Today : world première of Kris Defoort's 'The Time of Our Singing' in Brussels

Today, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels presents the world première of The Time of Our Singing, an opera composed by Kris Defoort with a libretto in English by Peter van Kraaij, after Richard Powers' novel.

 

It is the composer's third opera after The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (Brussels, November 23rd, 2001) and House of the Sleeping Beauties (Brussels, May 8th, 2009).

Black Lives Matter, police brutality, rigged elections : these are themes that have remained at the forefront of current affairs over the past year. The work depicts the life of a mixed-race family that is both united and divided by music, against the backdrop of segregation in the post-war United States. The composer conjures an imaginary space in which official history and personal histories intertwine, in which people come together to weave a narrative, and in which jazz and classical music are enriched by one another. (reproduced from the Monnaie website)

The cast includes soprano Claron McFadden (Delia Daley), bas baritone Mark S. Doss (William Daley), bass baritone Simon Bailey (David Strom), tenor Levy Sekgapane (Jonah), baritone Peter Brathwaite (Joey) and jazz singer Abigail Abraham (Ruth). Kwamé Ryan conducts the La Monnaie Chamber orchestra, a jazz quartet and La Monnaie's Children's and Youth Choir.

A recording of the performances will be broadcast by Klara and Musiq3 on November 6.

New programme books for contemporary operas in my collection

I have recently acquired several programme books for contemporary operas :

- Benjamin Attahir, Le Silence des Ombres, Brussels, September 25, 2019 ;
- Pascal Dusapin, Macbeth Underworld, Brussels, September 20, 2019.

The first one is a 120 pages book. It contains :

- detailed synopsis ;
- Benjamin Attahir, Une langue qui est déjà musique ;
- Olivier Lexa, "Vous êtes au bord de ce qui nous éclaire" ;
- Sonia Hossein-Pour, À l'ombre de Debussy ;
- Franck Javourez, Trois petits drames pour marionnettes ;
- Maurice Maeterlinck, extraits de la préface des Trois petits drames.

The entire book is bilingual (French and Dutch). It also contains a 40 pages booklet with complete cast and crew and detailed biographies of the artists (with black and white headshot). It is bilingual (French and Dutch). There is a second 110 pages book with the complete libretto, also bilingual.

The second is a 128 pages book. It contains :

- Frédéric Boyer, Argument ;
- Pascal Dusapin, Ces deux-là ;
- Frédéric Boyer, Un opéra exégèse de Macbeth ;
- Alain Altinoglu, Une concentration du discours musical ;
- Thomas Jolly, Piéger l'esprit et glacer l'âme ;
- Irina Kaiserman, Under the world of Pascal Dusapin - L'outre-monde ;
- Maxime McKinley, Schéma d'orientation (pour se perdre dans les opéras de Pascal Dusapin) ;
- Line Cottegnies, 'Macbeth' ou le sommeil assassiné.

The entire book is bilingual (French and Dutch). It also contains a 48 pages booklet with complete cast and crew and detailed biographies of the artists (with black and white headshot). It is bilingual (French and Dutch).There is a second 126 pages book with the complete libretto in English, French and Dutch.

I also received two programme books from Helsinki :

- Sebastian Fagerlund, Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata), Helsinki, September 8, 2017 ;
- Jaakko Kuusisto, Jää (Ice), Helsinki, January 25, 2019.

The first one is a 36 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- synopsis ;
- short biographies of crew members ;
- Pekka Hako, The torment of inevitability, an interview with Sebastian Fagerlund ;
- Gunilla Hemming, Daughter turned mother, mother turned daughter.

The booklet is in three languages : Finnish, Swedish and English.

The second is a 36 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- synopsis ;
- biographies of crew members ;
- Petra Rönkä, Music rings with the power of nature - Jaakko Kuusisto's thoughts about Ice.

The booklet is in three languages : Finnish, Swedish and English.

I bought one programme book from the Vienna State Opera House :

- Manfred Trojahn, Orest, Vienna, March 31, 2019 (first performance of a new production).
 The opera was first performed in Amsterdam on December 8, 2011.

It is a 172 pages book. It contains : 

- Marco Arturo Marelli, synopsis ;
- technical details about the work ;
- Günter Figal, Im Freiraum der Musik - Manfred Trojahn und seine Oper 'Orest' ;
- Oliver Lang, Oper hat sehr viel mit Arbeit zu tun, dialogue with Manfred Trojahn ;
- Robert von Ranke-Graves, Der Orest-Mythos ;
- Karlheinz Töchterle, Macht uns Theater besser oder nur Spass ? ;
- Hilde Haider-Pregler, Über Euripides und seinen Orest ;
- Konral Paul Liessmann, Der Zauber des Dionysischen ;
- Julian Schutting, Wie viele Oreste müsste man kennen ? ;
- Oliver Lang, Zwischen Blutrache und göttlicher Gnade ;
- Georg Titsche, Über des Schreckliche ;
- Bernd Deininger, Das Schuldig-Werden öffnet das innere Auge ;
- Bernhard Baumgarter, Die Last der Freiheit ;
- Oliver Lang, Die Frage nach dem Umgang mit Schuld (dialogue with Manfred Trojahn) ;
- Gerald Resch, Ein subjektives Hörprotokoll ;
- Volkhard Steude, Annäherungen an Orest ;
- Erich Seitter, Gesangsstimmen in Orest ;
- Andreas Lang, Der Zauber der Liebe zum (Musik-)Theater ;
- Oswald Panagl, Maskenspiele als Deutungsmuster ;
- Anna Baar, Morden in Echtzeit ;
- Andreas Lang, Eine ungemein gelungene und ansprechende Oper (dialogue with Michael Boder) ;
- Daniel Ender and Oliver Lang, Mit der Schuld wird Orest leben müssen (dialogue with Marco Arturo Marelli).

The book is entirely in German.

I also acquired some older programme books :

 
- Peter Aderhold, Luther, Erfurt, September 14, 2003 ;
- Philippe Boesmans, Reigen, Braunschweig, February 5, 1998 ;
- Andras Hamary, Seid still, Stuttgart, October 17, 1990 ;
- György Ligeti, Le Grand macabre, Bern, March 8, 1992 ;

and the 56 pages programme brochure from the 2004 International Festival for New Music Theater in Munich, with 5 world premières :

 
- Johannes Maria Staud, Berenice, May 12 ;
- Qu Xiao-song, Versuchung (The Test), May 13 ;
- Vykintas Baltakas, Cantio, May 18 ;
- Mark André, ...22,13..., May 20 ;
- Brian Ferneyhough, Shadowtime, May 25.

I now have 700 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all covers and uploaded them to this flickr folder.
 

Today : world première of 'Le Silence des ombres' by Benjamin Attahir in Brussels

Today, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels presents the world première of Le Silence des ombres, a triptych composed by Benjamin Attahir with libretti in French based on Maurice Maeterlinck's plays La Mort de Tintagiles, Intérieur and Alladine et Palomides.

It is the composer's first opera.

the young composer-conductor Benjamin Attahir and director Olivier Lexa opt decidedly for silence, the invisible, the unsayable, and restrained dramatic tension. ‘The tragedy should unfold in each spectator’s dream...’. (reproduced from La Monnaie website)

The cast includes soprano Julia Szproch (Tintagiles and Alladine), soprano Raquel Camarinha (Ygraine, Marie and Astolaine), mezzo Clémence Poussin (Bellangère and Marthe) and bass Renaud Delaigue (Aglovale, Ablamore). The composer conducts the La Monnaie Chamber Ensemble. Olivier Lexa directs.

The performance should last about 3 hours and 30 minutes, with a 30 minutes interval.

The venue is the Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg (KVS).

Today : world première of 'Macbeth Underworld' by Pascal Dusapin in Brussels

Today, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels presents the world première of Macbeth Underworld, an opera by Pascal Dusapin with a libretto in French by Frédéric Boyer based on Shakespeare.

It is the composer's ninth opera after, among others Roméo et Juliette (1988), To Be Sung (Nanterre, November 17, 1994), Perelà, uomo di fumo (Paris, February 24, 2003), Faustus, the Last Night (Berlin, January 26, 2006) and Penthesilea (Brussels, March 31, 2015).

The composer delves into the darkest regions of the human soul, via iconic symbols of evil in humankind : Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The result is a bloodstained gothic opera, in which the ill-fated couple is condemned to relive its own tragedy, haunting their memory and ours. (reproduced from La Monnaie website)

The cast includes mezzo Magdalena Kozena (Lady Macbeth), baritone Georg Nigl (Macbeth), soprano Ekaterina Lekhina, mezzo Lilly Jørstad, mezzo Christel Loetzsch (Three Weird Sisters), bass Kristinn Sigmundsson (Ghost) and tenor Graham Clark (Porter). Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Women's Chorus. Thomas Jolly directs.

The performance should last 1 hour and 45 minutes. No interval.

The opera will susequently be performed in Paris (Opéra Comique, starting March 25, 2020) and Rouen with Franck Ollu conducting.

Today : world première of 'Les Bienveillantes' by Hèctor Parra in Antwerpen

Today, the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerpen presents the world première of Les Bienveillantes (The Kindly Ones), an opera in 2 parts and 7 scenes composed by Hèctor Parra, with a libretto by Händl Klaus based on Jonathan Littell's novel.

It is Parra's sixth work for the stage, after Das geopferte Leben (Munich, May 2014) and Wilde (Schwetzingen, May 2015).

The main character, SS officer Max Aue, is not only a witness but above all, also a participant in the horrors of war, but he is not burdened by it. (reproduced from the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen website)

The cast includes tenor Rainer Trost (Maximilian Aue), soprano Rachel Harnisch (Una Moreau), soprano Nadja Michael (Héloïse Aue), tenor David Alegret (Aristide Moreau) and baritone Günter Papendell (Thomas Hauser). Peter Rundel conducts the Symfonisch Orkest and Koor of the Opera Vlaanderen. Calixto Bieito directs.

The opera is coproduced with the Staatstheater Nürnberg and the Teatro Real Madrid.

Today : world première of 'Frankenstein' by Mark Grey in Brussels

Today, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels presents the world première of Frankenstein, an opera composed by Mark Grey, with a libretto based on Mary W. Shelley's novel.

It is the composer's first opera.

‘Accursed creator ! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust ?’ Unlike the film that was later made of it, Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein told the sad story of a creature born out of a scientific experiment who strives for good, yet does evil and is consequently disowned by his creator. As a philosophical reflection on the human condition, on the technology that gives humanity power over life and death, and as a warning to a society that threatens to cast out the individual, the American composer Mark Grey returns to this original story, 200 years after Mary Shelley wrote it. (reproduced from the Bill Holab Music website)

The cast includes baritone Scott Hendricks (Victor Frankenstein), tenor Topi Lehtipuu (Creature), soprano Eleonore Marguerre (Elizabeth), baritone Andrew Schroeder (Dr. Walton / Prosecutor) and tenor Christopher Gillett (Henry). Bassem Akiki conducts the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Alex Ollé (La Fura dels Baus) directs.

The required orchestra is the following (information provided by the composer's offices) :

- 2 flutes (doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (doubling English horn), 2 clarinets (doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (doubling contrabassoon) ;
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones (doubling bass trombone), 1 tuba;
- timpani and percussions (3 players) ;
- harp, celesta, sampler keyboard, electronic soundscapes ;
- strings.

The performance should last about 2 hours and 40 minutes, including the interval.

It is the third opera based on Shelley's novel, after Frankenstein by Gordon Kampe (Berlin, Deutsche Oper - Tischlerei, January 30, 2018) and Frankenstein by Jan Dvorak (Hamburg, May 20, 2018).

The score is published by Bill Holab Music.

Today : world première of 'i.c.o.n.' by Frederik Neyrinck in Kortrijk

Today, the Next Festival in Kortrijk (Courtrai) presents the world première of i.c.o.n., an opera composed by Frederik Neyrinck, with a libretto by Sabryna Pierre.

It is the composer's first opera.

After almost one and a half century, the death mask of L'inconnue de la Seine keeps fascinating us. The mysterious smile on the face of this young unknown woman, who was supposed to have drowned in the Seine, meanwhile has acquired cult status. The opera shifts the myth to the contemporary visual culture, thus giving the initial impetus to a universal story about beauty, transitoriness and death. It is a hybrid mix of photo shoot, filmset and concert, throwing a light on how we deal with the human portrait today. There is live portraying on stage and quasi immediately photo and film appear on the screen. The border between the artist on stage and the spectactor in the audience is blurred. Icon becomes beholder, model becomes photographer, man becomes woman and victim in its turn perpetrator. (reproduced from the Next Festival website)

The cast includes soprano Liselot De Wilde and actor Tibo Vandenborre. Joey Marijs conducts the Asko Schönberg Ensemble. Charlotte Bouckaert and Steve Salembier (Atelier Bildraum) direct.

The venue is Budascoop in Kortrijk. The production will then travel to Amsterdam (Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ), Gent (Minardschouwburg), Luxembourg (Grand Théâtre, Studio), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon) and deSingel (Antwerpen).

New programme books in my collection : Dove, Schnyder and Zender

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

- Jonathan Dove, The Day After, London (ENO Studio Live), May 26, 2017 (half of a 32 pages brochure, the other half is about Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury) ;
- Daniel Schnyder, Charlie Parker's Yardbird, London (ENO at Hackney Empire), June 9, 2017 (24 pages brochure) ;
- Hans Zender, Stephen Climax, Brussels (La Monnaie), Novembre 10, 1990 (144 pages book).

I now have 488 programme books for contemporary operas. All scanned covers are in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of Jacques-Alphonse De Zeegant's 'La Brèche' in Sagunt

Today, the Sagunt a Escena Festival  presents the world première of Jacques-Alphonse De Zeegant's opera La Brèche, at the Roman amphitheatre.

It is the composer first opera, with a libretto in three parts written by Marguerite de Werszowec Rey, translating tales and legends into a contemporary and universal setting.

In Beauty and the Beast, the heroine wishes to restore to her husband the purity of his youth. In Orpheus and Eurydice, Eurydice sets out to save Orpheus from the Underworld. For the same reason, Madina intents to conquer the fires of darkness. (freely translated from the composer's website)

The cast includes soprano Veronika Dzhioeva (Madina), countertenor David Azurza (Seraphine), countertenor Flavio Oliver (Celeste), tenor Luis Damaso (Fernando) and tenor Alberto Guardiola (Francesco). Palmo Venneri conducts the Hulencourt Symphony Orchestra and Choir. Paco Azorin directs.

Today : world première of Chaya Czernowin's 'Infinite Now' in Antwerp

Today, the Opera Vlaanderen in Gent presents the world première of Chaya Czernowin's opera Infinite Now, with a libretto by Luk Perceval and Chaya Czernowin based on texts by Erich Maria Remarque, Can Xue and letters of soldiers in World War I.

It is the composer's fourth opera, after Pnima...ins Innere (Munich, May 10, 2000), Zaïde / Adama (Salzburg, August 17, 2006) and And you will love me back (2011). The opera is in 6 acts.

Infinite Now by Chaya Czernowin is the fruit of a montage of a short story by the Chinese author Can Xue and a selection of texts written on the front during the First World War: a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, À l’Ouest, rien de nouveau. In the two situations, a deadlocked situation for which nobody knows the solution, a world war or intimate destitution. (reproduced from the IRCAM website)

The cast includes soprano Karen Vourc'h, mezzo Kai Rüütel, alto Noa Frenkel, countertenor Terry Wey, baritone Vincenzo Neri and bass David Salsbery Fry, as well as actors Rainer Süβmilch (Paul Bäumer), Benjamin-Lew Klon (Katczinsky), Didier De Neck (Luitenant De Wit / Van Outryve), Gilles Welinski (Kolonel Magots) and Roy Aernouts (Soldier Seghers). Titus Engel conducts the Symfonisch Orkest Opera Vlaanderen with an extra quartett (guitar, electric guitar and 2 cellos). Luk Perceval directs.

The score is published by Schott Music. A perusal score is available on their website. The performance should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The orchestral setting is the following :

- 3 flutes (3. also piccolo), 3 oboes (3. also English Horn), 3 clarinets (3. also bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (3. also contrabassoon) ;
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;
- percussion (3 players) ;
- strings and electronic designed with the collacoration of IRCAM, Paris.

The opera will be performed in Gent, Antwerp (April-May) and in Paris (June).

May 13th, 2015 : world première of 'Private View' by Annelies van Parys in Antwerpen

Today, the first opera composer by Annelies van Parys, Private View, with a libretto by Jen Hadfield, will be performed in Antwerpen (Kunsthuis) as part of the Opera XXI festival.

The audience is drawn in and shares the view of a voyeur who shamelessly penetrates into other peoples’ lives. The opera confronts us with the ambiguity of watching and being watched, an issue that seems more relevant today than in the past : Big Brother is watching you, more than ever. (reproduced from the Muziektheater Transparant website)

Soprano Johanna Zimmer, mezzo Truike van der Poel, tenor Martin Nagy, Baritone Guillermo Anzorena and bass Andreas Fischer are joined by the Asko | Schönberg Ensemble and the Neue Vocasolisten Stuttgart. Etienne Siebens conducts, with dramaturgy by Tom Creed and set and video deisgn by Collective 331/3.

The performance should last about 90 minutes.

May 7th, 2015 : World première of 'L'Autre hiver' by Dominique Pauwels in Mons

Today, the new opera by Dominique Pauwels, L'Autre hiver, with a libretto by Canadian playwright Normand Chaurette, will be performed in Mons, Belgium (Théâtre le Manège) as part of the Mons 2015 European Capital of Culture.

Two travellers meet each other on the deck of a ship that is trapped in ice. They introduce themselves: Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine… but maybe I is another? A 21st-century phantasmagorical opera inspired by the explosive relationship between the two poets, The Other Winter is a playful piece performed in semi-darkness with characters appearing on screen and in person. (reproduced from the Mons 2015 website).

Filip Rathé will conduct the chamber orchestra (violin, viola, cello, flutes, clarinettes and piano) and singers Lieseot De Wilde and Marion Tassou. Denis Marleau and Stéphanie Jasmin direct. Before the end of June, the opera will be performed in Antwerpen, Gent and Montpellier. Other performances will follow : in France (November 2015) and in Portugal and Canada (Ottawa and Montréal in May and June 2016).

New season 2015-2016 at La Monnaie in Brussels

Yesterday, I also received the program book for the 2015-2016 season at La Monnaie in Brussels.

Several productions will be staged outside the usual Théâtre de La Monnaie, in several places not conceived for opera performances. Other productions had to be cancelled because of budget cut by the federal government.

Here are the remaining productions :

- Gaetano Donizetti : L'Elisir d'amore, conducted by Thomas Rösner, directed by Damiano Michieletto (first staged in Madrid in December 2013), at the Cirque Royal ;
- Thomas Adès : Powder her Face, conducted by Alejo Pérez, directed by Mariusz Trelinski (new production, with first performance in Warsaw next month), at Les Halles in Schaerbeek ;
- Gaspare Spontini : La Vestale, conducted by Alessandro de Marchi, directed by Eric Lacascade (first performed in Paris in October 2013), at the Cirque Royal ;
- Björk (with vocal arrangements and new composition by Anat Spiegel) : Medulla, conducted by Bassem Akiki, directed by Sjaron Minailo (new production), at La Monnaie, salle Malibran ;
- Engelbert Humperdinck : Hänsel und Gretel, conducted by Lothar Koenigs, with puppets and live projections by Chicago-based group Manual Cinema (new production), at Palais des Beaux-Arts ;
- Pascal Dusapin : To be Sung, conducted by Bassem Akiki, directed by Sjaron Minailo (new production), at Flagey ;
- Florian Leopold Gassmann : L'Opera seria, conducted by René Jacobs, directed by Patrick Kinmonth (new production), at the Cirque Royal ;
- Hector Berlioz : Béatrice et Bénédict, conducted by Jérémie Rhorer, directed by Richard Brunel (new production), for the reopening of La Monnaie ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Mitridate, rè di Ponto, conducted by Christophe Rousset, directed by Robert Carsen (revival, first performed in October 2007) ;
- Mark Grey : Frankenstein, conducted by Leo Hussain, directed by Alex Ollé (La Fura dels Baus), world première.

Some concert performances are also planned (at the Palais des Beaux-Arts) :
- Anton Rubinstein : Demon, conducted by Mikhail Tatarnikov ;
- Francesco Cila : Adriana Lecouvreur, conducted by Evelino Pido.

Here are the cancelled productions :

- Erich Wolfgang Korngold : Die tote Stadt, conducted by Lothar Koenigs, directed by Mariusz Trelinski (new production) ;
- Kurt Weill : Die Dreigroschenoper, conducted by Samuel Jean, directed by Olivier Py (new production) ;
- Claudio Monteverdi : L'Incoronazione di Poppea, conducted by René Jacobs, directed by Alvis Hermanis (new production).

It is amazing what one can do, even on a reduced budget, when one is really committed ! 10 operas by 10 composers in 4 languages (Italian, English, German, French) or even 5 (Russian for the Demon), from Mozart to contemporary opera, including a world première and 2 20th century operas. This season looks very promising.

Received in the mail this morning : program book for Dusapin's 'Penthesilea' in Brussels

This Tuesday morning, I have received the two volumes published for by the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels for the world première performance of Pascal Dusapin's new opera Penthesilea.

The first volume (112 pages) contains :

- the complete cast ;
- the synopsis, written by librettist Beate Haeckl ;
- an article by the composer Pascal Dusapin ;
- an lettre written by Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere to J. M. Coetzee ;
- an article by musicologist Harry Halbreich ;
- an article by Murat Alat ;
- an article by Hélène Cixous, Achille est Penthésilée est Achille.

There are also a number of quotes by Heinrich von Kleist, Pascal Dusapin, Gilles Deleuze, Maurice Blanchot, Michel Foucault and Georges Bataille, as well as several photos of sculptures by Berlinde De Bruyckere.

The whole book is bilingual, Dutch and French. A 40 pages separate booklet contains the complete and detailed cast and biographies.

The second volume (44 pages) contains the complete libretto in the original German, with Dutch and French translations.

Scans of the front covers of all program books for contemporary opera I have are available in a flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Penthesilea' by Pascal Dusapin in Brussels

Today, Pascal Dusapin's new opera, Penthesilea, with a libretto (in French) by Beate Haeckl and the composer after Heinrich von Kleist, will be performed in Brussels (Théâtre de la Monnaie).

Penthesilea, the proud queen of the Amazons ! After the accidental death of her sister Hippolyta, she took part in the Trojan War to prove the courage of the Amazons. A complex and deadly game of love and hate, attraction and repulsion arose between Penthesilea and Achilles. It was Heinrich von Kleist (1808) who brought the subject into the modern era. In his version, Achilles does not kill Penthesilea, but vice versa : in a moment of tragic madness she tears apart the one she loves with her teeth. (reproduced from La Monnaie website)

The cast includes Natascha Petrinsky (Penthesilea), Marisol Montalvo (Prothoe), Georg Nigl (Achilles), Werner van Mechelen (Odysseus). La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Franck Ollu. Pierre Audi directs.

It is Dusapin's seventh opera since Romeo and Juliet in 1988. His most recent stage works are Perelà - Uomo di fuomo (2001), Faustus, The Last Night (2004) and Passion (2008). Kleist's play has already been adapted to the stage : by René Koering (Scène de chasse, Montpellier, 2009) and Othmar Schoeck (1927).

The performance should last about 1 hour and 45 minutes (no intermission). The production will be available for streaming on the opera house website from April 23rd to May 13th. No broadcast seems to be planned. The opera will be also performed in Strasbourg (Musica festival) next September.

Recently received in the mail

I have recently received the following items in the mail :

- Amsterdam : Het Concertgebouw : September October 2014 magazine and agenda ;
- Antwerpen and Gent, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen : Insight 1 magazin ;
- Berlin, Philharmonie : September 2015 leaflet ;
- Caen, Théâtre : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Cooperstown, Glimmerglass : 2014 Festival program book ;
- Detmold, Landestheater : August September leaflet ;
- Enschede : Nederlandse Reisopera : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Kiel, Theater : August-September 2014 leaflet ;
- Mainz, Staatstheater : September October 2014 leaflet ;
- Orange, Chorégies : 2015 festival programme brochure ;
- Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet : September - December 2014 leaflet.

Brochures recently received in the mail

I was away for a couple of days, and during that time, I received the following brochures in the mail :

- Barcelona, Gran Teatre del Liceu : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Braunschweig, Staatstheater : July 2014 leaflet ;
- Bregenz, Bregenzer Festspiele 2014 : Festival program book ;
- Darmstadt, Staatstheater : July 2014 leaflet ;
- Detmold, Landestheater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Freiburg, Theater : July 2014 leaflet ;
- Glasgow, Scottish Opera : 2014-2015 season book ;
- Heidelberg, Theater und Orchester : July-August 2014 leaflet ;
- Liège, Opéra Royal de Wallonie : 2014-2015 season book ;
- Linz, Landestheater : July-August 2014 leaflet ;
- Lübeck, Theater : June-July leaflet and 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Stuttgart, Staatstheater : June-July 2014 journal and July 2014 brochure ;
- Trier, Theater : July 2014 leaflet ;
- Vienna, Volksoper : Zeitung No. 32 (June to September 2014) and September 2014 calendar.

Received in the mail this Monday morning

This Monday morning, I have received the following items in the mail :

- program book for the world première of Philippe Hurel's Les Pigeons d'argile, in Toulouse, April 15th

- Antwerp, Vlaamse Opera : magazine Nr. 26, June-August ;
- Brno, Narodni divadlo : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Frankfurt, Oper : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Hamburg, Staatsoper : 2014-2015 season program book, with May and June leaflets ;
- Klagenfurt, Stadttheater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Koblenz, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book, with May-June and July-September leaflets.

2014-2015 season at the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Gent and Antwerpen

Seven operas will be performed in Gent and Antwerpen during the 2014-2015 season of the Opera Vlaanderen :

- Richard Strauss : Elektra, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski, directed by David Bösch (new production) ;
- Modest Mussorgsky : Khovanshchina, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski, directed by David Alden (new production) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Cosi fan tutte, conducted by Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, directed by Guy Joosten (premièred in March 2009) ;
- Philip Glass : Akhnaten, conducted by Titus Engel, directed by Nigel Lowery (new production) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Don Giovanni, conducted by Alexander Joel, directed by Guy Joosten (production to be premièred next month) ;
- Jacques Fromental Halévy : La Juive, conducted by Tomas Netopil, directed by Peter Konwitschny (new production) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Le Nozze di Figaro, conducted by Paul McCreesh, directed by Guy Joosten (first performed in December 1999).

In addition to these 7 works in 5 languages, Opera XXI will present for the 4th time some contemporary works, including a world première :

- Annelies Van Parys : Private View, conducted by by Etienne Siebens, directed by Tom Creed ;
- Dominique Pauwles : L'Autre hiver, conducted by Filip Rathé, directed by Denis Marleau and Stéphanie Jasmin ;
- Serge Verstockt : Hrzschmrz, opéra de trash ;
- Andrea Molino : - there is no why here -, conducted by the composer, directed by Wouter Van Looy (first performed in Bologna, last April) .

Received in the mail this Friday morning

This Friday morning, I have received the following in the mail :

- Dresden : Semperoper, magazine Nr. 6 ;
- Essen : Aalto-Musiktheater, 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Magdeburg : Theater, June-July 2014 leaflet ;
- Massy : Opéra, 2014-2015 season brochure ;
- Gent / Antwerpen : Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, 2014-2015 season program book.