New programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired several programme books for contemporary operas :

- Thomas Adès : Powder Her Face, Bologna, November 9, 2010 (95 pages book). First performance in Cheltenham on July 1st, 1995 ;
- Thomas Adès : The Tempest, Wien (Staatsoper), June 14, 2015 (128 pages book). First performance in London (Royal Opera House) on February 10, 2004, for which I also have the programme book ;
- Giorgio Battistelli : Divorzio all'italiana, Bologna, June 11, 2013 (128 pages book). First performance in Nancy on September 30, 2008 ;

 
- Luciano Berio : Cronaca del Luogo, Salzburg, July 24, 1999 (124 pages book, with a 32 pages booklet). World première ;
- Paul Dessau : Einstein, Berlin, February 16, 1974 (16 pages leaflet and 6 pages leaflet in a folder). World première ;
- Moritz Eggert : Linkerhand, Hoyerswerda (Theater Görlitz), May 10, 2009 (182 pages book). World première ;

 
- Peter Eötvös : Tri Sestri, Wien (Staatsoper), March 06, 2016 (124 pages book). First performance in Lyon on March 13, 1998 (for which I have the programme book), and first performance in Wien at the Theater in der Wien on May 25, 2002 ;
- Luca Francesconi : Quartett, Milano (Teatro alla Scala), Avril 26, 2011 (139 pages book). With a separate cast sheet for the third performance. World première ;
- Detlev Glanert : Joseph Süss, München (Gärtnerplatz), March 3, 2012 (48 pages book with a separate 4 pages leaflet with the cast for the 8th performance on April 5 and a 10 pages leaflet with photos). First performance in Bremen on October 13, 1999 ;
- Hans Werner Henze : Phaedra, Firenze, June 5, 2008 (116 pages book). First performance in Berlin on September 6, 2007. I also have the programme book for performances in Brussels in Septembre 2007 ;
- Michael Jarrell : Cassandra, Bologna, October 31, 2014 (73 pages book). First performance in Paris on February 4, 1994, for which I also have the programme ;

 
- Giselher Klebe : Die Fastnachtsbeichte, Darmstadt, Decembre 20, 1983 (40 pages brochure with a separate 8 pages leaflet). World première ;
- Rainer Kunad : Sabellicus, Berlin (Deutsche Staatsoper), December21, 1974 (16 pages brochure with a separate 4 pages leaflet). World première ;
- Alexander Raskatov : A Dog's Heart, Milano (Teatro alla Scala), March 13, 2013 (249 pages book with a separate cast sheet for the third performance). World première in Amsterdam on June 7, 2010. I also have the programme books for the Amsterdam performances and for performances in Lyon (January 20, 2014) ;
- Wolfgang Rihm : Jakob Lenz, Lugo, March 30, 2012 and Bologna, April 12, 2012 (112 pages book). First performance in Hamburg on March 8, 1979. I also have programme books for performances in Strasbourg (September 21, 1993) and Nanterre (October 11, 1995) ;

 
- Salvatore Sciarrino : Luci mie traditrici, Bologna, June 14, 2016 (87 pages book). World première in Schwetzingen on May 19, 1998 ;
- Fabio Vacchi : Teneke, Milano (Teatro alla Scala), September 22, 2007 (192 pages book, with a separate cast sheet for the second performance. World première ;
- Bernd Alois Zimmermann : Die Soldaten, Milano (Teatro alla Scala), January 17, 2015 (200 pages book, with a separate cast sheet for the third performance). The opera was first performed in Köln, on February 15, 1965. I also have programme books for performances in Strasbourg (September 17, 1988), Paris (January 22, 1994), München (May 25, 2014) and Wiesbaden (April 30, 2016).

I now have 469 programme books for contemporary opera. I have uploaded all the scanned covers in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of Luca Francesconi's 'Trompe-la-mort' in Paris - and programme book

Today, the Opéra national de Paris presents the world première performance of Luca Francesconi's new opera, Trompe-la-mort with a libretto in French by the composer after Honoré de Balzac.

 (c) G. Zucchiatti

Luca Francesconi has already composed several operas, including Ballata (Brussels, 2002), Gesualdo considered as a murderer (Amsterdam, 2004) and Quartett (Milano, 2011)

Fathers and sons. The Revolution committed a double parricide by decapitating two symbolic patriarchal figures : the King and God. Devoid of its substance, post-revolutionary society saw Paris under assault from ambitious, self-serving characters from the provinces in search of success and recognition. Some of them, like Lucien de Rubempré, would fail, while others, like Eugène de Rastignac, would succeed. They both embody two faces of a young generation eager to conquer the future but which had no other choice than to pledge allegiance to the financial order. It was the father's retribution : in the end, the young generation was used, bled dry and finally sacrificed on the altar of power and money. (reproduced from the programme book)

The cast includes baritone Laurent Naouri (Jacques Collin / Carlos Herrera / Trompe-la-mort), soprano Julie Fuchs (Esther), tenor Cyrille Dubois (Lucien de Rubempré), bass Marc Labonnette (Le baron de Nucingen), contralto Ildiko Komlosi (Asie), tenor Philippe Talbot (Eugène de Rastignac) and mezzo Béatrice Uria-Monzon (La comtesse de Sérizy). Susanna Mälkki conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris. Guy Cassiers directs.

The performance should last about 2 hours, with no intermission. It will take place at the Palais Garnier. the opera will be recorded by France Musique for later broadcast.

The score is published by Ricordi. According to the publisher's website, the required orchestra is the following :

- 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 English horns, 1 clarinet piccolo, 2 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 1 saxophone, 2 bassoons, 2 contrabassoons ;
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;
- percussion, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone, marimba ;
- accordion, celesta, piano, electronic keyboard ;
- strings.

I have received the programme book yesterday.

It is a 156 pages book. It contains :

- the complete cast ;
- in brief ;
- synopsis and characters ;
- timeline ;
- Balzac visionnaire, by composer Luca Francesconi ;
- "Dites, qu'avez-vous vu ?", by Sarah Barbedette ;
- Ce qu'il en coûte de désirer, by Alexandre Péraud ;
- Le Capital du XXIe siècle ou la revanche de Vautrin, excerpt from an interview with Thomas Piketty (2014) ;
- Le passé dévore l'avenir, by Erwin Jans ;
- complete libretto ;
- black and white photos of rehearsals ;
- biographies of the artists with blach and white headshots.

The programme is in French, with English translations of 'in brief', 'synopsis and characters' and 'timeline'.
It is my 450th programme book. All scanned covers are there.