Today : world première of 'Anna Karenina' by Thomas Kürstner and Sebastian Vogel in Bremen

Today, the Theater Bremen presents the world première performance of Anna Karenina, 'three athmospheres' composed by Thomas Kürstner and Sebastian Vogel, with a libretto by Armin Petras, after Leo Tolstoy's novel.

 

The director had adapted the novel for the stage in 2008. This is not a musical version of the novel and there is no linear story. It is rather a musical theater piece, for singers, actors / actresses and orchestra with 'human problems and the search for happiness and love' as a background.


The cast includes Nadine Lehner, Patrick Zielke, Hubert Wild, Nerita Pokvytyte, Christoph Heinrich, Nathalie Mittelbach and Martin Baum. The children chorus, chorus and orchesra are conducted by Clemens Heil. Armin Petras directs.

The composers, both in their forties, have worked together for about 15 years, mostly composing stage music for theater plays in Germany and Austria.

The performance should last about two and a half hours, including an interval.

Today : world première of Neil Weisensel's opera 'Stickboy' in Vancouver

Today, the new opera in three acts, composed by Neil Weisensel, Stickboy, with a libretto by Shane Koyczan after his own book, will be performed in at the Playhouse in Vancouver.

(photo by Tim Matheson)

According to the Vancouver Opera website, the opera, about a bullied kid who becomes a bully,

confronts the uncomfortable reality of a society struggling with its own fear and insecurity, a society that seeks conformity and uniformity at the expense of those who are different.

The cast consists of Sunny Shams (Boy), Megan Latham (Grandmother), Willy Miles-Grenzberg (Old Man / Principal / Grandpa / Gym Teacher), Heather Pawsey (Secretary / Teacher / Principal) and Alan Macdonald (Janitor / Chris / Jeff / Dick). There is a small chorus. Leslie Dala conducts and Rachel Peake directs.

It is Weisensel's seventh opera, after Gisela in her Bathtub (1991), City Workers in Love (1992), The Bachelor Farmers of the Apocalypse (1993), Merry Christmas Stephen Leacock (1997), The Master's Stroke (2001) and Secret Service (2013).

The performance should last about 105 minutes including one intermission. The audience is advised that the production includes coarse language and the depiction of violence.

Received this morning : program book for Regis Campo's 'Quai Ouest'

This Saturday morning, I have received in the mail the program book published by Opéra national du Rhin (Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Colmar) for the world première of Régis Campo's opera Quai Ouest.

The opera was first performed in Strasbourg on September 27th. The book contains :

- the complete cast and dates of performances,
- the synopsis of the opera, in French, German and English,
- an interview with the composer Régis Campo,
- the orchestra setting,
- an interview with stage director Kristian Frédric and his assistant Florence Doublet,
- an article on Bernard-Marie Koltès and his play Quai Ouest,
- an article on the composer Régis Campo, with a discography,
- a bibliography,
- the complete libretto in French,
- biographies of the performers.

Today : world première of Lori Laitman's new opera 'The Three Feathers'

Today, Lori Laitman's new children opera in one act, The Three Feathers, with a libretto by Dana Gioia after a Grimm's fairytale, will receive its first performance in Blacksburg (VA).

 

The Three Feathers creates a mysterious world inhabited by a king, his three princess daughters, and courtiers; and the fantastical underworld kingdom of the Frog Prince and his chorus of rats, bats, and frogs. (reproduced from https://www.artscenter.vt.edu/)

It will be conducted by Scott Williamson and directed by Beth Greenberg. The performance will take place at the Ellen Fife Theatre, Street and Davis Performance Hall, on the VirginiaTech campus. Detailed cast is unknown.

Composer Lori Laitman has already a new opera in store, The Scarlet Letter, after Nathaniel Hawthorne. It will be first performed by Opera Colorado in May 2016.

Received this morning in the mail : Giorgio Battistelli - Il Medico dei pazzi

This Wednesday morning, I have finally received the program book published by the Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine for the world première of Giorgio's Battistelli's opera Il Medico dei pazzi.

It contains :
- complete cast and crew for the performances
- biography of the composer
- an article by the stage director Carlos Wagner
- an article on Eduardo Scarpetta
- an excerpt of Eugene Ionesco's play Rhinocéros
- the complete libretto, in French
- biographies of the performers
- several pictures of sketches for the sets and costumes

Covers of the programs in my collection available online

Since I collect season programs from opera houses and concert halls from all over the world (but mostly from the Northern hemisphere, since Australian operas don't want to mail outside the country), I regularly scan the covers of the documents I receive (except the magazine), so it is easier to know what I already have.

Now, I have uploaded most of the scanned covers to flickr, and I have modified the dedicated page on my website.

Here is the link to the new page on my website :
http://www.opera-collection.net/programmes/programcolltitle.htm

Here is the link to the flickr folder :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22297671@N03/collections/72157648578862506/

I hope that at some point, I will be able to complete my collection and enlarge it to the Southern hemisphere theaters.

Today : world première of 'The Trial' by Philip Glass in London

Today, the new opera by Philip Glass, The Trial, will be performed for the first time, in London (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Linbury Studio).

The source of the libretto is Franz Kafka'sz novel, adapted by Christopher Hampton.

The Trial begins with the unexpected arrest of Josef K. by two men who appear in his bedroom. It is his 30th birthday, so perhaps this is a joke. But it isn’t, although he is allowed to carry on with his everyday life. The reason for his arrest is not made clear and so K. is forced to defend himself against an unknown charge, attending a Court that takes place in the strangest of locations at unspecified times. Initially K. resolves to fight the system and prove his innocence, but at every fresh encounter with a bizarre array of characters the possibility of resolution evaporates. Stifled by the helplessness of his situation, K. has no choice left but to accept his fate. Which he does. (reproduced from http://thetrial.musictheatrewales.org.uk/)

This world première is a production of Music Theatre Wales. The opera will be subsequently performed in Manchester, Aberystwyth, Oxford, Basingstoke, Cardiff, Mold and Birmingham.

The cast includes Amanda Forbes, Rowan Hellier, Paul Curievici, Michael Bennett, Johnny Herford, Gwion Thomas, Nicholas Folwell and Michael Druiett. Michael Rafferty conducts the Music Theatre Wales Ensemble. Michael McCarthy is the director. The performance should last about 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one interval.

With almost 30 operas in his catalogue, Philip Glass is one of the most prolific living composer. His tage works include Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha and Akhnaten, and more recently The Perfect American. Two operas have already been composed after Kafka's novel, by Austrian composer Gottfried von Einem (1953) and Danish composer Poul Ruders (2005).

Today : world première of Kazuko Narita's opera 'Yume' in Paris

Today, Kazuko Narita's new opera Yumé will be performed in Paris, at the Maison de la Culture du Japon, as part of the Festival d'Île-de-France.

The libretto by Jacques Keriguy is based on the Nô play Matsukaze (Wind in the Pines), already adapted as an opera by Toshio Hosokawa (first performed in Brussels in May 2011).

Two sisters, in love with an exiled prince and abandoned by their lovers, have killed themselves. Their ghost now resides in a pine tree, on the shore where their love blossomed. Despair, jealousy, illusions, rebellion mingle, obscure passions and dreams intertwine.

The singer Dominique Visse as countertenor and baritone, performs all the parts in this opera, sharing the stage with an otome-bunraku puppet. Masaki Nakata conducts the Ensemble Polychronies, and Yoshi Oïda directs.