New programme book in my collection : 'Fin de partie' by György Kurtag in Milano

This afternoon, I have finally received the programme book published by the Teatro alla Scala in Milano for the world première of György Kurtag's Fin de partie, on November 15, 2018.

It is a 156 pages book. It contains :

- the complete libretto, in French with Italian translation ;
- synopsis, in Italian, French, English, German, Japanese and Russian ;
- György Kurtag, by Luciana Galliano ;
- L'Opera in breve, by Cesare Fertonani ;
- La musica, by Cesare Fertonani ;
- Fine del racconto, by Ugo Volli ;
- Lampi di poesia in un'umanità alla deriva, by Gianluigi Mattietti ;
- 'Fin de partie' di Kurtag, by stage director Pierre Audi, translated from the English by Arianna Ghilardotti, in Italian and in English (Kurtag's 'Fin de partie') ;
- biographies of production team members and cast with headshots ;
- several colour photos of rehearsals, sketches for the costumes, pages of the score.

I now have 636 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned and uploaded all the covers to this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Fin de partie' by György Kurtag in Milan

Today, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan presents the world première of Fin de partie, an opera in one act composed by György Kurtag, with a libretto based on Samuel Beckett's play.

(c) Andrea Felvégi

It is the composer's first opera.

The setting is a bare, partially underground room, serving as shelter for the four characters: Hamm the master, Clov his servant, and Hamm's father and mother, Nagg and Nell (who live in garbage cans). Hamm is in a wheelchair and makes Clov move him around the room, fetch objects, and look out the window for signs of life. Outside all seems dead and nothing happens. Inside, the characters pass the time mortifying each other and toying with fears and illusions of a possible change, all along sensing the inevitability of their end. (reproduced from Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta's website)

The cast includes bass baritone Frode Olsen (Hamm), baritone Leigh Melrose (Clov), contralto Hilary Summers (Nell) and tenor Leonardo Cortellazzi (Nagg). Markus Stenz conducts the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala. Pierre Audi directs.

The first performance will be broadcast live by Rai Radio 3. The opera will later be performed in Amsterdam in March 2019, with exactly the same cast.

The score is published by Editio Musica Budapest.

Today : world première of 'Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo' by Salvatore Sciarrino in Milan

Today, the Teatro alla Scala in Milano presents the world première performance of Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo (To see you, to feel you, to lose me), an opera in two acts composed by Salvatore Sciarrino, with a libretto by the composer.

(c) Luca Carrà

Salvatore Sciarrino has already composed 15 works for the theatre, including Lohengrin (Milano, 1983), Luci mie traditrici (Schwetzingen, 1998), Macbeth (Schwetzingen, 2002), Da gelo a gelo (Schwetzingen, 2006), La porta della legge (Wuppertal, 2009), and Superflumina (Mannheim, 2011).

The subtitle of Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo is Waiting for Stradella. This alludes to the fate of Alessandro Stradella, a highly prominent Italian composer during his time, who died in mysterious circumstances in 1682 – the victim of a violent crime. The work is set in the home of Cardinal Colonna in baroque Rome, where a singer, a writer, a musician, a choir and an instrumental ensemble are on stage awaiting the arrival of the composer. But instead of the promised new aria, they receive news of Stradella’s death. In the lead-up, the music and life of this controversial, original artist – a legend during his lifetime – are extensively reported and reflected upon. Different perspectives and values play a role, as do thoughts on human nature, the body, the senses and passion – in other words, the very essence of opera as an art form. (reproduced from the Staatsoper Unter den Linden website)

The cast includes soprano Laura Aikin (La cantatrice), tenor Charles Workman (Musico), bass baritone Otto Katzameier (Letterato), soprano Sonia Grané (Pasquozza), mezzo Lena Haselmann (Chiappina), countertenor Thomas Lichtenecker (Solfetto) and baritone Christian Oldenburg (Finocchio). Maxime Pascal conducts the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala. Jürgen Flimm directs.

The first performance will be broadcast live by Rai Radio 3. This commission is a coproduction with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, where the opera will be performed in July 2018.

New in my collection : program books from Teatro alla Scala : Battistelli's 'CO2' and Maazel's '1984'

This morning, I have received two program books published by the Teatro alla Scala in Milano for two contemporary operas :

- Giorgio Battistelli : CO₂, world première on May 16th, 2015 ;
- Lorin Maazel : 1984, world première in London (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) on May 3rd, 2005, first performed in Milan on May 2nd, 2008.

The program book for Battistelli's opera is a 180 pages book. It contains :

- an introduction by librettist Ian Burton (in English and Italian) ;
- the complete libretto (in English and Italian) ;
- the synopsis (in Italian, French, English, German, Japanese and Russian ;
- a detailed biography of the composer, by Giulia Accornero (in Italian) ;
- The opera : a brief overview, by Cesare Fertonani (in Italian and English) ;
- The music, by Marco Moiraghi (in Italian and English) ;
- L'opera oggi, al servizio di una malata terminale, interview with the composer (in Italian) ;
- A climate change opera, by Ian Burton (in Italian and English) ;
- 24 pages of color photographs of landscapes damaged by human activities ;
- Un soggetto per la nostra epoca, by Robert Carsen (in Italian) ;
- detailed biographies of the members of the production team ;
- black and white portraits of the singers.

The program book for Maazel's opera is a 210 pages book. It contains :

- complete libretto (in English and Italian) ;
- color photos of the 2005 production in London ;
- the synopsis (in Italian, French, English, German and Japanese) ;
- L'opera in breve, by Cesare Fertonani ;
- The music, by Marco Moiraghi ;
- Come ho scritto 1984, by Lorin Maazel ;
- 1984, Maazel, Orwell : dal totalitarismo alla dittatura dei media, by Michele Porzio ;
- George Orwell e l'indagine letteraria sull'autoritarismo, by Angelo Arciero ;
- interview with the director Robert Lepage (originally published in the London program book) ;
- B& W photos of London rehearsals ;
- detailed chronology of Lorin Maazel's life, with lots of photos.

This book is mainly in Italian. The CO₂ book is mostly bilingual Italian / English, most likely because the performances of the opera (a commission of the Teatro alla Scala) are connected to the Expo Milano 2015.

May 16th, 2015 : world première of Giorgio Battistelli's 'CO₂' in Milan

Today, Giorgio Battistelli's new opera, CO₂, with a libretto in English by Ian Burton, will be performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. It is a commission by the Theatre as a contribution to the theme of Expo Milano 2015, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

 

  

Since the 1980s, Battistelli has composed several works for the theater, including Prova d'Orchestra (1995), Richard III (2005) and Divorcio all'italiana (2008). 

The opera is divided into nine scenes, plus a prologue and an epilogue. The dramatic structure centres on the lecture given by a climatologist whose name is emblematic of the entire human race : David Adamson. As he attempts to explain the risks facing the planet and endangering the survival of humanity, he himself comes to realise the absolute necessity of loving the environment in which we live and for which we are all personally responsible, and not merely of respecting its ecology. In scene after scene, Adamson’s lecture is interrupted by and interspersed with episodes or insights, according to a postmodern narrative logic that generates a whirlwind of “short-circuits” in time and space. So, alongside David Adamson appear a range of diverse characters : four archangels (Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel and Michael) ; scientists and ecologists ; Adam, Eve and the Serpent ; Gaia, the ancient Greek goddess of the earth ; MrsMason, the sister of a survivor of the tsunami, and Mr Changtalay, a Thai hotel manager ; and also young people, travellers, women doing their shopping. (reproduced from the Scala website).

The cast includes soprano Pumeza Matshikiza (Eve), counter-tenor David DQ Lee (Serpent), mezzo soprano Jennifer Johnston (Gaia), tenor Sean Panikkar (Adam), baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore (D. Adamson), bass Dennis Wilgenhof (Archangel Raphael), bass Alain Coulombe (Archangel Uriel). Cornelius Meister conducts and Robert Carsen directs. The opera should last about 90 minutes. The first performance is to be broadcast live by Italian Rai Radio 3.

The orchestra is the following :

- 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 4 clarinets, 4 bassoons ;

- 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 tubas ;

- timpani and 4 percussionists ;

- amplified bass guitar, 2 samplers

- strings

(according to the Ricordi website)