New recordings (audio and video) of contemporary operas in my collection

Since April 2016, I have acquired several recordings of contemporary operas. Most of them are audio recordings :

- Mark Abel : Home is a Harbor, conducted by Benjamin Makino (Delos, 2015)
- Jörn Arnecke : Das Fest im Meer, conducted by Cornelius Meister (New Classical Adventure, 2003)
- Gerald Barry : The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, conducted by Gerhard Markson (RTE, 2005)

- Francesco D'Avalos : Maria di Venosa, conducted by the composer (Chandos, 1994)
- Leonid Desyatnikov : The Children of Rosenthal, conducted by Alexander Vedernikov (Melodiya, 2015)
- Gordon Getty : The Canterville Ghost, conducted by Matthias Foremny (Pentatone, 2015)

- Hans Werner Henze : Die Bassariden, conducted by Gerd Albrecht (Koch Schwann, 1986)
- Michael Levinas : La Conférence des Oiseaux, conducted by Michel Swierczewski (Adès, 1986)
- James MacMillan : The Sacrifice, conducted by Anthony Negus (Chandos, 2007)

- Thanos Mikroutsikos : The Return of Helen, conducted by Alexandros Myrat (EMI, 1999)
- Bernard Rands : Vincent, conducted by Arthur Fagen (Naxos, 2011)

- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Montag aus Licht, conducted by the composer (Stokhausen Stiftung, 1988)
- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Dienstag aus Licht, conducted by the composer (Stockhausen Stiftung, 1993)

- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Mittwoch aus Licht (4 scènes), conducted by the composer (Stockhausen Stiftung, 1996 and 2012)

 

- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Donnerstag aus Licht, conducted by Peter Eötvös and Karlheinz Stockhausen (Stockhausen Stiftung, 1980 to 1982)
- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Freitag aus Licht, conducted by the composer (Stockhausen Stiftung, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2002)
- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Samstag aus Licht, conducted by the composer (Stockhausen Stiftung, 1981, 1983 and 1984)

- Karlheinz Stockhausen : Sonntag aus Licht (5 scènes), conducted by the composer (Stockhausen Stiftung, 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2003)

- Michael Tippett : The Midsummer Marriage, conducted by Sir Colin Davis (Lyrita, 1970)
- Marco Tutino : Le Braci, conducted by Francesco Cilluffo (Dynamic, 2015)

- Julian Wagstaff : Breathe Freely, conducted by Derek Clark (Linn Records, 2014)
- Rufus Wainwright : Prima Donna, conducted by Jayce Ogren (Deutsche Grammophon, 2015)

I also bought several video recordings :

- Philip Glass : Einstein on the Beach (Blu Ray), conducted by Michael Riesman, directed by Don Kent, with choreography by Lucinda Childs (Opus Arte, 2014)
 - Toshio Hosokawa : Stilles Meer (DVD), conducted by Kent Nagano, directed by Oriza Hirata (EuroArts, 2016)

- Rodion Shchedrin : The Left-Hander (Blu Ray), conducted by Valery Gergiev, directed by Alexei Stepanyuk (Mariinsky, 2013)
- Mauricio Sotelo : El Publico (Blu Ray), conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, directed by Robert Castro (BelAir, 2015)

 That's all for today !

Today : world première of Philippe Manoury's 'Kein Licht' in Duisburg

Today, the Ruhrtriennale presents the world première of Philippe Manoury's opera Kein Licht, with a libretto by the composer and Nicolas Stemann, adapted from Elfriede Jelinek's play.

Manoury (C) Philippe Stirnweiss

It is the composer's fifth opera, after 60^e Parallèle (1997), K... (2001), La Frontière (2003) and La Nuit de Gutenberg (2011).

Without even mentioning the words Fukushima or nuclear power ‘Kein Licht’ presents a ghostly world in the aftermath of a nuclear disaster. We experience a great, frenzied lament which takes issue with our faith in our ability to control technology and in which the screams of the victims of the disaster form a ghostly echo – while another voice is making itself heard. (reproduced from the Ruhrtriennale website)

The cast includes alto Christina Daletska, baritone Lionel Peintre, soprano Sarah Sun and mezzo Olivia Vermeulen. Julien Leroy conducts the a vocal quartett from the Croatian National Theater (Zagerb) and the United Instruments of Lucilin. Nicolas Stemann directs.

The performance should last about 2 hours. The first performance takes place at the Gebläsehalle in Duisburg. Before the end of the year, the opera will be performed in Strasbourg, Paris, Zagreb and Luxembourg.

New programme book in my collection : 'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs' by Mason Bates in Santa Fe

I have recently received the programme book for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an opera composed by Mason Bates, first performed on July 22nd in Santa Fe (NM).

It is a 168 pages book that contains articles on all operas performed in Santa Fe this year. Ten pages are dedicated to this new opera :

- complete cast and crew ;
- story ;
- The Music of Communication, notes from composer Mason Bates ;
- The Evolution of '(R)evolution', notes from librettist Mark Campbell ;
- Looking into the Black Mirror, by director Kevin Newbury.

I now have 483 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. All scanned covers are available in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Robin Hood' by Ben Moore in Cooperstown (NY)

Today, the Glimmerglass Festival presents the world première of Ben Moore's Robin Hood, with a libretto by Kelley Rourke.

It is the composer's second opera after Enemies, a Love Story, after Isaac Bashevis Singers (Palm Beach Opera, February 2015).

When the law of the land is corrupt, what’s an honest citizen to do? In the absence of the King, the Sheriff has seized the country’s assets for himself. Robin Hood is the leader of a band of ordinary folks who flee to the forest and attempt to create a new kind of society. Through a series of adventures—triumphant, comic, dangerous, romantic—Robin learns to follow the voice of his heart. (reproduced from the the Festival website)

The cast includes bass baritone Zachary Owens (Sheriff), mezzo Kayleigh Decker (Scarlet) and several youth roles. David Moody conducts and Francesca Zambello directs. The performance should last about 1 hour. The venue is the Cooperstown Theatre Festival.

Composers Frank Schwemmer  (Berlin, November 2008) and Jukka Linkola (Helsinki, January 2011) have already composed operas on the same story.