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 'GerMANIA' by Alexander Raskatov in Lyon

Today, the Opéra national de Lyon presents the world première performance of GerMANIA, an opera in 2 acts and 10 scenes composed by Alexander Raskatov, with a libretto by the composer based on Heiner Müller's plays Germania Death in Berlin (1978) and Germania 3 Ghosts at Dead Man (1995).

(c) Renate Schildheuer Bunt

It is the composer's third opera after The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) and A Dog's Heart (first performed in Amsterdam on June 7, 2010, and then produced in Lyon on January 20, 2014.

This dramatic and satirical opera plunges the audience into a turning point era of the 20th century, when two totalitarian regimes, Nazism and Communism, confront each other. In this panorama of Germany, from the World War I to the reunification and the fall of the Berlin Wall, thirty-seven characters will appear on stage, among whom Hitler, Stalin and Goebbels. (freely adapted from the Opéra de Lyon website)

The cast includes tenor James Kryshak (Hitler), bass Genaddy Bezzubenkov (Stalin, Gagarin), baritone Ville Rusanen (Goebbels), soprano Sophie Desmars, countertenor Andrew Watts and baritone Boram Kim. Alejo Pérez conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra de Lyon. John Fulljames directs.

The required orchestra is the following (reproduced from the programme book) :

- 3 flutes (doubling piccolo and alto flute), 2 oboes (doubling English horn), 3 clarinets in B (doubling E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet), 1 tenor saxophone, 1 baritone saxophone, 2 bassoons (doubling contrabassoons) ;
- 4 horns (doubling tenor and bass Wagner tubas) ; 4 trumpets ; 1 bass trumpet, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba ;
- 7 percussion players ;
- 1 harp, 1 piano, 1 celesta, 1 electric guitar, 1 bass guitar ;
- 4 horns, 4 trumpets and 4 trombones in the auditorium.

The performance should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Today : world première of 'The Collected Works of Billy the Kid' by Gavin Bryars in Lyon

Today, the Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse in Lyon presents the world première of the new chamber opera composed by Gavin Bryars, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, with a libretto in French and English written by Jean Lacornerie based on the book by Michael Ondaatje.

It is the 7th opera composed by Gavin Bryars. His previous stage works include Doctor Ox's Experiment (London ENO, 1998) and Marilyn Forever (Victoria BC, 2013).

William H. Bonney, known commonly as Billy the Kid, was an American Old West gunfighter, who participated in New Mexico’s Lincoln County War and is known to have killed eight men. Ondaatje’s book depicts the last year of the outlaw’s life, though the text is not intended to make a linear account of events. Instead, the text explores the mind of a cold-blooded killer who has become the subject of legend from recollections of people who had met Billy interspersed with poems from the writer’s own imagination. (reproduced from the publisher's website).

The cast includes soprano Claron McFadden (Woman) and baritone Bertrand Belin (Man). They are joined by the Percussions Claviers de Lyon, conducted by Gérard Lecointe. Jean Lacornerie directs.

The performance should last 60 minutes. The first part of the evening consists of a performance of Ben Johnston's Calamity Jane to Her Daughter (1993).

The full score of the opera is available for perusal on the Schott Music website.

10 new program books in my collection

I have recently acquired the program books for the following performances :

- Michel van der Aa, After Life, Lyon, March 18, 2010
The opera was first performed in Amsterdam on June 2, 2006, and I have the program book for the new version first performed in Amsterdam on September 28, 2009.
It is a 113 pages book, with the complete bilingual libretto (English / French).
- Robert Aldridge, Sister Carrie, Milwaukee, October 7, 2016
It is a 52 pages brochure. The opera was recorded and published by Naxos.
- Ricky Ian Gordon, The House Without a Christmas Tree, Houston, November 30, 2017.
It is a 64 pages brochure.

- Hans Werner Henze, L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, Lyon, June 24, 2005
The opera was first performed in Salzburg on August 12, 2003. I have the program book for the world première, the DVD recording (EuroArts) as well as the two scores published by Chester Music (vocal score and full score).
It is a 158 pages book, with the complete bilingual libretto (German / French).
- Toshio Hosokawa, Hanjo, Lyon, March 5, 2008
The opera was first performed in Aix-en-Provence on July 8, 2004.
It is a 87 pages book, with the complete bilingual libretto (English / French) and a separate 12 pages booklet with cast and biographies.
- Helmut Oehring, Kunst muss (zu weit gehen) oder der Engel schwieg, Köln, December 9, 2017.
It is a 64 pages book.

- Rachel J. Peters, Rootabaga Country, Sarasota, November 11, 2017.
It is a 80 pages book published for the 2017 Fall Season of Sarasota Opera.
- Kevin Puts, Elizabeth Cree, Philadelphia, September 14, 2017.
It is a 132 pages book for the Festival O17, including also complete cast for two other new operas : The Wake World by David Hertzberg (September 17, 2017) and We Shall Not Be Moved by Daniel Bernard Roumain (September 16, 2017).

- Andres Reukauf, König Drosselbart, Hagen, November 12, 2017.
It is a 16 pages booklet.
- Kaija Saariaho, Only the Sound Remains, Paris, January 23, 2018
The opera was first performed in Amsterdam on March 15, 2016. I have the Blu Ray recording of the Dutch production.
It is a 120 pages book, the the complete bilingual libretto (English / French).

I now have 516 program books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded them to this flickr folder.

Today : world première of Michel Tabachnik's 'Benjamin, dernière nuit' in Lyon

Today, the first opera (a lyrical drama in 14 scenes) composed by Michel Tabachnik, Benjamin, dernière nuit, with a libretto by Régis Debray, will be performed at the Opéra de Lyon.

The opera mixes music and theatre, with an actor and a tenor both playing the role of Walter Benjamin, lying on his deathbed or remembering his life. The libretto is in English, French and German, depending on the characters involved in the scene : the Hungarian novelist Arthur Koestler, the German philosopher Hannah Arendt, the French writer André Gide, the German playwright Bertolt Brecht...

1940. Walter Benjamin just arrived in Portbou, a French village near the Spanish border, following advice from his friends. In a desolate hotel room, he remembers his life in a series of flash-backs : his career, his friends, his regrets. He is gained by despari as he learned that he might be forced back to France. He commits suicide. (freely adapted from the Durand Salabert Eschig website).

The cast includes tenor Jean-Noël Briend (Walter Benjamin), actor Sava Lolov (Walter Benjamin), mezzo Michaele Selinger (Hannah Arendt), baritone Charles Rice (Arthur Koestler), terno Jeff Martin (Bertolt Brecht), tenor Gilles Ragon (André Gide). Bernhard Kontarsky conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Lyon. John Fulljames conducts.

The opera should alst about 90 minutes. The orchestra required is the following :

- 1 piccolo, 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling English Horn), 1 English Horn, 2 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), contrabassoon ;
- 4 horns (doubling 4 Wagner tubas), 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;
- timpani, 1 piano, 1 harp ;
- 4 percussions : xylorimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tubular bells ; sidedrum, bass drum ; cymbals, Chinese cymbals : gongs, bell plates, tam-tams, hyoshigi ;
- strings ;
- on stage : 1 piano, 1 honky-tonk piano, 1 accordion, 1 shofar ;
- fanfare : 4 trumpets, 3 horns, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, several drums, bass drum, cymbals.

There is no brodcast planned yet.

New DVDs : 'Claude' by Thierry Escaich (BelAir) and 'Lear' by Aribert Reimann (ArtHaus)

Two contemporary operas have been recently released on DVD : Claude by Thierry Escaich, first performed in Lyon in May 2013 (BelAir Classiques) and Lear by Aribert Reimann (first performed in Munich in July 1978, ArtHaus Musik).

Both DVDs unfortunately present the same ridiculous defect : the main menu is not silent. Therefore, you hear repeatedly a short excerpt of the opera while you stay on the title page. Worse, when you have watched the whole performance, including applause, bows and final credits and patiently waited for the very end of the recording, you are immediately brought back to the noisy title menu, and that is very unfortunate. There is absolutely no reason to have any music there. Imagine a few bars of the coming act being played through loudspeakers to call the audience back to their seats after an interval, or the most famous tune being broadcast in the theater when the audience leaves. Nonsense !

The opening credits of the French opera are already accompanied by music. Considering there is no image of the conductor or the audience before the performance, it is quite impossible to know whether this music is the prelude of the opera, or just a bright idea of the editor.
The seconday menus (chapters, subtitles and bonus) are silent. Subtitles are available in English and French.
There are about 6 minutes of closing images, after the final note is played : applause, bows, with credits starting before the conductor appears on stage, followed by the director. But the composer remains out of sight.
On the other hand, the composer has been recorded in a discussion with librettist Robert Badinter (who was Minister of Justice when death penalty was abolished in France) and television interviewer Anne Sinclair. Strangely enough, the clock doesn't work during the bonus, which is supposed to last about 26 minutes.

The beginning of the Lear recording is much better : opening credits with audience noises, then orchestra tuning. There are no applause at the start, and the staging begins before the music. The opening credits are followed by the silent entrance of all the characters. It lasts almost 6 minutes. We have to wait for the end of Act I to see the conductor. There are more than 8 minutes of applauses and closing credits at the end : first the singers bow all together, then one by one in turn, followed by the chorus joined by the chorus master, the conductor (she shakes hand with the prompter !), then the composer who takes every singer in his arms. The closing credits start only after that, when all artists are bowing together. Then, as in the Claude DVD, the title menu reappears immediately, with its accompanying music. Too bad !
The oddity about this recording is the position of the last track titled "End credits" in the brochure. It starts 6 minutes after the end of the music, when the composer appears on stage. It would have made more sense to have it start at the beginning of the applause. It has been recorded in May 2014, more than two years after the première of the production, so the director isn't there.

Received in the mail this Tuesday morning

This Tuesday morning, I have received the following in the mail :

- Boston, Lyric Opera : 2014-2015 season brochure ;
- Dijon, Opéra : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Lyon, Opéra : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Rennes, Opéra : 2014-2015 season program brochure ;
- Rouen, Opéra : 2014-2015 season brochure ;
- Toronto, Canadian Opera Company : 2014-2015 season brochure.