Much as I've enjoyed the complete Padmavati, I do think these extracted Suites make for a generally more satisfying listen. Interesting eastern-flavoured orchestral contrasts and some occasionally complex time signatures in another underrated work by the composer.
Max Merry -- "Some time later, Alauddin lays another siege of Chittor with a bigger army. When it becomes clear that there is no way out, the women of the fort perform jauhar (the act of jumping into a massive burning flame to escape humiliation at the hands of enemies) while all the men die fighting. "At the end of the war, Jayasi leaves the reader with a satire, saying that the great sultan Alauddin Khilji succeeds in converting only the fort made up of bricks and stones to Islam. Padmavati remains a dream for Alauddin Khilji, the mightiest ruler of contemporary India...."
During WW1, when Padmavati was composed, Roussel worked as an ambulance driver. He was also seriously ill. I can't help but feel that the trauma of the period must have contributed towards a change in musical direction which is aready partially evident here.
Several years before the composition of "Padmavati ", Roussel and his wife actually visited India , where among other things, was exposed to traditional Indian music . No doubt this enabled him to give this fascinating opera a. more authentically Indian. character than such entertaining but pseudo Indian French operas as "Les Pecheurs De Perles" by Bizet and. Lakme by Leo Delibes . It's puzzling why "Padmavati " has had so few productions since it was first premiered at the Paris opera in 1`923 . It has yet to be staged in the US , although several years ago Christoph Eschenbach , then music director of the National symphony in Washington, did excerpts from it. , along with a then new orchestral work by a composer form India whose name I don't recall mixing western and Indian instruments . It's too bad they didn't do a complete performance in concert . One hopes Leon Botstein will do it sometime soon at the Bard college summer festival just north of New York , on the Hudson . As far as I know, the last staged performances of Padmavati were in 2008 in Paris. , not by the Paris opera but at the Theatre de Chalet , conducted by Lawrence Foster . Unfortunately, this production has never been released on DVD . The director was a leading figure in Bollywood who had never directed an opera before ! The production moved to the Spoleto Festival in Italy right after the performances in Paris .
Much as I've enjoyed the complete Padmavati, I do think these extracted Suites make for a generally more satisfying listen. Interesting eastern-flavoured orchestral contrasts and some occasionally complex time signatures in another underrated work by the composer.
Max Merry -- "Some time later, Alauddin lays another siege of Chittor with a bigger army. When it becomes clear that there is no way out, the women of the fort perform jauhar (the act of jumping into a massive burning flame to escape humiliation at the hands of enemies) while all the men die fighting.
"At the end of the war, Jayasi leaves the reader with a satire, saying that the great sultan Alauddin Khilji succeeds in converting only the fort made up of bricks and stones to Islam. Padmavati remains a dream for Alauddin Khilji, the mightiest ruler of contemporary India...."
Thanks to Max and Stevee for background on the composer and the story.
During WW1, when Padmavati was composed, Roussel worked as an ambulance driver. He was also seriously ill. I can't help but feel that the trauma of the period must have contributed towards a change in musical direction which is aready partially evident here.
Several years before the composition of "Padmavati ", Roussel and his wife actually visited India , where among other things, was exposed to traditional Indian music . No doubt this enabled him to give this fascinating opera a. more authentically Indian. character than such entertaining but pseudo Indian French operas as "Les Pecheurs De Perles" by Bizet and. Lakme by Leo Delibes .
It's puzzling why "Padmavati " has had so few productions since it was first premiered at the Paris opera in 1`923 . It has yet to be staged in the US , although several years ago Christoph Eschenbach , then music director of the National symphony in Washington, did excerpts from it. , along with a then new orchestral work by a composer form India whose name I don't recall mixing western and Indian instruments . It's too bad they didn't do a complete performance in concert .
One hopes Leon Botstein will do it sometime soon at the Bard college summer festival just north of New York , on the Hudson . As far as I know, the last staged performances of Padmavati were in 2008 in Paris. , not by the Paris opera but at the Theatre de Chalet , conducted by Lawrence Foster . Unfortunately, this production has never been released on DVD . The director was a leading figure in Bollywood who had never directed an opera before ! The production moved to the Spoleto Festival in Italy right after the performances in Paris .