Beethoven: Christus am Ölberge (Christ on the Mount of Olives)
2/4/2014, 18 Tracks, 53:55
Featuring
Helmuth Rilling
Keith Lewis
Maria Venuti
Michel Brodard
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Gächinger Kantorei
Ludwig van Beethoven
Did you know?
1/7
Performer Biography
Maria Venuti, an Italian-American soprano, began her international opera career after an apprenticeship at the Vienna State Opera, where she sang under Herbert von Karajan and Karl Boehm.
Critical Reception
The libretto for "Christus am Ölberge" by Franz Xaver Huber was widely criticized, with one reviewer claiming to have never heard of the librettist.
Album & Artwork
The album cover features Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix's 1827 painting 'Christ in the Garden of Olives,' located in the Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, Paris.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven intended to create a new, dramatic oratorio with "Christus am Ölberge," distinct from the oratorio definitions set by Haydn's "Creation" or "Seasons."
Composition History
Beethoven's oratorio, "Christus am Ölberge" (Christ on the Mount of Olives), was his first and earliest work in this style, written in just fourteen days in spring 1803 amidst personal disturbances.
Notable Performances
Beethoven's "Christus am Ölberge" premiered on April 5, 1803, at the Theater an der Wien, conducted by the composer himself.
Recording & Production
This recording of Beethoven's "Christus am Ölberge" was made in February 1994 at the Hegelsaal in Liederhalle Stuttgart.
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