New programme book in my collection : Copeland's 'Electric Saint' in Weimar

Yesterday, I have received the programme book published by the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar for the world première of Stewart Copeland's Electric Saint.

 

It is a 4 pages brochure. It contains :

- synopsis ;

- biographies of composer Stewart Copeland and librettist Jonathan Moore ;

- complete cast and crew.

Attached was a special issue of Die deutsche Bühne, 24 pages entirely dedicated to this new opera.

I have catalogued all my 2185 programme books on LibraryThing.

New programme book in my collection : 'Paradiese' by Gerd Kühr in Leipzig

 

Yesterday, I have received the programme book published by the Oper Leipzig for the world première performance of Gerd Kühr's Paradiese.

 

It is a 40 pages booklet. It contains :

- synopsis ;

- biography of the composer, Gerd Kühr ;

- biography of the librettist, Hans-Ulrich Treichel ;

- Der Sehnsuchtsmotor rattert, discussion with composer Gerd Kühr, librettist Hans-Ulrich Treichel and director Barbora Horakova ;

- Wolfgang Kraushaar : 1968 ;

- Gabriele Gillen : Das Wunder der Liebe, eine kleine Geschichte der sexuellen Revolution ;

- Charles Baudelaire : Die künstlichen Paradiese ;

- Apollodor : Der Mythos von Agaue und Pentheus ;

- Hans-Ulrich Treichel : Berlin - Terra incognita ;

It contains also 16 pages of colour photos of the production. It is entirely in German.

I now have 1996 programme books in my collection, including 664 for contemporary operas. I have catalogued my entire collection on LibraryThing.

New programme book in my collection : Singularity by Miroslav Srnka in Munich

 

Yesterday, I have received the programme book published by the Bavarian State Opera for the world première performance of Miroslav Srnka's Singularity.

 

It is a 112 pages book, It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;

- synopsis ;

- Ray Kurzweil : Mit dem Nanoroboter unterwegsin die Singularität ;

- Malte Krasting : Auf der Suche nach der beständigen Zeit ;

- discussion with stage director Nicolas Brieger ;

- Sören Sarbeck : Die Scham der Singularität ;

- the complete bilingual libretto (English and German) ;

- color photos of rehearsals ;

- biographies of the artists.

I have catalogued all my 1950 opera programme books on LibraryThing.

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.

Three new programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired three new programme books for contemporary operas :

 - Hans Werner Henze : L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, Madrid, December 7th, 2004 ;
- Vittorio Montalti : Un romano a Marte, Roma, November 22, 2019 ;
- Jüri Reinvere : Minona, Regensburg, January 25, 2020.

The first one is 191 pages book, the second a 138 pages book, the third a 32 pages brochure.

I have catalogued all my 1492 programme books on Librarything.

New programme book : 'Die Schule' by Peter Androsch in Linz

This morning, I have received the programme book published by the Landestheater Linz for the world première of Die Schule oder das Alphabet der Welt by Peter Androsch.

It is a 36 pages brochure. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis : scenes order ;
- Hans May : "Weisst du noch... ?" wie wir wurden, was wir sind ;
- Peter Androsch : Von der Schule zum Musiktheater ;
- Bernhard Doppler : Tableau vivant ;
- Robert Menasse : Das 25-jährige Maturajubiläum ;
- Katharina John : Schule neu denken (dialogue with Peter Androsch) ;
- biographies of composer Peter Androsch and librettists Silke Dörner and Bernhard Doppler ;
- several photos of the dress rehearsal on January 14, 2020.

The libretto and full score are available online (click on 'Musiktheater').

The programme book is entirely in German.

I am currently cataloguing all my programme books on LibraryThing. With 664 books added so far, I am almost half way.

New in my collection : programme book for 'Persinette' by Albin Fries in Vienna

Yesterday, I have received in the mail the programme book for Persinette, an opera composed by Albin Fries, first performed in Vienna on December 21st, 2019.

It is a 18 pages brochure. It contains :

- synopsis ;
- short biographies of the composer Albin Fries and the librettist Birgit Mathon ;
- Daten & Fakten, essential facts about the opera ;
- 3 questions to the composer Albin Fries ;
- interview with the stage director Matthias von Stegmann ;
- important notions about opera explained by conductor Guillermo Garcia Calvo ;
- several color photos of rehearsals.

I now have the programme books for 712 contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded the images on flickr.

I am cataloguing all the programme books I have on LibraryThing. I hope to complete the process before the end of April 2020.

Today : new programme book in my collection, 'The Selfish Giant' in Melbourne

Today, I have receveid the programme book for the world première of Simon Bruckard's opera The Selfish Giant. It was first performed at the Gasworks Theatre in Melbourne, on October 16, 2019.

It is a 12 pages brochure. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- complete production team ;
- Simon Bruckard : composer's note ;
- Emma Muir-Smith : librettist's note ;
- synopsis ;
- biographies with headshots.

I now have 711 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploadedthe images to this flickr folder.

Recently, I have started to catalogue all the programme books I have on LibraryThing. I hope to complete the task before the beginning of April 2020. Here is the link.

New programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired 7 new programme books for performances of contemporary operas :

- Harrison Birtwistle : The Mask of Orpheus, London (ENO), October 18, 2019 ;
- John Corigliano : The Ghosts of Versailles, Versailles, December 4, 2019 (National première) ;
- Chaya Czernowin : Heart Chamber, Berlin (Deutsche Oper), November 15, 2019 (world première) ;

- Søren Nils Eichberg : Wolf unter Wölfen, Koblenz, November 23, 2019 (world première) ;
- Philip Glass : Orphée, London (ENO), November 15, 2019 ;
- Olga Neuwirth : Orlando, Vienna (Staatsoper), December 8, 2019 (world première) ;
- Philip Venables : Denis & Katya, Philadelphia, September 18, 2019 (world première).

I now have programme books for 710 performances of contemporary operas in my collection. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded the images to this flickr folder.

Two new programme books in my collection : Johannes Harneit and Siegfried Matthus

Yesterday, I have received two new programme books for contemporary operas :

- Johannes Harneit, Ichundich, Hamburg (opera stabile), November 3, 2019 ;
- Siegfried Matthus, Effi Briest, Cottbus, October 19, 2019.

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

- synopsis ;
- Johannes Blum : Die Dichterin Else Lasker-Schüler ;
- Lis Arends : Reflexionen zu Else Lasker-Schülers 'Ichundich' ;
- Johannes Blum : Gespräch mit dem Komponisten Johannes Harneit ;
- composer's biography ;
- 8 pages of color photos from the piano dress rehearsal on October 28, 2019 ;
- a separate sheet of paper with the complete cast and crew.

The brochure is entirely in German.

The second one is also a 24 pages brochure. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- detailed synopsis ;
- Bernhard Lenort : Zum Roman und zu den Hauptfiguren ;
- Jakobs Peters-Messer : Theodor Fontanes 'Effi Briest' als Musiktheater ;
- Siegfried Matthus : Über das Libretto, die Oper, Liudmila Lokaichuk und meinen Vater ;
- several color photos from rehearsals.

I now have 703 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded them to this flickr folder.

New in my collection : programme brochure for the children opera by Oliver Ostermann in Chemnitz

Last Saturday, I have received the programme brochure published by Theater Chemnitz for the world première of Oliver Ostermann's children opera Bei der Feuerwehr wird der Kaffee kalt (Coffee gets cold in the fire department) on November 2.

It is a folded 18 pages brochure. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- Suzanne Holfter : synopsis ;
- biographies of librettist / director and composer / conductor ;
- a Goose Game with four figurines to cut out ;
-  the recipe for Eierscheke.

I now have 701 programme books and brochures for contemporary operas. I have scanned all covers and uploaded the images to this flickr folder.

New programme books for contemporary operas in my collection

I have recently acquired several programme books for contemporary operas :

- Benjamin Attahir, Le Silence des Ombres, Brussels, September 25, 2019 ;
- Pascal Dusapin, Macbeth Underworld, Brussels, September 20, 2019.

The first one is a 120 pages book. It contains :

- detailed synopsis ;
- Benjamin Attahir, Une langue qui est déjà musique ;
- Olivier Lexa, "Vous êtes au bord de ce qui nous éclaire" ;
- Sonia Hossein-Pour, À l'ombre de Debussy ;
- Franck Javourez, Trois petits drames pour marionnettes ;
- Maurice Maeterlinck, extraits de la préface des Trois petits drames.

The entire book is bilingual (French and Dutch). It also contains a 40 pages booklet with complete cast and crew and detailed biographies of the artists (with black and white headshot). It is bilingual (French and Dutch). There is a second 110 pages book with the complete libretto, also bilingual.

The second is a 128 pages book. It contains :

- Frédéric Boyer, Argument ;
- Pascal Dusapin, Ces deux-là ;
- Frédéric Boyer, Un opéra exégèse de Macbeth ;
- Alain Altinoglu, Une concentration du discours musical ;
- Thomas Jolly, Piéger l'esprit et glacer l'âme ;
- Irina Kaiserman, Under the world of Pascal Dusapin - L'outre-monde ;
- Maxime McKinley, Schéma d'orientation (pour se perdre dans les opéras de Pascal Dusapin) ;
- Line Cottegnies, 'Macbeth' ou le sommeil assassiné.

The entire book is bilingual (French and Dutch). It also contains a 48 pages booklet with complete cast and crew and detailed biographies of the artists (with black and white headshot). It is bilingual (French and Dutch).There is a second 126 pages book with the complete libretto in English, French and Dutch.

I also received two programme books from Helsinki :

- Sebastian Fagerlund, Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata), Helsinki, September 8, 2017 ;
- Jaakko Kuusisto, Jää (Ice), Helsinki, January 25, 2019.

The first one is a 36 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- synopsis ;
- short biographies of crew members ;
- Pekka Hako, The torment of inevitability, an interview with Sebastian Fagerlund ;
- Gunilla Hemming, Daughter turned mother, mother turned daughter.

The booklet is in three languages : Finnish, Swedish and English.

The second is a 36 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- synopsis ;
- biographies of crew members ;
- Petra Rönkä, Music rings with the power of nature - Jaakko Kuusisto's thoughts about Ice.

The booklet is in three languages : Finnish, Swedish and English.

I bought one programme book from the Vienna State Opera House :

- Manfred Trojahn, Orest, Vienna, March 31, 2019 (first performance of a new production).
 The opera was first performed in Amsterdam on December 8, 2011.

It is a 172 pages book. It contains : 

- Marco Arturo Marelli, synopsis ;
- technical details about the work ;
- Günter Figal, Im Freiraum der Musik - Manfred Trojahn und seine Oper 'Orest' ;
- Oliver Lang, Oper hat sehr viel mit Arbeit zu tun, dialogue with Manfred Trojahn ;
- Robert von Ranke-Graves, Der Orest-Mythos ;
- Karlheinz Töchterle, Macht uns Theater besser oder nur Spass ? ;
- Hilde Haider-Pregler, Über Euripides und seinen Orest ;
- Konral Paul Liessmann, Der Zauber des Dionysischen ;
- Julian Schutting, Wie viele Oreste müsste man kennen ? ;
- Oliver Lang, Zwischen Blutrache und göttlicher Gnade ;
- Georg Titsche, Über des Schreckliche ;
- Bernd Deininger, Das Schuldig-Werden öffnet das innere Auge ;
- Bernhard Baumgarter, Die Last der Freiheit ;
- Oliver Lang, Die Frage nach dem Umgang mit Schuld (dialogue with Manfred Trojahn) ;
- Gerald Resch, Ein subjektives Hörprotokoll ;
- Volkhard Steude, Annäherungen an Orest ;
- Erich Seitter, Gesangsstimmen in Orest ;
- Andreas Lang, Der Zauber der Liebe zum (Musik-)Theater ;
- Oswald Panagl, Maskenspiele als Deutungsmuster ;
- Anna Baar, Morden in Echtzeit ;
- Andreas Lang, Eine ungemein gelungene und ansprechende Oper (dialogue with Michael Boder) ;
- Daniel Ender and Oliver Lang, Mit der Schuld wird Orest leben müssen (dialogue with Marco Arturo Marelli).

The book is entirely in German.

I also acquired some older programme books :

 
- Peter Aderhold, Luther, Erfurt, September 14, 2003 ;
- Philippe Boesmans, Reigen, Braunschweig, February 5, 1998 ;
- Andras Hamary, Seid still, Stuttgart, October 17, 1990 ;
- György Ligeti, Le Grand macabre, Bern, March 8, 1992 ;

and the 56 pages programme brochure from the 2004 International Festival for New Music Theater in Munich, with 5 world premières :

 
- Johannes Maria Staud, Berenice, May 12 ;
- Qu Xiao-song, Versuchung (The Test), May 13 ;
- Vykintas Baltakas, Cantio, May 18 ;
- Mark André, ...22,13..., May 20 ;
- Brian Ferneyhough, Shadowtime, May 25.

I now have 700 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all covers and uploaded them to this flickr folder.
 

New programme book in my collection : 'The Flood' by Francesco Filidei in Paris

Yesterday, I have received the programme book published by the Opéra Comique in Paris for the world première of L'Inondation (The Flood), an opera composed by Francesco Filidei, first performed on September 27, 2019.

It is a 84 pages book. It contains :

- complete cast ;
- Agnès Terrier : À lire avant le spectacle ;
- Marion Boudier : Argument ;
- Intentions, interview with director Joël Pommerat and composer Francesco Filidei ;
- Éric Soyer (set designer) : Intentions scénographiques ;
- Isabelle Duffin (costume designer) : Le processus créatif des costumes ;
- Interprètes et personnages, the singers about their characters ;
- Emilio Pomàrico (conductor) : Le regard du chef d'orchestre ;
- complete and detailed orchestral setting ;
- Marion Boudier : Joël Pommerat et les compositeurs ;
- L'Inondation à l'Opéra Comique : chronological overview from the choice of the subject to the first performance ;
- complete libretto ;
- biographies of artists.

The book is entirely in French. It contains lots of colour photographs of rehearsals.

I now have 684 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded the pictures to this flickr folder.

Received today : programm book for 'Andersens Erzählungen' by Jherek Bischoff in Basel

Today, I have received in the mail the programm book published by Theater Basel for the world première of Andersens Erzählungen, an opera composed by Jherek Bischoff, first performed on September 27, 2019.

It is a 44 pages book. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- plot summary ;
- Jan Dvorak (librettist) : Das unsagbare Sagen ;
- Jens Andersen : Der Fehler wr allein die Liebe ;
- Niklas Luhmann : Vernunftehe, Liebesehe und eheliche Liebe ;
- Discussion with conductor Thomas Wise, director Philipp Stölzl, set designer Heike Vollmer and costume designer Kathi Maurer : Man kann diesem Märchen wie einer Melodie folgen ;
- Johanna Mangold (dramaturge) : Jherek Bischoff : ein Kurzporträt ;
- Andreas Krass : Verderberin, Gebärerin, Verführerin - Meerjungfrauen als Sinnbild einer unmöglichen Liebe ;
- Dag Heede : Busenfreund und Frauenleichen - oder Der dänische Krieg um Hans Christian Andersens Sexualität ;
- biographies of the artists ;
- four colour postcards of the production (photos by Sandra Then).

I now have 683 programm books for contemporary operas in my collection. I have scanned the covers and uploaded the images to this flickr folder.

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.

Three new programme books in my collection

I have recently acquired the following programme books for contemporary operas :

- David T. Little, JFK, Augsburg, March 24, 2019 (European première) :
- Richard van Schoor, Alp Arslan, Giessen, May 4, 2019 (world première) ;
- Ludger Vollmer, The Circle, Weimar, May 4, 2019 (world première).

 The first one is a 28 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- introduction by David T. Little and Royce Vavrek ;
- synopsis ;
- Sophie Walz : Inzenierter Mythos ;
- several color photos of the production by Jan-Pieter Fuhr (March 18) ;
-  Familie & Politik ;
- biographies of authors and production team with black and white headshots.

The second one is a 24 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- Zum Inhalt (synopsis) ;
- Willem Bruls : Zur Entstehung einer Oper - Vom historischen Hintergrund zur Idee, with biography of librettist Willem Bruls ;
- Richard van Schoor : Eine Komposition entsteht - Vom Text zur Musik, with biography of composer Richard van Schoor ;
- Amin Maalouf : Historische Schlaglichter ;
- Die historischen Figuren ;
- Der Granatapfel, Powerfrucht aus dem Orient ;
- biographies of singers, with black and white headshots ;
- color photos of rehearsals by Rolf K. Wegst.

The third one is a 52 pages booklet. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis ;
- Hans-Georg Wegner : Die Macht, die sie haben, ist die Macht, die wir Ihnen geben, interview with Dave Eggers, author of the original novel ;
- Ludger Vollmer : Ausbeutung durch Verführung ;
- Tiina Hartmann : Literatur.Oper ;
- Hans-Georg Wegner : Mercer muss nicht sterben ;
- Kate Knibbs : 'The Circle' ist eine krude Warnung ;
- color photos of rehearsals by Candy Welz.

The three programmes are entirely in German.

I now have 678 programme books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded the images to this flickr folder.

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.