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.

New in my collection : program book for Bolcolm's 'McTeague' in Linz

This Friday morning, I have received in the mail the program book published by the Landestheater Linz for the European first performance of William Bolcom's McTeague.

It is a 32 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- Zwischen Golden State und Death Valley : the titles of the 12 scenes of the opera ;
- the synopsis of the opera ;
- Karl-Heinz Schönfelder : Gold can kill you !, an article on Frank Norri's novel McTeague ;
- 117 Jahre Goldrausch : a timeline of the novel's adaptations ;
- Sprachlosigkeit wird zu Musik, an interview with the composer ;
- detailed biography of the composer ;
- several color photos of the new production.

By following this link to flickr, you have access to the covers of all 395 program books for contemporary opera I have in my collection.

Today : European première of William Bolcom's 'McTeague' in Linz, Austria

Today, the Landestheater Linz presents the first performance in Europe of William Bolcom's opera McTeague, with a libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Robert Altman after Frank Norris' novel.

© Patrick Pfeiffer

The opera was first performed on October 31, 1992 at the Civic Opera House by the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

San Francisco, California in 1900 : pioneers and the gold rush are a thing of the past, and the still-Wild West is becoming an urban place of opportunities for the myth of the American Dream. The rise and fall of dentist McTeague that ends in the searing heat of Death Valley. (reproduced from the Landestheater website)

The cast includes tenor Corby Welch (McTeague), soprano Çiğdem Soyarslan (Trina Sieppe), baritone Seho Chang (Marcus Schouler) and mezzo Karen Robertson (Maria Miranda Macapa). Dennis Russell Davies conducts the theater Choir and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz (he was already in the pit in 1992).

The performance should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes. There is no broadcast planned yet. According to my personal database of about 180.000 performances since the early 1990s, there has been no performance of this opera since the world première.