New programme book : 'Schönerland' by Soren Nils Eichberg in Wiesbaden

I have recently received the programme book published by the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden for the world première performance of Søren Nils Eichberg's Schönerland.

It is a 24 pages brochure, entirely in German. It contains :

- production team ;
- synopsis ;
- color photos of rehearsals ;
- interview of the composer by Katja Leclerc ;
- Was ist 'Schönerland', by director Johanna Wehner ;
- Wir Flüchtlinge by Hannah Arendt ;
- Eine neue Oper entsteht, by Katja Leclerc.

It is the 489th programme book for contemporary opera I have in my collection. I have uploaded all the scanned covers to this flickr folder.

Today : world première of Søren Nils Eichberg's 'Schönerland' in Wiesbaden

Today, the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden presents the world première of Søren Nils Eichberg's opera Schönerland, with a libretto by Therese Schmidt.

©Henning Harms

It is the third opera by the composer, after Grete Minde (2009) and Glare (2014).

What can a European art form teach us about the search for a new home? In this newly commissioned work, the young Danish-German composer Søren Nils Eichberg seeks to open a dialogue - sometimes emotionally charged, sometimes tongue-in-cheek - which reflects on the power of opera in a world where being understood amidst strangers is just as important as understanding the cultures of others. (reproduced from the Hessisches Staatstheater website)

The cast includes baritone Thomas de Vries (Intendant), tenor Erik Biegel (The Composer), soprano Britta Stallmeister (Playwright / Young Woman), soprano Eleni Calenos (Saida), tenor Aaron Cawley (Dariush), alto Romina Boscolo (Aliyah) and bass baritone Florian Küppers (Omid). Albert Horne conducts the Chorus of the Hessisches Staatstheater and the Hessisches Staatsorchester. Johanna Wehner directs.

The performance should last about 95 minutes.