Le Cid : Overture ; Moorish Rhap sody ; Ballet Music played by the BBC Scottish Orchestra : conductor, Guy Warrack
Massenet, the centenary of whose birth falls next month, is better known in this country by the orchestral suites and ballets from his operas than by the operas themselves. Yet he was essentially a composer of opera and other stage works.
The libretto of Massenet's opera Le Cid, which was produced in Paris in 1885, is partly based upon Corneille's famous tragedy of the same name. The dramatic action has a Spanish background and a good deal of Spanish verve and rhythm is embodied in the music. The seven numbers of the ballet are all picturesque national dances, most of them bearing the names of the provinces in which they are popular.