Programme book for 'Die Weiden' by Johannes Maria Staud in Vienna

This morning, I have received the programme book published by the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) for the world première performance of Die Weiden, an opera composed by Johannes Maria Staud with a libretto by Durs Grünbein, on December 8, 2018.

It is a 140 pages book. It contains :

- Inhaltsangabe and Ausführliche Inhaltsangabe ;
- several color photos of rehearsals ;
- technical details : complete cast with tessitura, litterature sources, location and time of the action, complete orchestral setting (with detailed percussion section and musicians on stage), duration, cast for the first performance ;
- detailed biography of the composer Johannes Maria Staud ;
- detailed biography of the librettist Durs Grünbein ;
- list of operas composed by Staud ;
- excerpt of Die Weiden by Algernon Blackwood ;
- excerpt of Das Herz der Finsternis by Joseph Conrad ;
- Andreas Lang : Ein Fluss als Protagonist ;
- Johannes Maria Staud : Anmerkungen über die Musik der Weiden ;
- excerpt of Der arme Spielmann by Franz Grillparzer ;
- Oliver Rathkolb : Die Todesmärche von Engerau ;
- Miklos Radnoti : Gewaltmarsch 1944 (poem) ;
- Peter Filzmaier : Die Welt der Demagogen und Populisten ;
- Franz Tumler : Sätze von der Donau (poem) ;
- Rotraud A. Perner : 'Aber vielleicht war all das nur Wahnsinn' ;
- Ilse Aichinger : excerpt of Unglaubwürdige Reisen ;
- Konrad Paul Liessmann : 'Dreitausend Jahre denken' ;
- Hans Dieter Schäfer : Die unsichtbare Tätowierung ;
- Andreas Lang : Aber Lea verkarpft nicht..., discussion with Johannes Maria Staud and Durs Grünbein ;
- Oliver Lang : Eine Oper zum Leben erweckt, dialogue with conductor Ingo Metzmacher ;
- Andreas Lang : Eine Oper als Interpretation der Wirklichkeit, dialogue with director Andrea Moses ;
- Urs Dürbein : epilogue of the libretto.

The book is entirely in German. The Vienna State Opera has also published an English version of this book.

I now have 607 programme books for contemporary operas. You can see all the scanned covers in this flickr folder.

The three libretti written by Durs Grünbein for Joahnnes Maria Staud (Berenice, Munich, 2004, Die Antilope, Lucerne, September 3, 2014 and Die Weiden) have been published in a single volume by Suhrkamp.

Today : world première of 'Die Weiden' by Johannes Maria Staud in Vienna

Today, the Wiener Staatsoper presents the world première of Die Weiden (The Willows), an opera in six parts, four passages, one prolog, one prelude, one interlude and an epilogue composed by Johannes Maria Staud with a libretto by Durs Grünbein.

It is the composer's third opera after Berenice (Munich, 2004) and Die Antilope (Luzern, 2014).

The opera is a journey 'into the heart of darkness' on a major river in Central Europe today, which can unquestionably be identified as the Danube. The events are fluctuating between a travel story of two lovers falling out with each other and a surreally distorted observation of the threatening developments today. We achieve this by means of pandemoniac hallucinations on the part of one of the protagonists, as well as by the transformation motif of a man-carp. (reproduced from the Breitkopf & Härtel website)

The cast includes mezzo Rachel Frankel (Lea), baritone Tomasz Konieczny (Peter), tenor Thomas Ebenstein (Edgar), soprano Andrea Carroll (Kitty), mezzo Monika Bohinec (Lea's Mother), tenor Herbert Lippert (Lea's Father), alto Zoryana Kushpler (Peter's Mother) and bass Alexandru Moisiuc (Peter's Father). Ingo Metzmacher conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Wiener Staatsoper. Andrea Moses directs.

The required orchestra is the following (reproduced from the publisher's website) :

- 3 flutes (doubling alto flute and piccolo), 3 oboes (doubling English horn and musette), 3 clarinets (doubling bassethorn and double bass clarinet), soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, 2 double bassoons ;
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;
- timpani and percussion (4 players) ;
- harp, piano ;
- strings (14.12.10.8.6).

The performance should last about 3 hours, including the intermission. The score is published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

Received in the mail : Johannes Maria Staud, 'Die Antilope', program book

This Tuesday morning, I have received in the mail the program book for the new opera by Johannes Maria Staud, Die Antilope, which was first performed in Lucerne last week.

The 60 pages booklet contains :

- the complete cast with the technical team,
- black and white pictures,
- plot summary,
- an article on the opera (with the title The Cycle of Life),
- detailed biographies of composer and librettist,
- questions and answers with the composer and the librettist (separate),
- the complete libretto,
- and short biographies of cast members, with pictures.

Today : World première of 'Die Antilope' by Johannes Maria Staud

Today, the second opera by 40 year old Austrian composer Johannes Maria Staud, Die Antilope, with a libretto by Durs Grünbein, will be performed in Luzern (Luzerner Theater). It is a coproduction with the Oper Köln.

Here is what the composer writes about this new opera :

“The opera tells the story of a young man, Victor, a character that draws on Victor Krap (Samuel Beckett, Eleutheria) and Bartleby, the Scrivener (Herman Melville). Victor, a nonconformist social outsider, escapes from an increasingly claustrophobic company party (complete with stagnant and meaningless party chit-chat) by jumping out of the window. This results in Victor stumbling through an absurdly distorted urban world, his ‘journey through the night’ leading him to the strangest situations, sometimes menacing and appalling, sometimes funny and grotesque, always wavering on the threshold between real and unreal. Our hero is torn between the desire to be an outside observer, a spontaneous man of action (he is not immune to moral indignation) and allowing himself to be swept away by the dynamics of the curious situations in which he finds himself. At the end of this journey, Victor – whose true motivation remains a mystery – turns up unexpectedly back at the company party under extremely strange circumstances. The party, which had been frozen in time during his absence, resumes as if nothing had happened. The Möbius band has closed.”. (reproduced from http://www.universaledition.com)

The opera should last about 75 minutes, requires 7 singers, SATB chorus and an orchestra of 18 and strings (7 woodwinds, 6 brass, 2 percussionists, accordion, MIDI-piano, alto sax, strings).

The cast includes : Jutta Maria Böhnert, Todd Boyce, Flurin Caduff, Szymon Chojnacki, Utku Kuzuluk, Eun-Kyong Lim, Carlo Maffioletti and Jeanett Neumeister. Howard Arman conducts and Dominique Mentha directs.

His first opera, Berenice, after Edgar Allan Poe, was first performed in Munich in May 2004, then revised and premièred in Heidelberg in November 2005.

New productions of recent operas

Here are listed a few world premières and a few new productions of recent operas :

- Johannes Harneit : Abends am Fluss and Hochwasser, in Heidelberg (February 2015), conducted by Johannes Harneit, directed by Peter Konwitschny ;
- Johannes Maria Staud : Die Antilope, in Luzern (September 2014), conducted by Howard Arman, directed by Dominique Mentha ;
- Philip Glass : Akhnaten, directed by Nanine Linning, in Heidelberg (September 2014), revival ;
- Jake Heggie : Another Sunrise and For a Look or a Touch in Braunschweig (May 2015), conducted by Burkhard Bauche ;
- Bernard Herrmann : Wuthering Heights, in Braunschweig (April 2015), conducted by Enrico Delamboye, directed by Philipp Kochheim ;
- Charles Wuorinen : Brokeback Mountain, in Aachen (December 2014), conducted by Kazem Abdullah, directed by Ludger Engels. The opera was first performed in January 2014 in Madrid.