Showing posts with label Mannheim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mannheim. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 October 2020

New programme book in my collection : 'Dark Spring' by Hans Thomalla in Mannheim

 Yesterday, I have received the programme book published by the Nationaltheater Mannheim for the world première performance of Dark Spring, a new opera composed by Hans Thomalla with a libretto by the composer after Frank Wedekind's play Frühlings Erwachen.

 


It is a 72 pages book, entirely in German. It contains :

- the complete cast for the world première performance ;
- plot summary ;
- a conversation between composer Hans Thomalla, stage director Barbora Horakova and Cordula Dermattio ;
- Das Gehabe, an excerpt of Édouard Louis' novel Das Ender von Eddy ;
- 16 pages of colour photos from the rehearsals ;
- the complete libretto in the original English, with a German translation ;
- short biographies of composer, conductor, stage director and sets and costumes designer.

I have catalogued all my programme books on LibraryThing.


Saturday, 14 May 2016

New in my collection : 3 programme books for contemporary operas


I have recently received in the mail the programme books for the three following contemporary operas :

- Viktor Åslund : Der Steppenwolf, Würzburg, May 7, 2016 ;
- Bernhard Lang : Der Golem, Mannheim, April 16, 2016 ;
- Helmut Oehring : Agota ?, Wiesbaden, May 4, 2016.


The first one is a 36 pages brochure, entirely in German. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis ;
- Tractat vom Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse ;
- color photos of rehearsals ;
- Verschmitzte Suggestionskraft, by Christoph Blitt ;
- Lerne, zu lachen !, by Hermann Hesse (the end of the novel Der Steppenwolf) ;
- Entdecke den Steppenwolf in dir !, by librettist Rainer Lewandowski ;
- Ein Spiel mit musikalischen Identitäten, by composer Viktor Åslund ;
- Spaziergang in Würzburg, by Hermann Hesse ;
- biographies of the composer, the librettist, the conductor, the stage director and the costume and set designer, with headshots.

The second is a 88 pages book. It is entirely in German. It contains :

- cast and crew ;
- excerpts of the Gustav Meyrink novel ;
- biography of the composer ;
- synopsis ;
- color photos of the piano dress rehearsal (April 4, 2016) ;
- Von der Legende über den Roman zur Oper, by Merle Fahrholz ;
- Eine Ode an die Schizophrenie oder Musiktheater in 22 Kapiteln, by Christine Dysers with musical quotes from the full score of the opera ;
- 22 Karten, die man auflegt wie ein Orakel, by Merle Farhrholz (interview withe the composer and the librettist and director Peter Missotten) ;
- Jetzt und für immer, by Tilman Baumgärtel ;
- Gustav Mayrink und der Okkultismus, by Jean-Jacques Pollet ;
- Der Golem des Hoch-Rabbi-Löw, poem by A. M. Tendlau ;
- Vom Siegeszug der künstlichen Intelligenz, by Hans Moravec ;
- Glossar zum Textbuch von Der Golem ;
- complete libretto.

The third one is a 24 pages brochure. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- the work structure ;
- Agota Kristof : Muttersprache - Feindessprachen - Schicksalsprache ;
- Das Autoren-Team : Komposition - Textbuch - Sounddesign ;
- In-Schriften, by Stefanie Wördermann, dialogue with sound designer Torsten Ottersberg and composer Helmut Oehring.

I know have 414 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. I have uploaded all the scanned covers to this flickr folder.

Saturday, 16 April 2016

Today : world première of Bernhard Lang's 'Der Golem' in Mannheim


Today, the Nationaltheater Mannheim presents the world première of Bernhard Lang's new opera, Der Golem (music theatre in 22 chapters), with a libretto by Peter Missotten after Gustav Meyrink's novel.


Bernhard Lang already composed several pieces of music theater, including Das Theater der Wiederholungen (Graz, 2003), Schachoper (Vienna, 2005) and Der Reigen (Schwetzingen, 2012).
Pernath's life is breaking apart : he is brought to life with real intrigues, experiencing hallucinations and falling into spiritualistic intricacies. He meets the merchant Wassertrum, who is very rich and rules the ghetto. Charousek, the merchant's illegitimate son, follows relentlessly his father to their death. Pernath finds relief in the presence of Rabbi Hillel an his daughter Miriam, and crosses the path of the Golem, a surreal creature. With the help of old tarot cards, he appears as Pernath's doppelganger. (freely adapted from the NTM website).
The cast includes baritone Raymond Ayers (Athanasius Pernath), countertenor Alin Deleanu (Charousek / Wassertrum), soprano Astrid Kessler (Angelina / Waitress), bass baritone Steven Scheschareg (Athanasius Pernath Double / Hillel) and mezzo Marie-Belle Sandis (Miriam). Joseph Trafton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Nationaltheater Mannheim. Peter Missotten directs.


Thursday, 9 July 2015

Received in the mail this morning : program books from Mannheim and Cincinnati


This Thursday morning, I have received two program books for contemporary operas :

- Ricky Ian Gordon : Morning Star, Cincinnati, June 30 ;
- Lucia Ronchetti : Esame di mezzanotte, Mannheim, May 29.


The first one is a 96 pages book. It contains the complete program for the 2015 season at the Cincinnati Opera. 5 pages are dedicated to Gordon's opera. It is entirely in English. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis, written by stage director Ron Daniels ;
- Ricky Ian Gordon : The Birth of 'Morning Star' ;
- biographies of all season artists, with black and white headshot.

The second is a 104 pages book. It is entirely in German. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- color photos of the piano dress rehearsal (May 19) ;
- an article by composer Lucia Ronchetti on libretto source and librettist Ermanno Cavazzoni ;
- Le tentazioni di Girolamo, by librettist Ermanno Cavazzoni ;
- detailed synopsis ;
- Helga de la Motte-Haber : Nachtmahre ;
- director Achim Freyer : Gedanken zur Uraufführung ;
- Bibliotheksmusik, a dialogue with composer Lucia Ronchetti and dramaturge Elena Garcia Fernandez ;
- Stefano Nardelli : Lucia Ronchetti : zeitgenössisches Empfinden mit barocken Wurzeln ;
- complete bilingual (Italian and German) libretto.

There are no biographies.
The covers of all the program book for contemporary operas I have can be seen in this flickr folder.

Friday, 29 May 2015

May 29th, 2015 : world première of Lucia Ronchetti's 'Esame di mezzanotte' in Mannheim


Today, Lucia Ronchetti's new opera, Esame di mezzanotte, with a libretto by Ermanno Cavazzoni, will be performed in Mannheim, at the National Theater.


The libretto in Italian by the author Ermanno Cavazzoni, who previously wrote the original idea for Federico Fellini’s film Die Stimme des Mondes (The Voice of the Moon) was created on the basis of his novel Mitternachtsabitur (Final Exam at Midnight).
A young man driven by anxiety to insomnia is suffering from a typical case of extreme fear: his final exams will take place tomorrow and he has forgotten everything ... At night, Girolamenti wanders around a library, but the library has lost its actual purpose. It is now like the underground of a city, a collecting tank for non-conformists. Girolamenti meets bizarre creatures and demons that crawl out of the books and lurk under the benches. Fantasies become realities, real fears and surreal occurrences are mixed together until they are unrecognizable. A comic and fantastic opera about the coming end of the world of books, about examinations and lack of concentration, about disturbances and being disturbed, comic nightmares and fears, and not least of all about people who live on the edge of society. (reproduced from the opera house website)
The opera should last about 2 hours, including a 20 minutes intermission. It is a least Ronchetti's third opera, after Neumond (Mannheim, 2011) and Mise en abyme (Dresden, 2015).

The cast includes countertenor Matthew Shaw (Giro Lamenti), bass Magnus Piontek (Fischietti), tenor Ziad Nehme (Natale), soprano Vera-Lotte Böcker (Iris) and actor Reuben Willcox (Santoro). Johannes Kalitzke conducts the Orchestra, Choir and Children's Choir of the Theater Mannheim. Achim Freyer directs.

Monday, 21 July 2014

Received in the mail last week


Last week, I received the following articles in the mail :

- Bonn, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Coburg, Landestheater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Dessau, Anhaltisches Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Giessen, Stadttheater : September 2014 leaflet ;
- Halle, Bühnen : 2014-2015 season program books ;
- Heidelberg, Theater und Orchester : September October 2014 leaflet ;
- Kiel, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Mannheim, Nationaltheater : September October 2014 leaflet ;
- Tel Aviv, Israeli Opera : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Vienna, Gesellscahft der Musikfreunde in Wien : September October 2014 magazine (issue 27/1) ;
- Wexford, Festival Opera : 63rd Festival (2014) program brochure.

Saturday, 5 July 2014

New season 2014-2015 at the Nationaltheater in Mannheim


During the 2014-2015, the Nationaltheater in Mannheim will perform 27 operas : 21 revivals and 6 new productions, including a world première.


The six new productions are :

- Alfredo Catalani : La Wally, conducted by Alois Seidlmeier, directed by Tilman Knabe ;
- Franz Lehar : Die lustige Witwe, conducted by Joseph Trafton, directed by Renato Zanella ;
- Christoph Willibald Gluck : Alceste, conducted by Rubén Dubrovsky, directed by Dietrich Hilsdorf ;
- Hector Berlioz : La Damnation de Faust, conducted by Alois Seidlmeier, directed by Vasily Barkhatov ;
- Lucia Ronchetti : Esame di mezzanotte, conducted by Johannes Kalitzke, directed by Achim Freyer (world première) ;
- Franz Schreker : Der ferne Klang, conducted by Dan Ettinge, directed by Merle Fahrholz.

The following productions will be revived :

- Georges Bizet : Carmen, directed by Gabriele Rech ;
- Gaetano Donizetti : L'elisir d'amore, directed by Andrea Schwalbach ;
- Engelbert Humperdinck : Hänsel und Gretel, directed by Wolfgang Blum ;
- Pietro Mascagni : Cavalleria rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo : Pagliacci, both directed by Roland Velte ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Zauberflöte, directed by Joachim Schloemer and Le nozze di Figaro, directed by Johannes Schaaf ;
- Sergei Prokofiev : The Love for Three Oranges, directed by Cordula Däuper ;
- Giacomo Puccini : La Bohème, directed by Friedrich Meyer-Oertel, Tosca, directed by Renate Ackermann and Turandot, directed by Regula Gerber ;
- Johann Strauß : Die Fledermaus, directed by Friedrich Meyer-Oertel ;
- Richard Strauss : Salome, directed by Gabriele Rech ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Falstaff, directed by Christof Nel, La Traviata, directed by Achim Freyer, Otello, directed by Chris Alexander and Stiffelio, directed by Regula Gerber ;
- Richard Wagner : Die Walküre, directed by Achim Freyer and Parsifal, directed by Hans Schüler ;
- Carl Maria von Weber : Der Freischütz, directed by Armin Holz ;
- Mieczyslaw Weinberg : Der Idiot, directed by Regula Gerber.

There are no baroque operas in Mannheim this year, but the season covers opera history from Mozart and Gluck to 21st century. Too bad, only three languages are to be used in these operas : German, Italian and French. But there is a nice touch of modern opera, with Weinberg, Schreker and of course, Ronchetti.

Received in the mail this Saturday morning


This Saturday morning, I have received the following articles in the mail :

- Peter Eötvös : Der goldene Drache, Frankfurt, June 29th, 2014, program book for the world première performance ;


- Mannheim, Nationaltheater : 2014-2015 season program book.

Friday, 13 June 2014

Received in the mail this Friday morning


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

- Adriana Hölszky : Böse Geister, Mannheim, May 31st, 2014, program book for the world première ;

 
- Metz, Arsenal : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Saarbrücken, Saarländisches Staatstheater : 2014-2015 season program book and June 2014 leaflet.

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Received in the mail this Thursday morning


This Thursday morning, I received the following in the mail :

- Linz, Landestheater : 2014-2015 season brochure :
- Mannheim, Natioanltheater : July 2014 leaflet ;
- Paris, Ensemble InterContemporain : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Toulouse, Orchestre national du Capitole : 2014-2015 season book.

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Today : world première of 'Böse Geister' by Adriana Hölszky in Mannheim


Today, Adriana Hölszky's fifth opera, Böse Geister, with a libretto by Yona Kim after Fyodor Dotoyevsky's novel Demons (also known as The Possessed) will be performed for the first time in Nationaltheater Mannheim.


The composer's previous operas are :

- Bremer Freiheit, after Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Munich, 1988 ;
- Die Wände, after Jean Genet, Vienna, 1995 ;
- Giuseppe e Silvia, Stuttgart, 2000 ;
- Der gute Gott von Manhattan, by Ingeborg Bachmann, Schwetzingen, 2004.

Here is what we can learn about this new opera on http://www.nationaltheater-mannheim.de :
Böse Geister (evil spirits) sets up a labyrinth consisting of passion, fear and obsession. At the centre of this maelstrom, from which no one is capable of fleeing, stands Stavrogin, a disillusioned man with touches of genius, to whom the others look up for leadership. These are big ideas which need to be negotiated in his presence. What about Revolution ? Is there a God ? Can one prove his non-existence by wanting to commit suicide, like Kirilov does, in order to show that one is in a position to make decisions freely and independently ?
Dostoyevsky's novel Böse Geister is a book of voices like no other: the tragedy of a society is revealed in monologues and dialogues that drive the plot forwards like force fields. Yona Kim’s libretto uses these force fields and allows the dialogues of the main protagonists, the figure of Stavrogin and the reservoir of the choirs to stand next to each other separately. The drama of this new music theatre arises, according to the composer, through » a bombardment of layers «.
The voice keeps on coming to the fore of the music theatre works by multi award-winning composer Adriana Hölszky. Her tonal language is characterised by subtle and finely balanced sounds, which are combined into imaginative colour combinations, and unexpected gestural music.

The cast is the following :Iris Kupke (Julia), Thérèse Wincent (Lisa), Magnus Piontek (Lebjadkin), Ludovica Belo (Marja), Zvi Emanuel-Marial (Pjotr), Benedikt Nawrath (Schatow), Martin Busen (Stepan), Evelyn Krahe (Warwara) and Steven Scheschareg (Stawrogin). Roland Kluttig conducts and Joachim Scloemer directs.

Friday, 30 May 2014

Received in the mail this Friday morning


This Friday morning, I have received the following items in the mail :

- Michel Legrand : Dreyfus, Nice, May 16, 2014 : program book for the world première performance ;

 
- Basel, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Dortmund, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book and June-July 2014 leaflet ;
- Gera / Altenburg, Theater & Philharmonie Thüringen : 2014-2015 season program book, May and June 2014 leaflets ;
- Mannheim, Nationaltheater : June 2014 leaflet ;
- München, Bayerische Staatsoper : September to December 2014 brochure ;
- Münster, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Saarbrücken, Saarländisches Staatstheater : June 2014 leaflet ;
- Zürich, Opernhaus : 2014-2015 season program book.