Emmanuel Ceysson Releases Opera Fantaisie

French harpist Emmaneul Ceysson is set to release his new CD, Opera Fantaisie, any day now. The solo harpist with the Paris Opera has put together a collection of transcriptions of operatic themes by Parish Alvars (Norma and Lucia de Lamermoor), Kühne (Eugene Onegin), Zabel (Faust), Damase (Contes d’Hoffmann), Spohr (variationen on “Je Suis Encore dans mon Printemps,” by Von Méhul), and Ceysson himself (Carmen). “In the nineteenth century, transcription was much more than a mere vehicle for success-hungry virtuosos to show off their skills,” says the CD’s liner notes, written by Alexandre Dratwicki. “It was an essential practice in intellectual musical life … and, more han any other medium, encouraged the circulation and diffusion of large-scale symphonic or operatic works.” To celebrate the release, Ceysson will perform concerts in Paris and Lyon. (Seeevents).