8 Lust Songs: I Sonetti Lussuriosi is a setting by Michael Nyman of 8 pieces of a collection of erotic poetry from Pietro Aretino’s . The songs depict a man and woman's sexual desires for one another in varying contexts. Marie Angel premiered the piece, voicing both the male and female characters, including a voyeuristic old woman, with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, conducted by the composer, on 4 October 2007 at the Arsenale in Venice, Italy, on a commission from Venice Biennale. A studio recording with the Michael Nyman Band was released on compact disc 29 July 2008. It is Nyman's 59th album, and the twelfth on his own label.
In a concert on 8 May 2008, the printed programs for a performance of the work at Cadogan Hall were withdrawn on the grounds that they contained obscene content.[3] The U.S. release of the album has a very large Parental Advisory Explicit Content sticker directly on the jewel case, an extreme rarity in classical music (shared with John Moran's , which was quickly withdrawn and became a collectible).
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