this new, vibrant performance is likely to claim its place as one of the reference recordings of Wagner's innovative work.
The Adventures of Florian
Catalog #: NV6301
Release Date: October 9, 2020
21st CenturyOrchestralStage WorksOrchestraOn his seventh release on Navona Records, THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN, Michael J. Evans presents an epic, modern adaptation of Henry Beston’s fairytale of the same name. Over the course of four orchestral acts, Evans reframes the story as a tale of trans heroship, with Prince Florizel marrying Florian himself presenting as a boy, rather than revealing Florian as Isabella.
Three Theatre Pieces and Chopin
Catalog #: NV6272
Release Date: April 24, 2020
21st CenturyOrchestralStage WorksOrchestraSaxophoneWind EnsembleLongtime Navona Records artist Michael G. Cunningham showcases his penchant for storytelling on THREE THEATRE PIECES AND CHOPIN, an album rife with theatrical wonders that delight both the ears and the imagination.
Torrid Nature Scenes
Catalog #: NV5915
Release Date: May 1, 2013
21st CenturyOrchestralStage WorksOrchestraTORRID NATURE SCENES, an album of chamber works from Australian composer Nicholas Vines, presents a series of musical landscapes that instill both anxiety and ebullience in the listener. Through his innovative use of woodwinds, voice, and chamber ensemble, Vines - a composer lauded for his "crackling style" (NewMusicBox) and called "compellingly original" (Boston Phoenix) and "both humorous and unsettling" (WGBH) - asks us to consider representations of nature fueled not by a passing glance of a wondrous vista, but by a series of creative engines wracked with self-burning energy, profound fury, and breath-filled life.
Gallery
Catalog #: NV5893
Release Date: November 13, 2012
20th CenturyOrchestralStage WorksOrchestraGALLERY is a collection of works by composer Michael G. Cunningham, containing three of his narrative ballets and the Gastein Masterwork. The ballets Nyadina, based on a Balanchine film ballet; She, based on the 1887 Haggard novel; and Chrysalis at Mardi Gras, based on the Saint Joseph story resembling Cinderella contain a narrative, choreographic flow with emotional and fable-like undertones.
Carmen’s Revenge
Catalog #: NV5837
Release Date: November 1, 2010
21st CenturyChamberStage WorksOrchestraPianoVoiceCARMEN'S REVENGE is Osias Wilenski's humorous homage to Bizet's Carmen. Wilenskidraws from the works of Bizet, Mozart, and others to create a sort of operatic medley that places Carmen within modern society. This recording features soprano Maria Rosa López and baritone César Puente.
Kaddish
Catalog #: NV5834
Release Date: September 1, 2010
21st CenturyOperaStage WorksOrchestraVoiceLawrence Siegel’s Kaddish is an evening-length cycle of fifteen original songs for chorus, soloists, and chamber ensemble that serves to find a common ground with those who survived the Holocaust. The choral masterpiece’s libretto is drawn from interviews with Holocaust survivors and incorporates elements of folk songs and traditional Klezmer music. As a whole, Kaddish brings us on a journey through the cultural identities of pre-Holocaust central Europe, reflections of the atrocities that occurred during those years, and the victims’ desire for ordinariness.