Victoria Opera Orc/Bonynge - Balfe: Satanella

Satanella was Michael William Balfe's 23rd opera, first presented at Covent Garden in 1858 to much acclaim. It remained in the repertoire for over 60 years, touring to Sydney, New York and Philadelphia. A hybrid of classical opera with a sprinkling of stand-alone ballads, beloved by singers of the day for sheet sales promotion, the score is also notable for its Italianate flow of recitatives, moving arias, concerted pieces and ensembles and, not least, the haunting 'Power of Love' melody. Richard Bonynge, an acknowledged master of eighteenth and nineteenth-century opera, has edited the new performing edition.