Cancelled or postponed world première performances

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the following world première performances were cancelled or postponed :

- Willem Jeths, Ritratto, Amsterdam, March 13, 2020 ;
- Laurence Jobidon, L'Hiver attend beaucoup de moi, Montréal, March 19, 2020 ;
- Thierry Pécou, Until the Lions, Strasbourg, March 21st, 2020 ;
- Paola Prestini, Edward Tulane, St. Paul (Minnesota Opera), March 21st, 2020 ;
- Tomas Marco, Policias y ladrones, Madrid (Zarzuela), March 26, 2020 ;
- Ben Moore, The House on Kronenstrasse, New York (Chelsea Opera), March 27, 2020 ;
- Christian Jost, Voyage vers l'espoir, Genève, March 30, 2020 ;
- Peter Bruun, The Merchant of Death, Copenhagen, March 31, 2020 ;
- Salvatore Sciarrino, Il canto s'attrista, perché ?, Klagenfurt, April 3, 2020 ;
- Avner Dorman, Die Kinder des Sultans, Dortmund, April 5, 2020 ;
- Ben Frost, Der Mordfall Halit Yozgat, Hannover, April 17, 2020 ;
- Lucia Ronchetti, Inferno, Frankfurt (Bockenheimer Depot), April 18, 2020 (postponed to June 27, 2021) ;
- Mike Svoboda, Die Katze, die ihre eigenen Wege ging, Linz, April 19, 2020 ;
- Johanna Doderer, Schuberts Reise nach Atzenbrugg, München (Gärtnerplatz.), April 23, 2020 ;
- Héctor Armienta, Zorro, Fort Worth, April 26, 2020 ;
- Thierry Escaich, Shirine, Lyon, May 2nd, 2020 (postponed to May 7, 2022) ;
- Christian Favre, Davel, Lausanne, May 3rd, 2020 ;
- Jan Dvorak, Krabat, Gelsenkirchen, May 9, 2020 ;
- Volker Plangg, Katharina Kepler, Pforzheim, May 16, 2020 ;
- Andres Reukauf, Jonas, der Walfisch, Hagen, May 16, 2020 ;
- Gordon Kampe, Spring doch, Munich, May 17, 2020 (postponed to December 4, 2020) ;
- Ole Hübner, Revenants and Revolution, Munich, May 17, 2020 ;
- Stefan Wirth : Girl with a Pearl Earring, Zurich, May 24, 2020.

Today : world première of 'Genia' by Tscho Theissing in Vienna

Today, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna presents the world première of Genia, an opera composed by Tscho Theissing, with a libretto by Kristine Tornquist.

  

(c) Christoph Hellhake

It is the composer's first opera.

Ludwig van Beethoven is attending a rehearsal of one of his symphonies. His secretary Anton Schindler bustles around him tirelessly and subserviently. Beethoven is very unhappy with the rehearsal; his ideas about how fast an allegro should be are totally different from those of the orchestra. He is annoyed. But the solution to the  tempo problem appears in the persons of the inventors Johann and Leonhard  Maelzel. Whereas Beethoven believes in art, the Maelzels believe in technology. Their latest invention concerns both worlds: a timekeeping device called  “metronome”. This should make an end to quarrels between orchestras and composers. Beethoven, though, is more interested in the Maelzels’ talented assistant Elise. She is fascinated by the gruff genius, too. But Leonhard  Maelzel gets jealous because he wants to marry Elise himself. Despite this, the Maelzels develop a  mechanical orchestra for Beethoven with 259 instruments, the Panharmonicon. But  the composer and the inventor start arguing while Elise is trying to unite technology  and art. (reproduced from the Theater an der Wien website)

The cast includes baritone Kristjan Johannesson (Beethoven), soprano Jenna Siladie (Elise), bass Ivan Zinoviev (Johann Nepomuk Mälzel), tenor Quentin Desgeorges (Leonhard Mälzel), tenor Johannes Bamberger (Anton Schindler) and soprano Ilona Revolskaya (Genia). George Jackson conducts the Wiener KammerOrchester. Kateryna Sokolova directs.

The venue is the Kammeroper.

(The première was postponed from March 5 to March 10, because the director was ill).

Three new programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired three new programme books for contemporary operas :

 - Hans Werner Henze : L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, Madrid, December 7th, 2004 ;
- Vittorio Montalti : Un romano a Marte, Roma, November 22, 2019 ;
- Jüri Reinvere : Minona, Regensburg, January 25, 2020.

The first one is 191 pages book, the second a 138 pages book, the third a 32 pages brochure.

I have catalogued all my 1492 programme books on Librarything.

Today : world première of 'The Papess Joanne' by Yiorgos Vassilandonakis in Athens

Today, the Greek National Opera presents the world première of The Papess Joanne, an opera composed by Yiorgos Vassilandonakis, with a libretto by Vangelis Hadjiyannidis after Emmanuel Roidis' novel.

It is the composer's second opera after Dance with Me (Athens, 2008).

My goal was to portray a restless and unconventional spirit, a tragic and at the same time romantic figure, that is constantly transforming itself, destroying and reorienting itself against everything, to the very end. (reproduced from the Greek National Opera website)

The cast includes soprano Chrissa Maliamani (Papess Joanne), mezzo Margarita Syngeniotou (Santa Liova), baritone Dionysios Sourbis (Frumentius / Floros), baritone Kostis Rasidakis (Corvinus), tenor Yannis Christopoulos (Nikitas) and countertenor Nikos Spanatis (Pope Leo IV). Stathis Soulis conducts the GNO Orchestra and Chorus. Dimitris Karantzas directs.

The venue is the Stavros Niarchos Hall.

Today : world première of 'L'Européenne' by Richard van Schoor in Lübeck

Today, the Theater Lübeck presents the world première of L'Européenne, an opera composed by Richard van Schoor, with a libretto by Thomas Goerge.

 
It is the composer's second opera after Alp Arslan (Gießen, May 4, 2019).

The European development worker Lena gets to know Boubakar at an electrical waste disposal site in a large African city. He follows her to Germany. But Lena is sick, on a date with Boubakar she kills herself with tablets. Boubakar flees the apartment, is arrested and charged with murder. In kaleidoscopic images, the opera based on the short film »The Wrong Side« by Lionel Poutiaire Somé shows the story of the relationship between an African migrant and a European. As a cinema opera, "L’Européenne" combines cinematic means in different ways with the performance of the performers on stage. (freely adapted from the Theater Lübeck website)

The cast includes soprano Emma McNairy (Lena), soprano Caroline Nkwe (several parts), tenor Owen Metsileng (Bouba), baritone Steffen Kubach (several parts) and bass Youngkug Jin (Féticheur). Andreas Wolf conducts the Philharmonisches Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck and the Lübeck Theater Chorus. Lionel Poutiaire Somé directs.