Quality: 7

Difficulty: 8

13:07

Highest Note: alt. A

Major opera composer (wrote over 40, including The Barber of Seville, William Tell, & Semiramide)

Father played horn & mother was opera singer

Involved in opera as a boy (sang & played horn in pit orchestras)

Opera overtures frequently played by orchestras

Operas have "florid lines, vocal embellishments, and incredible speed & spontaneity" (think of this when playing)

This piece is virtuosic & operatic

VERY comfortable in altissimo

Clean articulation

Smooth, fluent fingers

Dotted rhythms

Prepared finger technique

Play extremely high parts down an octave first to hear it, then move to where written

Picture yourself on stage in an opera while playing (be a diva!)

Johnson; English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Groves; ASV

Neidich; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Deutsche Grammophon