The idea of an orchestral suite drawn from may seem ridiculous, but it is artfully executed here by creator and conductor . It is true, as the annotations here mention, that such treatments of opera were quite common in the 19th century, with even , 's father-in-law, writing paraphrases of . It does not follow, however, that such techniques were applied to , the father of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the total work of art in which all elements were linked in an essential way. Yet is quite right to say that there are masterful orchestral passages in . It is indeed something of a shame that orchestras don't get to play them more often, and perhaps that is why this hit classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2022; there was pent-up demand. was a good choice for this kind of treatment, with several preludes and other music that symbolizes abstract ideas rather than a particular character. has done his job well here. He arranges the seven excerpts in an order that reflects the flow of the opera, even though the preludes to the second and third acts are reversed. The is the English orchestra one would want for this project, with the brass in fine form. The album is short at just over 47 minutes; there is no reason the could not have been added for a more generous program, but has doubtless filled a need. ~ James Manheim