Special offer. Joplin: Treemonisha
Anita Johnson (Treemonisha), AnnMarie Sandy (Monisha), Edward Pleasant (Zodzetrick), Frank Ward Jr. (Ned), Chauncey Packer (Remus)
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers, Rick Benjamin
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, March 2012, Opera Choice
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2012, Editor's Choice
Benjamin's recording...is perfectly balanced to get the best out of the score. Glory lies less with the singers, who range from woolly (AnnMarie Sandy's Monisha) to bright (Anita Johnson's Treemonisha)....
Special offer. Joplin: Treemonisha
Anita Johnson (Treemonisha), AnnMarie Sandy (Monisha), Edward Pleasant (Zodzetrick), Frank Ward Jr. (Ned), Chauncey Packer (Remus)
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers, Rick Benjamin
Purchase product
Awards:
-
BBC Music Magazine, March 2012, Opera Choice
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2012, Editor's Choice
Benjamin's recording...is perfectly balanced to get the best out of the score. Glory lies less with the singers, who range from woolly (AnnMarie Sandy's Monisha) to bright (Anita Johnson's Treemonisha)....
About
This is a work of tremendous significance, as it is the only opera in existence about the Reconstruction Era African-American experience, written by a black man who actually lived through it. The echoes of the “field hollers”, spirituals, fiddle tunes, revival hymns and ancient African dances of his rural childhood are all heard, as are the dialect of people rising up from slavery.
Contents and tracklist
- Anita Johnson, Edward Pleasant, AnnMarie Sandy, Frank Ward, Jr., Chauncey Packer, Robert Mack, Janinah Burnett, Darren Stokes, Todd Payne, Frederick Jackson, Phumzile Sojola, Steven Herring, Taiwan Norris, Nathaniel E. Thompson, LaErma White
- Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers
- Rick Benjamin
Awards and reviews
-
BBC Music MagazineMarch 2012Opera Choice
-
Gramophone MagazineApril 2012Editor's Choice
March 2012
Benjamin's recording...is perfectly balanced to get the best out of the score. Glory lies less with the singers, who range from woolly (AnnMarie Sandy's Monisha) to bright (Anita Johnson's Treemonisha). Benjamin's new orchestration and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra's punch are prize-worthy.
April 2012
Benjamin's light-on-its-feet orchestration fits the music: genteel melodic lines swim like fish through pure water...Edward Pleasant and AnnMarie Sandy (Zodzetrick and Monisha) banish operatic pomp; Anita Johnson's Treemonisha is sincerely felt. The star of the show, though, remains Joplin...This is the most important document about the history of American composed music to have appeared in a long, long time.
December 2012
The orchestra is simply superb. I really cannot praise the players too highly for their technical brilliance but also for their perfect understanding of the idiom...Anita Johnson in the title role is good without being exceptional.
