Zampa, ou La fiancée de marbre (Zampa, or the Marble Bride) is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold. The libretto was written by Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville. The overture to the opera is one of Hérold's most famous works and is a staple of orchestral repertoire. Zampa was first performed in Paris on May 3, 1831 at the Opéra-Comique (Salle Ventadour), where it became popular, achieving 500 performances by 1877. In the 20th century however, it faded from the repertoire. It was also popular in Germany and Italy; in the latter the spoken dialogue was replaced by recitatives. It was first performed in the United States on 16 February 1833 at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans, and in England on 19 April 1833 at the King's Theatre in London. The opera was revived at the Opéra-Comique in March 2008 under William Christie in a production by Macha Makeïeff and Jérôme Deschamps. WIKIPEDIA
VIDEO: NHK Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch in 1988. The venue was Suntory Hall, Tokyo. Rare repertoire for Maestro Sawallisch.
