Act 3, Scene 3 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Claudius, overcome with guilt for his crime, begins to pray for forgiveness. Hamlet enters, recognizing the perfect moment to exact his revenge, yet realizing that killing Claudius in a moment of prayer will send his soul to heaven, when he wants it to suffer in hell. He backs away, resolving to wait for a more appropriate moment to avenge his father.

Hamlet: Norman Reinhardt, tenor
Claudius: Philip Horst, bass-baritone

Act 3, Scene 3

Act 3, Scene 2 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Wanting to confirm what the ghost revealed to him, Hamlet stages a brief theatrical production for the royal court, in which a king is murdered by having poison poured in his ear. At the climactic moment, Claudius rises and exits in a rush, as Polonius calls for the lights and the curtain falls.

Hamlet: Norman Reinhardt, tenor
Claudius: Philip Horst, bass-baritone
Gertrude: Melissa Citro, soprano
Polonius: Matt Burns, bass-baritone
Ophelia: Julia Radosz, soprano
Horatio: Keith Phares, baritone

Act 3, Scene 2

Act 3, Scene 1 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

As Polonius and Claudius listen in the shadows, Hamlet muses on his best course of action – or inaction. Ophelia enters, wishing to return the letters and other romantic keepsakes Hamlet has sent her, but Hamlet refuses them, claiming that he never loved her, and recommending she join a convent. Heartbroken over the seeming decay of Hamlet’s mind, Ophelia laments his descent into madness. Polonius emerges to comfort her, while Claudius, still unconvinced that Hamlet’s madness is a matter of the heart, commits to sending him away, but only after hatching a plan for Polonius to hide in Gertrude’s room so that they may learn more about what is troubling the prince.

Hamlet: Norman Reinhardt, tenor
Claudius: Philip Horst, bass-baritone
Gertrude: Melissa Citro, soprano
Polonius: Matt Burns, bass-baritone
Ophelia: Julia Radosz, soprano

Act 3, Scene 1

Act 2, Scene 2 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Polonius confronts Claudius with his theory on Hamlet’s madness, and to test it, the two hatch a plan to hide while they observe the prince’s interaction with Ophelia. As Claudius and Gertrude leave, Hamlet enters with a troop of actors, instructing Polonius to make them feel at home. As the troop exits with Polonius, Hamlet holds the lead actor back, asking him if he could learn extra lines if the prince inserted them in the following night’s performance. The actor agrees, and exits, leaving Hamlet alone, who surmises that if Claudius is indeed responsible for his father’s death, he’ll surely show his guilt when confronted with the scene of the crime.

Hamlet: Norman Reinhardt, tenor
Claudius: Philip Horst, bass-baritone
Gertrude: Melissa Citro, soprano
Polonius: Matt Burns, bass-baritone
Actor: Aaron Borst, bass

Act 2, Scene 2

Act 2, Scene 1 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Ophelia rushes into Polonius’ suite, terrified by Hamlet’s recent visit to her, where he appeared disheveled and disconnected from reality. Polonius concludes that he must be losing his sanity out of his unrequited love for her, and they leave to inform the king.

Polonius: Matt Burns, bass-baritone
Ophelia: Julia Radosz, soprano

Act 2, Scene 1

Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Atop the ramparts, the ghost appears to Hamlet; it leads him away from the guards, where it reveals itself as his father, poisoned by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, and doomed to purgatory until his murder is avenged – which Hamlet swears to undertake. As the ghost vanishes, Horatio and Marcellus re-appear, and Hamlet swears them to secrecy, revealing to them his plan to feign madness in order to spy on his uncle and mother.

Hamlet: Norman Reinhardt, tenor
Horatio: Keith Phares, baritone
Ghost: Brian Downen, tenor
Barnardo: John Tibbetts, baritone
Marcellus: Erik Lautier, tenor

Act 1, Scenes 4-5

Act 1, Scene 3 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Laertes prepares to leave for Paris, but first counsels his younger sister, Ophelia, on the dangers of becoming romantically involved with Hamlet, with whom she has been linked previously, stating that he couldn’t possibly be serious about her due to his royal obligations. Their father, Polonius, enters to see his son off, then confronts Ophelia on the same subject, recommending sternly to her that she cut off all contact with Hamlet.

Laertes: Franco Pomponi, baritone
Polonius: Matt Burns, bass-baritone
Ophelia: Julia Radosz, soprano

Act 1, Scene 3

Act 1, Scene 2 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

At a wedding feast celebrating the marriage of Hamlet’s mother to his uncle, the newly-crowned king Claudius, Hamlet decries the speed with which his mother re-married after the death of his father. Horatio enters and describes to Hamlet the familiar appearance of the ghost the night preceding; Hamlet agrees to meet Horatio and the guards on the ramparts that night in the hopes that it will appear once again.

Hamlet: Norman Reinhardt, tenor
Claudius: Philip Horst, bass-baritone
Gertrude: Melissa Citro, soprano
Laertes: Franco Pomponi, baritone
Polonius: Matt Burns, bass-baritone
Horatio: Keith Phares, baritone
Barnardo: John Tibbetts, baritone
Marcellus: Erik Lautier, tenor

Act 1, Scene 2

Act 1, Scene 1 from the demo recording of Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet.

Atop the ramparts of the royal castle, a ghost appears to Horatio and several guards. As it bears a striking resemblance to the recently-deceased king, they resolve to tell the king’s son, Prince Hamlet, in the hopes he will be able to communicate with it.

Horatio: Keith Phares, baritone
Barnardo: John Tibbetts, baritone
Marcellus: Erik Lautier, tenor
Francisco: Aaron Borst, bass

Act 1, Scene 1

Highlights from Erik Lautier's epic opera, Hamlet. Excerpts feature Norman Reinhardt, Philip Horst, Melissa Citro, Franco Pomponi, Matt Burns, Julia Radosz, and Keith Phares.

Hamlet, an epic opera

Highlights from Hamlet

Fully-orchestrated demo recording of Erik Lautier's Hamlet, featuring Norman Reinhardt, Philip Horst, Melissa Citro, Franco Pomponi, Matt Burns, Julia Radosz, Keith Phares, Brian Downen, and other world-class artists.

Hamlet, an Opera

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