Manon de fantasie - a wicked difficult violin fantasy

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World Premiere currently under consideration by a two different violinists

Jules Massenet's wonderful opera Manon is one his most popular. The themes are hauntingly beautiful, with rich arias and duets of some of the most amazing music in the opera repertoire.

In the early to mid 20th Century it was popular for composers to take opera themes and write a violin fantasy, embellishing the themes to create a show piece for virtuoso violinists. Perhaps the most famous is Franz Waxman's Carmen Fantasy, although there are numerous fantasy versions of Georges Bizet's Carmen. There are fantasies for Turandot, La Traviata, Rosenkavalier and even the Pearl Fishers. Surprisingly enough, there are none of Massenet's Manon.

So, I took the liberty of writing one. It's incredibly difficult, but still captures the lovely melodies of the original opera. To hear a midi realization and look at part of the score go to my website - http://chipmichael.com/Music/manon.html

No dates have been set for the premier performance, but one of the violinists considering the piece is world class... I'll let you know when dates are confirmed

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