CHARLES GOUNOD (1818-1893): La Nonne Sanglante.

Description: Only his third opera, "The Bleeding Nun" premiered in 1854 and was quite successful with audiences although conservative critics found its mixture of supernatural horror and religious elements insupportable and a change in the opera house management took it off the stage after eleven performances, never to be heard again until this recording was made in 2008. While the style of the Gounod of Faust and Romeo et Juliette is not yet recognizable, the composer who led a charge against the "gigantization" of French opera subjects and productions, who reduced stage spectacle to smaller, more human proportions was already at work here. 2 CDs. French-English libretto. Natalia Atmanchuk (soprano), Eva Schneidereit (mezzo), Yoonki Baek (tenor), Marco Vassalli (baritone), Genadijus Bergorluko (bass-baritone), Chorus and Men's Extra Chorus of the Osnabrück Theatre, Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra; Hermann Bäumer.