23 new programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired 23 new programme books for performances of contemporary operas.

Among them are 4 new programme books published this year :

- John Adams, Doctor Atomic, Koblenz, March 9, 2019 ;
- John Adams, Nixon in China, Stuttgart, April 7, 2019 ;
- George Benjamin, Lessons in Love and Violence, Hamburg, April 7, 2019 (first in Germany) ;
- William Bolcom, McTeague, Bremerhaven, March 23, 2019 (first in Germany).

The 19 others are from older performances :

- John Adams, The Gospel According to the Other Mary, London (ENO), November 21, 2014 (World stage première) ;
- John Adams, Nixon in China, Amsterdam, June 2, 1988 (first in the Netherlands) ;
- Gerald Barry, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, London (ENO), September 16, 2005 (World stage première) ;

- Harrison Birtwistle, Gawain, London (Royal Opera House), May 30, 1991 (World première of original version) ;
- Harrison Birtwistle, Gawain, London (Royal Opera House), April 14, 1994 (World première of revised version) ;
- Harrison Birtwistle, Punch & Judy, London (ENO at Young Vic), April 19, 2008 ;

- David Blake, Toussaint, London (ENO), September 6, 1983 ;
- Iain Hamilton, Anna Karenina, London (ENO), May 7, 1981 (World première) ;
- Iain Hamilton, Anna Karenina, London (ENO), February 8, 1985 ;

- Jonathan Harvey, Inquest of Love, London (ENO), June 5, 1993 (World première) ;
- Hans Werner Henze, Elegy for Young Lovers, London (ENO at Young Vic), April 24, 2010 ;
- Robin Holloway, Clarissa, London (ENO), May 18, 1990 (World première) ;

- György Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre, London (ENO), December 2, 1982 ;
- Olivier Messiaen, Saint François d'Assise, Amsterdam, June 1, 2008 ;
- Alexander Raskatov, A Dog's Heart, London (ENO), November 20, 2010 ;

 
- Aribert Reimann, Lear, London (ENO), January 24, 1989 (National première) ;
- Aribert Reimann, Lear, Amsterdam, November 4, 2001 ;

 
- Tan Dun, Tea, Amsterdam, January 7, 2003 (European première) ;
- Michael Tippett, King Priam, London (ENO), February 3, 1995 (first at ENO).

I now have 675 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded the images to this flickr folder.

Two new video recordings in my collections : Adès and Benjamin

I have recently acquired two new video recordings of contemporary operas :

 
- Thomas Adès, The Exterminating Angel, conducted by the composer, directed by Tom Cairns, recorded at the Metropolitan Opera on November 18, 2017 (Erato) ;

- George Benjamin, Lessons in Love and Violence, conducted by the composer, directed by Katie Mitchell, recorded at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in May 2018 (Opus Arte).

I now have 251 video recordings of operas. You can see all my collections of books and recordings on Librarything.

Five new programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired 5 new programme books for contemporary operas :

1) George Benjamin : Lessons in Love and Violence, London (ROH), May 10, 2018.
It is a 92 pages book. It is entirely in English. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- synopsis, by librettist Martin Crimp ;
- Creating Psychological Sound-Worlds, George Benjamin talks to Oliver Mears, the Director of Opera for the Royal Opera House ;
- colour photographs of rehearsals, by Stephen Cummiskey ;
- A Flair for the Dramatic, by Guy Dammann ;
- Love in a Political Context, Martin Crimp talks to Oliver Mears ;
- Re-imagining Edward II, by Richard Rowland ;
- The Loves of the Powerful, by Melanie Marshall ;
- biographies with black and white headshots.

2) Sidney Corbett : San Paolo, Osnabrück, April 28, 2018.
It is a 32 pages booklet. It is entirely in German. It contains :

- full cast and crew ;
- colour photographs of rehearsals ;
- synopsis ;
- Vom Filmskript zur Oper ;
- Pier Paolo Pasolini : Filmprojekt über den heiligen Paulus ;
- Klaus Englert : Pier Paolo Pasolini - Unkonventionell religiös ;
- biographies of Pier Paolo Pasolini, Paulus von Tarsus and composer Sidney Corbett.

3) Benoît Menut : Fando et Lis, Saint-Etienne, May 2, 2018.
It is a 28 pages brochure. It is entirely in French. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- Une aventure ancrée dans mes veines, by director Kristian Frédric ;
- L'éloge du chant, interview with composer Benoît Menut, by Michèle Tosi ;
- complete libretto by Kristian Frédric, in French ;
- biographies of the artists, with black and white headshots.

4) Alexander Raskatov : GerMANIA, Lyon, May 19, 2018.
It is a 192 pages book. It is entirely in French. It contains :

- technical information : writing of the libretto, composition of the score, characters, orchestral setting, complete cast for the world première ;
- synopsis ;
- the characters ;
- complete original libretto (in German and Russian, with lines in Hebrew and French), with French translation ;
- Alexander Raskatov : À la mémoire de toutes les âmes ruinées ;
- Frank Langlois : GerMANIA, matériaux ;
- several other texts by Bertolt Brecht, Heiner Müller, Paul Celan, Erich Kästner, Vassili Grossman, Ossip Mandelstam, Charles de Gaulle, Vassili Axionov ;
- Laurent Brunner : À propos de Germania 3, des souvenirs dans l'histioire ;
- biographies of Raskatov and Müller.

There is a separate 24 pages booklet with complete cast and biographies.

5) José Maria Sanchez-Verdu : Argo, Schwetzingen, April 27, 2018.
It is a 64 pages book. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- excerpts of : Die Fahrt der Argonauten by Apollonios von Rhodos ; Die Odyssee by Homer ;
- colour photographs of rehearsals ;
- Interview with the composer José Maria Sanchez-Verdu, by Ina Karr ;
- Bewegung als zentrales Element, by director Mirella Weingarten ;
- Die Begegnung mit dem Imaginären, by Maurice Blanchot ;
- Odysseus oder Mythos und Aufklärung, by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno ;
- complete libretto in German ;
- biographies of artists.

I have also acquired the librettos published by Faber Music of Lessons in Love and Violence and Written on Skin, 2 operas composed by George Benjamin, with librettos by Martin Crimp.

I now have 566 programme books for contemporary. I have scanned and uploaded all the covers to this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Lessons in Love and Violence' by George Benjamin in London

Today, the Royal Opera House in London presents the world première of George Benjamin's new opera, Lessons in Love and Violence, with a libretto by Martin Crimp.

It is the third opera composed by George Benjamin, after Into the Little Hill (Paris, November 22, 2006) and Written on Skin (Aix-en-Provence, July 7, 2012), both with librettos by Martin Crimp.

A king is forced to choose between love and political expediency. His decisions allow his country to slide into civil war, and turn his wife and son against him. (reproduced from the Royal Opera House website)

The cast includes baritone Stéphane Degout (King), soprano Barbara Hannigan (Isabel) ; baritone Gyula Orendt (Gaveston / Stranger), tenor Peter Hoare (Mortimer) and tenor Samuel Boden (Boy / Young King). The composer conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Katie Mitchell directs.

The performance should last about 1 hour and 40 minutes. No intermission.

There will be 6 performances in London. Then, the production will travel to Amsterdam (June 2018), Hamburg (April 2019, conducted by Kent Nagano) and Lyon (May 2019).

Vocal score and libretto, published by Faber Music, are already available.

New season 2015-2016 at the Teatro Real in Madrid

This Thursday morning, I have also received the complete program for the 2015-2016 season at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

The following operas will be performed :

- Gaetano Donizetti : Roberto Devereux, conducted by Bruno Campanella and Andriy Yurkevych, directed by Alessandro Talevi (production from the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, October 2013), with Mariella Devia and Mariusz Kwiecien ;
- Georg Friedrich Haendel : Alcina, conducted by Christopher Moulds, directed by David Alden, with Karina Gauvin and Sonia Prina (production from Bordeaux, May 2012) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Rigoletto, conducted by Nicola Luisotti, directed by David McVicar, with several casts, including Stephen Costello, Leo Nucci, Olga Peretyatko and Carlo Colombara (production from Covent Garden, September 2001) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Ivor Bolton, directed by Barrie Kosky, with Christof Fischesser, Joel Prieto, Ana Durlovski (production from the Komische Oper in Berlin, November 2012) ;
- Manuel de Falla : El retablo de Maese Pedro, conducted by Josep Vicent, directed by Enrique Lanz, as part of the celebration for the 400th anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes' death (production from the Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, January 2009) ;
- Tomas Marco : El caballero de la triste figura, conducted by Manuel Coves, directed by Guillermo Heras, for the same celebration (new production) ;
- Richard Wagner : Das Liebesverbot, conducted by Ivor Bolton, directed by Kasper Holten, with Christopher Maltman, Andrew Stapels, Bernard Richter, Ante Jerkunica (new production) ;
- Richard Wagner : Parsifal, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, directed by Claus Guth, with Detlef Roth, Ante Jerkunica, Franz Josef Selif, Anja Kampe (production from the Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, February 2011) ;
- Hans Krasa : Brundibar, conducted by Jordi Frances, directed by Susana Gomez (new production) ;
- Arnold Schönberg : Moses und Aron, conducted by Lothar Koenigs, directed by Romeo Castellucci, with Albert Dohmen, John Graham-Hall and Catherine Wyn-Rogers (new co-production, to be first performed in Paris in October 2015) ;
- Viktor Ullmann : Der Kaiser von Atlantis, conducted (and orchestrated) by Pedro Halffter, directed by Gustavo Tambascio (new production).

The four following operas will be performed in concert :

- George Benjamin : Written on Skin, conducted by the composer :
- Giuseppe Verdi : Luisa Miller, conducted by James Conlon ;
- Vincenzo Bellini : I Puritani, conducted by Evelino Pido ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : I due Foscari, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado.

15 operas (including 4 chamber operas, and 4 operas in concert) in 5 languages, from the baroque era to the modern period, will be performed. There will be only 2 new productions from large-scale works, but 4 operas from the 20th or 21st centuries.
According to a document received with the program, the "Teatro Real [should] achieve financial stability in 2015 with only 30% of public funding. Let's hope it will allow them to commission some new works in the near future.

Recently acquired recordings of contemporary opera

I recently acquired the following recordings :

- John Adams : Nixon in China, conducted by the composer, Nonesuch, 7559-79608-8 ;
- Sándor Balassa : The Man Outside, conducted by György Lehel, Hungaroton, HCD 12052 ;
- George Benjamin : Written on Skin, conducted by the composer, Opus Arte, OA 1125 D ;

- Jake Heggie : Out of Darkness, conducted by Mina Miller, Naxos, 8.559770 ;
- Hans Werner Henze : Das Wundertheater, conducted by Hermann Bäumer, Ars Produktion,  ARS 38454 ;
- Hans Werner Henze : Elegie für junge Liebende, conducted by Brynmor Llewelyn Jones, Deutsche Schallplaten, DS 1050-2.

New season 2014-2015 at the Kungliga Operan in Stockholm

During the 2014-2015 season, the Kungliga Operan in Stockholm will perform the following operas :

- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Idomeneo, conducted by Lawrence Renes, directed by Tobias Theorell (new production) ;
- Francis Poulenc : Dialogues des Carmélites, conducted by Thomas Søndergård, directed by Johanna Garpe (revival, first performed in October 2011) ;
- Giacomo Puccini : Madama Butterfly, conducted by Lawrence Renes, directed by Kirsten Harms (new production) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Don Giovanni, conducted by Lawrence Renes, directed by Ole Anders Tandberg (revival, first performed last March) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Alexander Joel, directed by Ole Anders Tandberg (revival, first performed in October 2012) ;
- Richard Wagner : Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Lawrence Renes, directed by Hans-Peter Lehmann (revival, first performed in March 2004) ;
- Georg Friedrich Haendel : Serse, conducted by George Petrou, directed by Daniel Slater (revival, first performed in October 2009) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : La Traviata, conducted by Andrea Battistoni, directed by Kasper Holten (revival, first performed in January 2007) ;
- Gaetano Donizetti : Maria Stuarda, conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, directed by Ann-Margret Petterson (revival, first performed in October 2000) ;
- George Benjamin : Written on Skin, conducted by Lawrence Renes, directed by Kay Metzger (production originally staged in Detmold in April 2014, Scandinavian première) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Otello, conducted by Alexander Vedernikov, directed by David Alden (new production).

There is nothing really exciting happening there : 11 operas in 4 languages, only 3 new productions, and 1 Scandinavian première of a recent opera.

2014-2015 season at the Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen

The following operas will feature in the 2014-2015 season at the Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen  :

There will be 6 new productions :

- Giacomo Puccini : Manon Lescaut, conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti, directed by Stefan Herheim (coproduction with Graz and Dresden where it was premiered in March 2013, erroneously announced as a new production) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Idomeneo, conducted by Tomas Netopil, directed by Francisco Negrin (new production) ;
- György Ligeti : Le Grand macabre, conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk, directed by Mariame Clément (new production) ;
- Richard Strauss : Die schweigsame Frau, conducted by Martyn Brabbins, directed by Guy Joosten (new production) ;
- Antonin Dvorak : Rusalka, conducted by Tomas Netopil, directed by Lotte de Beer (new production) ;
- George Benjamin : Into the little Hill, conducted by Manuel Nawri, directed by Kay Link (new production).

There will be 14 revivals :

- Giuseppe Verdi : Nabucco, directed by Andreas Baesler ;
- Leos Janacek : Jenufa, directed by Robert Carsen (first performed in Essen in May 2014, but previously staged for the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg and Mulhouse) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Cosi fan tutte, directed by Johannes Schaaf (first performed in July 2011) ;
- Johann Strauß : Die Fledermaus, directed by Gil Mehmert (first performed in December 2011) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Zauberflöte, directed by Ezio Toffolutti (already performed in December 2011) ;
- Jules Massenet : Werther, directed by Carlos Wagner (first performed in November 2013) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Luisa Miller, directed by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf ;
- Giacomo Puccini : Turandot, directed by Tilman Knabe ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Entführung aus dem Serail, directed by Jetske Mijnssen (first performed in June 2012) ;
- Richard Wagner : Die Walküre, directed by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf (already performed in July 2011) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : La Traviata, directed by Josef Ernst Köpplinger (first performed in May 2012) ;
- Ludwig van Beethoven : Fidelio, directed by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf ;
- Georg Friedrich Haendel : Ariodante, directed by Jim Lucassen (first performed last month) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Falstaff, directed by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf ;

4 of the 20 operas (in 6 languages) have been composed in the last 100 years.

New season 2014-2015 at the Opéra Comique in Paris

During the 2014-2015 season, the Opéra Comique will celebrate its 300th anniversary.

Since Jérôme Deschamps is managing director, this theatre has offered a number of typical 19th Century French opera comiques :
 

- Emmanuel Chabrier : L’Étoile, in December 2007 ;

- Ferdinand Hérold : Zampa, in March and December 2008 ;

- Daniel François Esprit Auber : Fra Diavolo, in January 2009 ;

- Emmanuel Chabrier : Le Roi malgré lui, in April 2009 ;

- André Messager : Fortunio in December 2009 ;

- Hector Berlioz : Béatrice et Bénédict, in March 2010 ;

- Ambroise Thomas : Mignon, in April 2010 ;

- Jules Massenet : Cendrillon, in March 2011 ;

- Jacques Offenbach : Les Brigands, in June 2011 ;

- Daniel François Esprit Auber : La muette de Portici, in April 2012 ;

- Reynaldo Hahn : Ciboulette, in February 2013 ;

- Henri Rabaud : Marouf, savetier du Caire, in May 2013 ;

- Léo Delibes : Lakmé, in January 2014 ;

- Charles Lecoq : Ali-Baba, in May 2014.

Many of these operas had not been staged in France for years.

Baroque operas and contemporary works have also been performed :

- Jean-Baptiste Lully : Cadmus et Hermione

- Henry Purcell : Dido and Aeneas

- Jean- Baptiste Lully : Atys

- Johann Christian Bach : Amadis de Gaule

- Pier Francesco Cavalli : Egisto

- Marc-Antoine Charpentier : David et Jonathas

- Jean-Philippe Rameau : Platée

- Pascal Dusapin : Roméo et Juliette

- Peter Eötvös : Lady Sarashina

- Georges Aperghis : Les Boulingrin

- Oscar Strasnoy : Cachafaz

- Marco Stroppa : Re Orso

- George Benjamin : Written on Skin

For his last season as managing director, and before closing the theatre for a whole season (to build an air conditioning system in the hall) Deschamps offers a season similar to the previous ones :

- Johann Strauss : La Chauve-souris, in a new French version ;

- André Campra : Les Fêtes vénitiennes ;

- Philippe Boesmans : Au Monde, the opera that received its first performance last March in Brussels ;

- Ferdinand Hérold : Le Pré aux Clercs ;

- Reynaldo Hahn : Ciboulette ;

- Xavier Dayer : Les Contes de la lune vague après la pluie, only 2 months after the world première in Rouen ;

- Louis Varney : Les Mousquetaires au couvent.

We have 3 new productions : La Chauve-souris, Les Fêtes vénitiennes and Le Pré aux Clercs, 2 coproductions : Au Monde and Les Contes de la lune vague après la pluie, and 2 revivals : Ciboulette and Les Mousquetaires au couvent (from Lausanne, December 2013).

Program books for new operas, 2011-2012 season

During the 2011-2012 season, I managed to collect program books for the following new operas : 

- Markus Fagerudd : Free Will, Savonlinna, July 21, 2012 (PDF)

- Detlev Glanert : Solaris, Bregenz, July 18, 2012

- George Benjamin, Written on Skin, Aix-en-Provence, July 7, 2012

 - Lucia Ronchetti : Neumond, Mannheim, July 1, 2012

  
- Toshio Hosokawa : The Raven, Luxembourg, June 27, 2012

- Jennifer Walshe : Die Taktik, Stuttgart (Kammertheater), June 14, 2012

- Anno Schreier : Mörder Kaspar Brand, Düsseldorf, June 14, 2012

 
- Robin de Raaff : Waiting for Miss Monroe, Amsterdam, June 9, 2012

- Olga Neuwirth : The Outcast, Mannheim, May 25, 2012 (PDF)

- Silvia Colasanti : La Metamorfosi, Firenze (Teatro Goldoni), May 22, 2012 (PDF)

- Marco Stroppa : Re Orso, Paris (Opéra-Comique), May 19, 2012

- Gordon Kerry : Midnight Son, Melbourne (Victorian Opera), May 16, 2012

- Arnulf Herrmann : Wasser, Munich (Muffathalle, Biennale), May 16, 2012 (PDF)

- Eunyoung Kim : Mama Dolorosa, Munich (Gasteig, Biennale), May 5, 2012 (PDF)

- Sarah Nemtsov : L’Absence, Munich (Muffathalle, Biennale), May 3, 2012 (PDF)

- Moritz Eggert : All diese Tage, Bremen, April 28, 2012

- Enno Poppe : IQ, Schwetzingen, April 27, 2012 (PDF)

- Jüri Reinvere : Purge, Helsinki, April 20, 2012

- Sidney Corbett : Ubu, Gelsenkirchen, April 14, 2012 (PDF)

- Ludger Vollmer : Border, Köln (Palladium), April 13, 2012

 

- Edward Rushton : Babur in London, Zürich (Theater Rigblick), March 28, 2012

- Jérôme Combier : Terre et Cendres, Lyon, March 10, 2012 (PDF)

- Bruno Giner : Pion prend tour en D9, Paris (Auditorium St. Germain), March 7, 2012

- Enver Yalçin Özdiker : Aufstand, Wuppertal, March 4, 2012

- Betsy Jolas : La Maison qui Chante, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Febuary 9, 2012 (PDF)

- Simon Wills : The Stolen Smells, Luzern, January 29, 2012

- Philippe Fénelon : La Cerisaie, Paris, January 27, 2012

- Manfred Trojahn : Orest, Amsterdam, December 8, 2011
 

  

- Ragnar Söderlind : I Cancelliraadens Dage, Brumunddal, November 17, 2011

- Elzbieta Sikora : Madame Curie, Paris (Unesco), November 15, 2011

- Lera Auerbach : Gogol, Vienna (Theater an der Wien), November 15, 2011

  

- Anno Schreier : Die Stadt der Blinden, Zürich, November 12, 2011

- Kevin Puts : Silent Night, Minneapolis, November 12, 2011

- Andrew P. MacDonald : Mary’s Wedding, Victoria (BC), November 10, 2011

  

- Nico Muhly : Dark Sisters, New York (Gotham Chamber Opera), November 9, 2011

- Gerhard Wimberger : Heinrich und Kleist, Frankfurt an der Oder, November 4, 2011

- Samu Gryllus : Blaubarts, Vienna (Theater an der Wien), November 4, 2011

- Joanna Doderer : Papageno eine Ausflucht, Vienna (Theater an der Wien), November 4, 2011

- Karmella Tsepolenko : Heute Abend Boris Godunow, Vienna (Theater an der Wien), November 4, 2011

  

- Christian Jost : Mikropolis, Berlin (Komische Oper), October 30, 2011 (PDF)

- Marcela Rodriguez : Las cartas de Frida, Heidelberg, October 26, 2011

- Claude Lenners : Der Turm, Luxembourg, October 6, 2011

- Philippe Manoury : La Nuit de Gutenberg, Strasbourg, September 24, 2011

 

- Alessandro Solbiati : Leggenda, Torino, September 20, 2011

- Leo Dick : Der Wunsch, Indianer zu werden, Bern, September 10, 2011

- Christopher Theofanidis : Heart of a Soldier, San Francisco, September 10, 2011

  

- Reinhardt Wagner : René l’énervé, Paris (Théâtre du Rond-Point), September 7 2011

- Santa Ratniece : War Sum Up, Riga, September 2, 2011 (PDF)