Sergei Prokofiev - Symphonic suite from "Love for Three Oranges" Op. 33bis (audio + sheet music)

Sergei Prokofiev's comic opera The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33 (1919) won a place in the repertoire only with great difficulty. First produced in 1921, the work was greeted with rather dismal reviews and an even worse public response. Prokofiev found a partial solution to this problem by extracting six numbers from the opera, revising them, and assembling them into a six-movement concert suite in 1924.

"The Ridiculous People," adapted from the opera's prologue, depicts the arguments between the various characters (represented by distinct instrumental ideas) and the ultimate subjugation of their ideas by the forceful Ridiculous People themselves. In "Scene from Hades," Prokofiev uses eerie instrumental effects to represent a card game played by Fata Morgana in Hell. The "March," made famous by dozens of arrangements (it was a staple of violinist Jascha Heifetz's recitals), finds the sick Prince being carried to a party contrived to make him smile. The movement's march rhythms are continually inflected by strident, "wrong-note" sonorities. The remainder of the suite is comprised of "Scherzo" (here reworked into an effective orchestral miniature), a romantic interlude ("The Prince and the Princess"), and "Flight," a comic romp in which the villains are finally routed.

(AllMusic)

Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. I do recommend changing the video quality to a minimum of 480p.

Performance by: London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner
Original audio:    • Prokofiev - Love Of Three Oranges– Ma...  
Original sheet music: imslp.org/wiki/The_Love_for_Three_Oranges_(suite)%2C_Op.33bis_(Prokofiev%2C_Sergey)