The Bitter Well

the bitter well

Track Listings

1. American Tragedy

2. Corporation

3. After the Flood

4. Rebellion Lost

5. Run

6. Dream

7. When I Knew Everything

8. King Street

9. Cast

10. Freak

The Bitter Well,Razor Skyline,Cop International,Alternative Pop/Rock,Industrial,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

The Bitter Well

Average customer rating:

English is an asset and a drawback
You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English
A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!
I love Carmen!

Carmen (Sung in English)
Bizet , Bardon , Gavin , Plazas , Magee , and Parry
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mozart: The Magic Flute
The Barber of Seville / B. Ford, D. Jones, A. Opie; G. Bellini [in English]
Verdi: La Traviata
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart - Don Giovanni / Garry Magee · Cullagh · Banks · Plazas · Shore · Tierny · PO · David Parry

ASIN: B00007JGRN
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

Prelude
In The Plaza
Just Look At That Delicious Morsel
Here Come Our New Soldier Boys
Jose! There Was A Girl Here Looking For You Just Now
Off With You Old Soldier Boys
Corporal! Sir!
We Have Heard The Bell Summon Us To Meet Here
Ah, Just Look!
But Why Hasn't She Come, Our Carmencita?
Love's A Bird Wild As Any Rebel
Carmen! We Will Follow You High And Low!
The Cheek Of It!
Give Me News Of My Mother!
Your Dear Mother And I Were Leaving Church This Morning
I See My Mother's Face!
Wait A Moment - I'm Going To Read The Letter
Come And Help
So, Corporal: Tell Me What Happened
Well, Carmencita: What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?
Where Are You Taking Me?
There's An Old Bar In The City
Careful - It's Lieutenant!
Entr'acte
From Far Away Mysterious Sounds
Bravo, Bravo! More! Keep Dancing!
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
Who's That? It's Escamillo, The Bullfighter From Granada
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
You're Most Kind
We'll Come With You, Senor Torero
Toreador, Be Ready!
At Last! We Got Rid Of Them As Quickly As We Could
There's A Little Job That We're Starting!
Being In Love Is Not A Reason

Tracks:

To Bid You Welcome To Our Bar
La La La La La La La La...
Back To Camp!... Go At Once!
That Flow'r You Threw To Me I Treasured
No, It's Not Love At All!
Hello! Carmen!
Lieutenant Fair, It's True
The Sky Above The Open Road
Entr'acte
Keep Going, Dear Old Friend, Kep Going!
Right! Let's Stop For A While
Shuffle! Cut Them!
In Vain You Would Avoid The Bitter Things They're Saying
You're Back!
As For That Man, It Should Be Easy!
Is This The Place?
I Say That There's Nothing To Fear
It's Him! I'm Sure It's Him Over There!
Escamillo Is My Name, And I Come From Granada
She Had A Lover Here
Hola! Hola! Jose!
You Should Take Care, Carmen
Alas! Jose, Your Mother Is Ill
Entr'acte
A Few Cuartos! A Few Cuartos!
Here They Come! Here They Come!
If You Love Me, Carmen
It's You! It's Me!
Viva! Viva! What A Corrida!

Customer Reviews:

English is an asset and a drawback.......2004-07-20

The best thing about this recording of Carmen is the libretto. Conductor David Parry penned this facile and dramatic English translation. He avoids the pitfalls of literal translation to achieve an idiomatic flow that matches the rhythm of the original lyrics. I use this as a reference libretto for any of the French Carmens.

Unfortunately, the performance suffers from being sung in English. The singers declaim their parts with such proper British diction that Carmen comes across as a school marm. The spoken dialog is delivered beat for deliberate beat and is dripping with reverb. It makes the plaza, tavern and mountain pass all sound like a sewer pipe.

This is a good first Carmen for someone trying to understand the work. The libretto itself is a good investment for further listening. For an enjoyable performance with an emphasis on character and action, I recommend Regina Resnik on the London Double Decker set.

You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English.......2004-02-09

What a perfect introduction to opera. This newly released recording will surely get you hooked into opera. Carmen, a French opera by Georges Bizet, is the most recognizable and most popular in the opera world. It's famous melodies- the overture, the Habanera, The Toreador Song have all been featured in everything from cellular phone ring tones to Superbowl Commercial (last year's Superbowl with The "Opera In English" label has been making Italian operas into English for a number of years now. Also on the market are Verdi's La Traviata in English (with soprano Valerie Masterson as Violetta) Handel's Julius Caesar with Janet Baker and even Wagner's epic Ring Of The Nibeling sung in English. This is a terrific recording and I highly recommend it if you want to get into opera. Listen to this version first and then try the real, original French version Bizet had written. Patricia Bardon is sensational, sexy and dramatic as Carmen.

The real strength of this version is the dynamic drama. With the advantage of being sung in English, we get better insight on characters' emotions and motives, and we understand the drama a lot better. Carmen is all about great drama. Bizet drew the plot from the French writer Prosper Merimee's dark short story. Carmen is the ultimate femme fatale- a devil-may-care, sexy Gypsy living in Spain, seduces the conservatively raised soldier Don Jose, stealing him away from his fiancee, the passive Micaela, living a life of underground smuggling and rowdy taverns. "Habanera" and "The Gypsy Song and Dance" are very expressive of Carmen's extraordinarily liberal lifestyle. Don Jose, however, has fallen deeply in love- as he shows us in his song/aria "The Flower Song". But Carmen soon becomes tired of his constancy. Don Jose wants a committed, monogamous relationship with Carmen. But Carmen will not submit to love, since she is first and foremost a carnal creature. Eventually, she falls for the handsome Toreador Escamillo. Don Jose, consumed by jealousy, stabs Carmen at a bullfight after Carmen declares her love for Escamillo and rejects Don Jose's love. Don Jose's crazed, obscessive personality shines through in the English version as well. This tragedy has been done in English before so don't think this is the first time. Back in the 50's, there was a film, starring black actors "Carmen Jones" which was treated the same way as this opera- more like an English Broadway musical and with the dubbed singing voice of Marilyn Horne as Carmen. All in all, this recording is excellent.

A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!.......2003-09-17

This recording really sells "Carmen" as a drama. Although I have two other recordings of this opera and have seen it performed several times, it never quite worked for me dramatically. But thanks to the fine performances, conducting, and translation here, I've become a "Carmen" convert. Producing a good English-language performance of a foreign opera, especially a warhorse like "Carmen," is much more difficult than it might appear. You need performers who not only can sing the parts (of course) but also can sing *English* and make it halfway intelligible and make it sound like English and make it dramatically convincing to English-speakers. The singers on this recording do an excellent job all around. Don't be put off if you don't recognize their names -- they are up to the task musically and (especially) in their acting. Admittedly, as with *all* English-language recordings, some passages are very hard to understand without reading along, but most of the time the words are clear and effective. I would recommend this recording to any opera beginner or opera lover, even those who normally turn up their noses at performances in translation.

I love Carmen!.......2003-08-15

I do. I can think of no other opera with more melodic inventiveness, and few others with so sure a dramatic pulse. Carmen is popular and it thrills me to say that it is also a very good opera - not always true of popular things.

And what of this recording? Carmen sits well in English, so it is good to hear in translation, although some of the detais in the text jar. Escamillo refers to Jose as "my dear", which sounds rather peculiar, and the guide's line to Micaela: "it's not exactly inviting, is it?" sounds distinctly Middle England rather than Rural Spain. Some of the performers, not least Carmen herself, make the words work, although there are long tracts, especially with the chorus, where the language is distinctly indistinct.

The soloists are, by and large, strong. Patricia Bardon's deep, Handel-friendly voice adapts well to Carmen and she colours the music with phenomenal detail, sounding sexy and provocative from the start with an edge of pride and anger that emerges as the show goes on. She is out of her depth above the stave, though, and some extra top notes in the second act don't show her off to her best advantage. I have previously said that Julian Gavin is poorly served by recordings, though here he sounds much more even and gives a thrilling and musical performance (but his wooden spoken lines let him down). Mary Plazas is a lovely Micaela, rich-voiced and sincere (and word-perfect), but Garry Magee sounds miscast as Escamillo, lacking the ballast at the bottom of the voice to do justice to this tricky role.

The supporting cast is good (Mary Hegarty seems to do nothing but Frasquita these days!) but the really treasurable thing is the conducting. Stepping out of Italian Ottocento, David Parry turns his hand to this French Comedie with an appropriate lightness of touch. His pacing and handling of the set pieces is exemplary and the enrtractes go with a real swing.

Tracks:

American Tragedy
Corporation
After the Flood
Rebellion Lost
Run
Dream
When I Knew Everything
King Street
Cast
Freak

Customer Reviews:

I was hoping for something a little better........2007-06-22

This album isn't terrible, but it wasn't what I was expecting. It's more goth than it is industrial, and the songs are kind of blase. The female vocalist sounds kinda like Gitane Dimone of Christian Death, and the guitars are same ol' same ol'. However, despite a few complaints, there are a couple cool tracks, but I wouldn't give the whole album any more than three stars just because this style of rock music has been done better by many other bands. The album cover is better than the actual album.

Average customer rating:

Truly Divine!

The English Madrigal School

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Partsongs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000023C5
Release Date: 1995-02-07

Tracks:

Ho! Who Comes Here?
Cease Sorrows Now
Mother, I Will Have A Husband
In Going To My Naked Bed
To Shorten Winter's Sadness
O Care, Thou Wilt Despatch Me
Of All The Birds That I Do Know
All Creatures Now Are Merry-Minded
Sweet Nymph
Weep O Mine Eyes
The Ape, The Monkey, And The Baboon
Oft Have I Vowed
Strike It Up, Tabor
Hope Of My Heart
Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees
Defiled Is My Name
On The Plains, Fairy Trains
When Griping Griefs
All At Once Well Met
Like As The Doleful Dove
The Bitter Sweet

Tracks:

Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers
O Happy Dames
Young Cupid Hath Proclaimed
The Happy Life ('My Friends')
Thule, The Period Of Cosmography
I Smile To See How You Devised
Benedicam Domino
Lady, When I behold
Adieu, Sweet Amaryllis
Now Is The Month Of Maying
In Dew Of Roses
Shoot, False Love, I Care Not
Miraculous Love's Wounding!
Hark, Alleluia Cheerly
Arise, Get Up, My Dear
Leave This Tormenting
I Go Before, My Darling
Say, Gentle Nymphs
Good Morrow, Fair Ladies
April Is In My Mistress' Face
Though Philomela Lost Her Love
Hard By A Crystal Fountain
Whither Away, So Fast
I Follow, Lo, The Footing
O Grief!
When, Lo, By Break Of Morning
Besides A Fountain
Fire! Fire! My Heart!

Customer Reviews:

Truly Divine!.......2001-07-24

I was pleased with the bountiful variety of madrigals which were provided. The singers were quite good! Although, I could have have used much more presence within the bass parts. Also, "Hark, Alleluia Cheerly!" was not sung in its original key of e minor! After being exposed to many interpretations of "O Grief evn on the Bud" I would have enjoyed a more "swelling experience" for this album. Overall, the album provides a stellar and solid performace on the most popular madrigal works.

Average customer rating:

Nielsen: Songs
Ulrik Cold , Carl Nielsen , and Johannes Mikkelsen
Manufacturer: Classico
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00002S7GC
Release Date: 1999-11-24

Average customer rating:

Druid Dance

Manufacturer: FP Productions
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA6OQM
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Verdi: Rigoletto; La Traviata; Il Trovatore (Highlights)

Average customer rating:

Verdi: Rigoletto; La Traviata; Il Trovatore (Highlights)

Manufacturer: Class. for Pleas. Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00009KHY6
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Tracks:

Prelude - John Wakefield
The Glass Let Us Fill - John Wakefield
See The Early Rays Of Morning - John Wakefield
How Curious!... Ah, Was It He? - John Wakefield
I Care For Nothing... I Lived A Wild, Unruly Life - John Wakefield
Pure As An Angel - John Wakefield
On Me This Wretched Woman - John Wakefield
Farewell Then, For Ever - John Wakefield
Come, Oh My Dearest - John Wakefield
Ah, Violetta! - Elizabeth Harwood
Prelude - Elizabeth Harwood
I'll Wait No Longer... Shall I Bind Me - Elizabeth Harwood
Love To The Heart Is The Fair Light Of Morning - Elizabeth Harwood
Gaultier Malde!... Ah, How Dear To Me That Name - Elizabeth Harwood
Save Your Highness!... Last Night, Alone - Elizabeth Harwood
Race Of Courtiers - Elizabeth Harwood

Tracks:

My Father!... On Every Sunday Morning... But One Thing Remains - Elizabeth Harwood
Wayward As Thistledown - Elizabeth Harwood
Why Need You Be So Coy?... I'm Your Slave, Sweet Girl - Elizabeth Harwood
'Twas My Own Fault - Elizabeth Harwood
How Well Do I Recall That Night - Donald McIntyre
See How The Shadows Of Night - Donald McIntyre
Fierce Flames Are Raging - Donald McIntyre
All The Stars That Shine Above Us - Donald McIntyre
Oh, Life Has Brught You Sorrow - Donald McIntyre
As From That Dread Pyre - Donald McIntyre
God Have Mercy Upon The Soul Departing - Donald McIntyre
See All The Bitter Tears I Shed - Donald McIntyre
Yes, Let Me Sleep... Home To Our Mountains - Donald McIntyre
Ah, A Light Is Glimm'ring - Donald McIntyre

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