I have recently acquired several programme books for contemporary operas :
- Jonas S. Bohlin, Tristessa, Stockholm, October 6, 2018
It is a 28 pages brochure. It contains :
- complete cast and crew with B & W headshots ;
- synopsis (in Swedish and English) ;
- Torbjörn Elensky : Angela Carter satte allt på spel (Angela Carter put everything at stake) ;
- Torbjörn Eriksson : interview with Katharina Thoma ;
- Katarina Aronsson : Operan är scenkonstens moder (Opera is the mother of the performing arts), interview with visual artist Ann-Sofi Sidén ;
- Jonas S. Bohlin : Känslan av att stå utanför är en erfarenhet som påverkat mitt liv (The feeling of standing outside is an experience that has affected my life) ;
- Tiina Rosenberg : Divor är trasiga tanter, excerpt of HBTQ spelar roll (LGBT plays a role) ;
- several color photos.
The brochure is entirely in Swedish, unless otherwise stated.
- Niklas Brommare, När då då, Stockholm, October 13, 2018
It is a 28 pages brochure. It contains :
- complete cast and crew with B & W headshots ;
- color photos of rehearsals and drawings (sketches of characters), with quotes of the libretto.
The brochure is entirely in Swedish.
- Christian Diendorfer, Die Wand, Linz, Septembre 16, 2018
It is a 32 pages brochure. It contains :
- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis ;
- Ira Goldbecher : Marlen Haushofer, kurze biografische Einblicke ;
- Hermann Schneider : Zum Libretto ;
- Dialogue with Eva-Maria Melbye (director) and Marcus Olson (set designer) : Eine poetische Neufassung ;
- Composer's biography ;
- several color photos.
The brochure is entirely in German.
- Adam Gorb, The Path to Heaven, Leeds, June 19, 2018
It is a 20 pages brochure. It contains :
- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis ;
- biographies of artists with color headshots ;
- color photos of rehearsals ;
- complete libretto.
The brochure is entirely in English.
- Michael Jarrell, Bérénice, Paris, September 29, 2018
It is a 136 pages book. It contains :
- Complete cast ;
- In Brief (French and English) ;
- Synopsis and Characters (Franch and English) ;
- Timeline (French and English) ;
- Michael Jarrell : Faire chanter le français de Racine ;
- Philippe Albèra : Un portrait de Michael Jarrell ;
- Julia de Gasquet : L'instant et le moment : l'alexandrin métamorphosé ;
- Georges Forestier : Racine et le choix de Bérénice ;
- Christian-Georges Schwentzel : La reine "amie" et l'empereur ;
- Konrad Kuhn : Une pièce contemporaine ;
- Nathalie Azoulai : Tous les cahots de l'abandon (excerpt of Titus n'aimait pas Bérénice) ;
- complete libretto ;
- B & W photos of rehearsals ;
- biographies of the artists, with B& W headshots.
The book is entirely in French, unless otherwise stated.
- David Sawer, The Skating Rink, Wormsley (Garsington Opera), July 5, 2018
It is a 128 pages book that contains information on all four operas performed this year. There are actually 10 pages about The Skating Rink, not included the artists' biographies. It contains :
- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis ;
- Creative Collaboration, David Sawer and Rory Mullarkey in conversation with Fiona Maddocks ;
- Chris Andrews : Roberto Bolaño and 'The Skating Rink' ;
- Enric's dream of skating, excerpt of Bolañ's The Skating Rink.
Biographies of artists with B & W headshots are included in the general roster for the Festival.
Other new programmes for past operas :
- Thomas Adès, Powder Her Face, Irish National Opera, Wexford, February 24, 2018. The opera was first performed in 1995. I also have the programme book for performances in Bologna (November 2010) ;
- Harrison Birtwistle, The Last Supper, Berlin (Staatsoper Unter den Linden), April 18, 2000 (world première). It contains a leaflet with complete cast and crew and another leaflet with biographies ot the artists ;
- Friedrich Cerha, Onkel Präsident, Munich (Gärtnerplatztheater im Prinzregententheater), June 1st, 2013 (world première) ;
- Silvia Colasanti, La metamorfosi, Firenze (Teatro Goldoni), March 9, 2014. The opera was first performed in the same theatre in May 2012 ;
- Nico Muhly, Two Boys, London (English National Opera), June 24, 2011 (world première) ;
- Hans Schanderl, Der Maschinist, Magdeburg, September 23, 2000. The opera was first performed on September 16, 2000 in Hannover. It contains a separate leaflet with the complete cast and crew ;
- Marco Tutino, Le Braci, Firenze, November 5, 2015. The opera was first performed in Budapest in October 2014.
I now have 599 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded them to this flickr folder.
