Two new programme books in my collection : Eggert and Holten

I have recently received two programme books for two new operas :

- Moritz Eggert : M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder, Berlin (Komische Oper), May 5, 2019 ;
- Bo Holten : Schlagt sie tot !, Malmö, May 11, 2019.

The first one is a 40 pages book. It contains :

- characters and orchestral setting ;
- synopsis ;
- Ulrich Lenz : 90 Minuten Achterbahnfahrt, dialogue with director Barrie Kosky and composer Moritz Eggert ;
- Ulrich Lenz : Und mit mir rennen die Gespenster, Psychogramm eines (vermeintlichen ?) Mörders ;
- synopsis in English, French and Turkish ;
- several colour photos of the piano dress rehearsal (April 25).

There is a separate 6 pages leaflet with the complete cast and crew for the first performance.

The book is entirely in German.

The second one is a 66 pages book. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- Catarina Ek : En värld i förändring (A Changing World) ;
- Persongalleri : short biographies of historical characters with their portraits and headshots of singers playing their roles (Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Georg Spalatin, Lucas Cranach, Erasmus, among others) ;
- detailed synopsis ;
- Eva Sommestad Holten : Förändringens eld - Tankar bakom texten till 'Schlagt sie tot !' (Fire of Change - Thoughts behind the text of 'Schlagt sie tot !') ;
- Bo Holten : Om musiken i 'Schlagt sie tot !' (About the music of 'Schlagt sie tot !') ;
- Eva Sommestad Holten : Luthers värld - En översikt (Luther's world - an overview) ;
- Eva Sommestad Holten : Musiken som Guds verktyg (Music as God's instrument) ;
- Arne Järtelius : Luther som antisemit (Luther as antisemit) ;
- Arne Järtelius : 500 år med Luther i Sverige (500 years with Luther in Sweden) ;
- biographies of artists with black and white headshots ;
- synopsis in English ;
- several colour photos of rehearsals.

The book is entirely in Swedish.

I now have 680 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. I have scanned the covers and uploaded the images to this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Schlagt sie tot!' by Bo Holten in Malmö

Today, the Malmö Opera presents the world première of Schlagt sie tot!, an opera in two acts with a libretto in German by Eva Sommestad Holten.

(c) Agnete Schlichtkrull

Bo Holten has already composed several operas, including Livlægens Besøg (The Visit of the Royal Physician, Copenhagen, March 28, 2009) and Gesualdo Shadows (Copenhagen, November 9, 2014).

The libretto depicts a world of violent change. Our present day, where religion, apocalyptic moods and hard plays are high on the agenda, has clear parallels with Europe 500 years ago. The opera focuses on the dramatic events of the time and puts Luther's theological uprisings in both a human and political perspective. (freely adapted from the Malmö Opera website)

The cast includes baritone Dietrich Henschel (Martin Luther), tenor Thomas Volle (Philip Melanchthon), baritone Jakob Högström (Georg Spalatin / Martin Bucer), bass Reinhard Hagen (Lucas Cranach) and soprano Inger Dam Jensen (Barbara Cranach). Patrik Ringborg conducts the Orchestra, Chorus and Children Chorus of the Malmö Opera. Peter Oskarson directs.

The score is published by Wilhelm Hansen. The libretto and the full score of the 1st act are available for viewing on the Music Sales website.

The required orchestra is the following :

- 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 4 clarinets, 3 bassoons ;
- 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones ;
- percussion (2 players), harp ;
- strings.

The performance should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes.