Opera Transcriptions:

In 1989, I began a series of opera transcriptions for piano in response to Michael Finnissy's Verdi Transcriptions, a work which I greatly admire. The three Puccini transcriptions were written at the request of pianists Yvar Mikhashoff and Anthony de Mare, who selected the arias which serve as the basis of these short pieces: "La Canzone di Doretta", from La Rondine, "Nessun dorma", from Turandot, and "Tu, tu, piccolo iddio" from Madama Butterfly. Opera Transcriptions: Carmen is based on Don José's aria "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" from Bizet's Carmen. This aria was selected by Dutch pianist John Snijders. Opera Transcriptions: Les Pêcheurs de Perles (1995) was commissioned by pianist Ortwin Stürmer through the State of Baden-Württemberg. It is a transcription is of music from Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, the duet for tenor and baritone, "Au fond du temple saint", in which the two friends swear that no woman will come between them again. The vocal parts from Bizet's duet are slowed and enveloped by undulating harmonies that transform Bizet's music into this gentle piano piece. The most recent Bizet transcription is of the tenor's "Serenade" from La Jolie Fille de Perth, dedicated to pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa.

Opera Transcriptions: Turandot was given it's first performance in Ghent, Belgium by Anthony de Mare, Opera Transcriptions: Madama Butterfly, was premiered by Yvar Mikhashoff at the tenth Almeida Festival in London, Opera Transcriptions: La Rondine was first performed by Anthony de Mare at New Music Concerts in Toronto in 1992. The first performance of Opera Transcriptions: Carmen was given by John Snijders in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1993. Opera Transcriptions: Les Pêcheurs de Perles (1995) was first performed by Ortwin Stürmer at the 1995 "...antasten..." Festival in Heilbronn, Germany. Opera Transcriptions: La Jolie Fille de Perth was first performed by Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa in Vancouver in June, 2002.

- Rodney Sharman