Today : world première of 'Siegfried, the Little Dragon Slayer' by Adrian Sieber in Würzburg

Today, the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg presents the world première of Siegfried, der kleine Drachentöter (Siegfried, the Little Dragon Slayer), a children opera composed by Adrian Sieber, with a libretto by Berthold Warnecke.

It is the composer's first opera.

Who does not know the stories of the legendary hero Siegfried ? Even the little Siegfried is fascinated by the exploits of his great role model, by the world of kings and knights, by Siegfried's strength, courage and wisdom. Hour after hour, little Siegfried spends time in the forge of his friend Regin, in order to immerse himself deeper and deeper in the secrets of the book of the Nibelungen saga. He can not get enough of the stories until one day they read the chapter about the Nibelung treasure. The description of this treasure, which promises its owner power over the world and immeasurable wealth, exerts a magical attraction, not only on Siegfried ! Regin also suddenly seems transformed. With Siegfried's help, he wants to gain possession of the treasure, which is guarded by the fearsome dragon Fafnir. Pressed by Regin, Siegfried bravely goes to fight the dragon, and for the first time, has to make decisions that might change his life. (freely adapted from the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg website)

The cast includes soprano Silke Evers (Siegfried) and bass Taiyu Uchiyama (Regin the blacksmith). Adrian Sieber conducts members of the Philharmonic Orchestra Würzburg. Mario Pavle Del Monaco directs.

The venue is the 'Kammer' hall. The performance should last about one hour.

Today : world première of Alois Bröder's 'Unverhofftes Wiedersehen' in Würzburg

Today, the Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg presents the world première of Alois Bröder's Unverhofftes Wiedersehen (Unexpeted Reunion), with a libretto by the composer based on Johann Peter Hebel's homonymous calendar story.

(c) Lutz Edelhoff

 

It is the composer's second opera after Die Frauen der Toten (The Wives of the Dead, with a libretto after Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale), first performed in Erfurt in 2013.

A young couple praises eternal fidelity just before the wedding. But the man is engaged in mining and does not return from work the next day. Fifty years later, the young girl has become an old woman. There is a great deal of excitement when a body is found on the shaft. The identity of the main remains a mistery until an old woman steps forward and recognizes her own fiance. At his funeral, she bids farewell with the anticipation of an early reunion. (freely adapted from the Mainfrankentheater website)

The cast includes soprano Silke Evers (Anna), tenor Roberto Ortiz (Mathias), baritone Daniel Fiolka (Der Tod) and bass Taiyu Uchiyama (Pfarrer). Enrico Calesso conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Mainfranken Theater. Markus Weckesser directs.

The performance should last about 75 minutes. The required orchestra is the following :
- 1 flute, 1 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 bassoon ;
- 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone ;
- 1 harp, 1 piano and 2 percussionists ;
- strings (1.1.1.1.1).

The performance will take place backstage of the opera house. In February 2018, this new opera will have its Austrian première in Linz, at the BlakBox Musiktheater, in a new production directed by Gregor Horres.

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.

Today : world première of Viktor Aslund's 'Der Steppenwolf' in Würzburg

Today, the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg presents the world première performance of Viktor Aslund's opera Der Steppenwolf, with a libretto by Rainer Lewandowski after Hermann Hesse's novel.

Viktor Aslund has composed music of multiple styles, including, progressive rock, rock songs, chamber music, music for theatre and orchestral music.

Hermann Hesse, highly acclaimed author, poet, novelist, critic of the rich bourgeoisie and expert in analysing life crises, published in 1927 an autobiographical novel with the title Der Steppenwolf. It mixes the author's boredom of everyday life, the outburst of repressed desires and the wish to overcome all constraints of conservative philistinism. (freely adapted from the Mainfranken Theater website).

The cast includes mezzo Polina Artsis (Maria), bass baritone Bryan Boyce, soprano Silke Evers, baritone Daniel Fiolka and soprano Anja Gutgesell. Sebastian Beckedorf conducts the Philharmonic Orchestra Würzburg. Anna Vita directs.

Received in the mail this morning : program book for 'The Colour' by Gerhard Stäbler in Würzburg

This Wednesday morning, I have received in the mail the program book published by the Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg for the world première performance of Gerhard Stäbler's opera The Colour.

It is a 28 pages brochure. It contains :

- the complete cast and crew ;
- the synopsis, as a list of events happening in the opera ;
- a detailed biography of the composer ;
- an interview with the composer about his opera ;
- two excerpts of H. P. Lovecraft's The Color out of Space ;
- an article on the writer H. P. Lovecraft ;
- biographies of conductor, director and video designer.

It is entirely in German. The covers of all the program books of contemporary operas I have are here.

Today : world première of 'The Colour' by Gerhard Stäbler in Würzburg

Today, the Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg presents the world première performance of Gerhard Stäbler's new opera, The Colour, with a libretto by Hermann Schneider, after Howard Phillips Lovecraft's 1927 short story The Colour out of Space.

It is the composer's third vocal work for the stage after Sünde. Fall. Beil for the Münchner Biennale in 1992 and Afternoon Sun for Seoul in 2006.

A meteorite falls near a farm. From inside the strange celestial body glows a coloured light that doesn't belong in the usual colour spectrum on Earth. The light gradually causes physical and psychological destruction around it, not only to the family living in the farm, but also to their environment. (freely translated from the Opera house website).

The opera is performed as a part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the destruction of Würzburg and the end of World War II.

The cast includes Bryan Boyce (bass baritone), Silke Evers (soprano), Daniel Fiolka (baritone), David Hieronimi (baritone), Sonja Koppelhuber (mezzo), Deuk-Young Lee and Karen Leiber. Enrico Calesso conducts the Choir and the Orchestra of the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg. The librettist Hermann Schneider directs, with video by Falko Herold.

Received in the mail this Saturday morning

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

- Bern, Konzert Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Braunschweig, Staatstheater : August - September 2014 leaflet ;
- Macerata, Sferisterio : 50a stagione lirica, 2014 ;
- Maribor, Slovene National Theatre : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Oldenburg, Staatstheater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Osnabrück, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book, and June July 2014 leaflet ;
- Phoenix, Arizona Opera : 2014-2015 season brochure ;
- Salt Lake City, Utah Opera : 2014-2015 season brochure (with Utah Symphony program) ;
- Winnipeg, Manitoba Opera : 2014-2015 season brochure ;
- Würzburg, Mainfranken Theater : 2014-2015 season program book.