Today : world première of 'Until the Lions' by Thierry Pécou in Strasbourg

Today, the Opéra National du Rhin presents the world première of Until the Lions : Echoes from the Mahabharata, an opera in three acts composed by Thierry Pécou, with a libretto in English by Karthika Naïr based on her own book.

It is the composer's third opera after Les Sacrifiées (2007) and L'Amour coupable (2008).

Until the Lions gives voice to the women who have suffered most from rivalries, destruction, war, the violence of power and patriarchal domination. (reproduced from the Opéra national du Rhin website)

The cast includes actress Fiona Tong (Satyavati), bass baritone Cody Quattlebaum (Bheeshma) and contralto Noa Frenkel (Amba). Marie Jacquot conducts the Orchestre syphonique de Mulhouse. Shobana Jeyasingh directs.

Originally planned on March 21, 2020, the performances were cancelled due to COVID.

Today : world première of Antony and Cleopatra by John Adams in San Francisco

 

Today, the San Francisco Opera presents the world première of the new opera (in 2 acts and 9 scenes) composed by John Adams, Antony and Cleopatra. The libretto, written by the composer, is based on William Shakespeare's play, with supplementary passages from Putarch, Virgil and other classical texts, adapted with the help of Elkhanah Pulitzer and Lucia Scheckner.

(c) Christine Alicino

It is the composer's 9th opera, after, among others, Nixon in China (Houston, TX, October 22, 1987), The Death of Klinghoffer (Brussels, March 19, 1991), Doctor Atomic (San Francisco, October1st, 2005) and Girls of the Golden West (San Francisco, November 21, 2017).

A Roman general and an Egyptian queen embark on a torrid romance, one that will disrupt alliances, end marriages, and spark a pitiless war that gives rise to a new leader, Caesar (reproduced from the San Francisco Opera website).

The cast includes soprano Amina Edris (Cleopatra), bass-baritone Gerald Finley (Antony), tenor Paul Appleby (Caesar), bass-baritone Alfred Walker (Enobarbus), mezzo Elizabeth DeShong (Octavia) and tenor Brenton Ryan (Eros). Eun Sun Kim conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Elkhanah Pulitzer directs.

The orchestral setting is the following (according to the PDF programme book available online) :

- 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 English horn, 1 Eb clarinet, 2 Bb clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 4 horns ;

- 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;

- 1 timpani, 3 percussion, 2 harps, 1 celesta, 1 cimbalom

- 40 strings (12 first violins, 9 second violins, 7 violas, 7 cellos, 5 basses)

- chorus

The score is published by Boosey & Hawkes. The performance should last about 3 hours, including one intermission. The venue is the War Memorial Opera House.

Today : world première of Jörn Arnecke's Welcome to Paradise Lost in Weimar

 

Today, the Nationaltheater Weimar presents the world première of Welcome to Paradise Lost, a new opera composed by Jörn Arnecke with a libretto by Falk Richter after Farid ud-Din Attar's The Conference of the Birds.

It is the composer's 14th work for the stage. His previous operas include Das Fest im Meer (Hamburg, 17 June 2003) Kryos (Bremen, 14 May 2011) Ronja Räubertochter (Duisburg, 26 February 2015) and The Frost Flower Forest (Weimar, 21 May 2019).

The humans are visited by a flock of birds that denounce our political, cultural, socio-economic and ecological transgressions. The birds urge humans both to journey toward themselves and to reach a global agreement to finally change the devastating conditions. The libretto takes on the explosive sociopolitical issues of turbo-capitalism, climate change and the destruction of nature : What are we willing to give up ? What are we losing ?
It focuses on the confrontation between the current supporters and profiteers of the self-destructive system and the youthful protest movements that radically question their way of life. The spectators become involved in a kind of passion play and make their own pilgrimage through the various rooms of the e-werk Weimar. (reproduced from the Kunstfest Weimar website)

The cast includes soprano Ylva Sofia Stenberg (Knabe), contralto Noa Frenkel (Ältere Frau), soprano Heike Porstein (Frau 1) contralto Sarah Mehnert (Frau 2), tenor Alexander Günther (Mann 1) and baritone Alik Abdukayumov (Mann 2). Andreas Wolf conducts the Musiktheaterensemble and a choir of fifteen young people. Andrea Moses directs.

The performance should last about 90 minutes. The venue is e-werk Weimar.

 

Today, the Landestheater Linz presents the world première of Unter dem Gletscher (Under the Glacier), an opera in three parts composed by Michael Obst, with a libretto by Hermann Schneider after the novel Kristnihald undir Jökli by Icelandic writer Halldór Laxness.

 It is the composer's fourth opera after Solaris (Munich, December 4, 1996), Caroline (Weimar, July 10, 1999) and Die andere Seite (Würzburg, September 25, 2010).

At the foot of the Snæfell Glacier, a parish priest is neglecting his pastoral duties, so the rumour goes, which leads a young clergyman from Reykjavík to the Icelandic province on behalf of the church authorities. What awaits him there, however, is far more complicated: a priest who would rather repair camping cookers than preach, an immeasurably wealthy and influential big businessman and three shepherds who speak of the miracles of revival and seem to need little reality are only the beginning of a wondrous and enigmatic story about a society between popular belief and modernity. (reproduced from the Landestheater Linz website)

The cast includes mezzo Anna Alàs i Jové (Vebi), bass Dominik Nekel (Tumi Jonson), mezzo Vaida Raginskytė (Mutter Jonson), soprano Tina Josephine Jaeger (Fina Jonson), bass Michael Wagner (Sira Jon), soprano Gotho Griesmeier (Ua), tenor Matthäus Schmidlechner (Helgi) and bass baritone Martin Achrainer (Alfberg). Ingmar Beck conducts the Bruckner Orchester Linz. Hermann Schneider directs.

The performance should last about 3 hours.

Today : world première of 'Shirine' by Thierry Escaich in Lyon

 

Today, the Opéra de Lyon presents the world première of Shirine, an opera in 12 scenes composed by French composer Thierry Escaich, with a libretto by Tahiq Rahimi after Khosrow va Chirin by the 12th century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi.

It is the composer's third opera after Claude (Lyon, March 27, 2013) and Point d'orgue (Paris, March 5, 2021).

An Armenian princess, very modern in her outlook and a figure of empowerment, falls head over heels in love with Khosrow, and it is this story of impossible love, with all its twists and turns, that is recounted in this world première. (reproduced from the Opéra de Lyon website)

The cast includes soprano Jeanne Gérard (Shirine), tenor Julien Behr (Khosrow), baritone Jean-Sébastien Bou (Chapour), tenor Stephen Mills (Chiroya), countertenor Théophile Alexandre (Nakissa) and mezzo Majdouline Zerari (Chamira). Franck Ollu conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra de Lyon. Richard Brunel directs. The performance should last 1hour and 45 minutes. No interval.

The required orchestra is the following :

- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons ;

- 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;

- timpani, percussions (2 performers), piano, harp ;

- 1 nai pan flute, 1 duduk, 1 qanun.

The score is published by Billaudot.

Today : world première of 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Stefan Wirth in Zürich

Today, the Opernhaus Zürich presents the world première of Girl with a Pearl Earring, an opera composed by Stefan Wirth with a libretto in English by Philip Littell based on Tracy Chevalier's novel.

It is the composer's first opera.

Griet, daughter of an impoverished family in Delft, is employed in Jan Vermeer’s household as a servant girl. Forced to work hard and bullied by the Vermeer children, when cleaning the artist’s studio she is the only one who gains an insight into the mystery of the artist’s colours, light and perspectives. When Vermeer’s patron, the lecher Pieter van Ruijven, orders a painting of the maid as a portrait study, Griet starts spending more and more time alone with the artist in his studio. Until Vermeer’s wife notices the servant girl wearing her pearl earring… (reproduced from the Zurich Opera House website)

The cast includes soprano Lauren Snouffer (Griet), baritone Thomas Hampson (Jan Vermeer), soprano Laura Aikin (Catharina Vermeer), soprano Liliana Nikiteanu (Maria Thins), baritone Yannick Debus (Pieter) and alto Irène Friedli (Tanneke). Peter Rundel conducts the Philharmonia Zürich. Ted Huffman directs.