Today : world première of Oscar Strasnoy's 'Comeback' in Berlin

Today, the Staatsoper im Schiller Theater Berlin presents the world première performance of Oscar Strasnoy's new stage work, Comeback, with a libretto by Christoph Hein.

Oscar Strasnoy has composed several works for the stage, operas, operetta and musical-theatre, since Midea (Spoleto, 2000), including Le Bal (Hamburg, 2010), Un Retour (Aix-en-Provence, 2010) and Cachafaz (Quimper, 2010).

Tilla Durieux was once very successful on stage. Years later, things are different. After the suicide of her husband Paul Cassirer and the seizure of power by the National Socialists, she left Germany and experienced years of privation in Croatia, working as a seamstress, before returning to her homeland seven years after the end of the war. Emil Jannings was a successful actor for silent films. He must now answer the questions of his nephew Jörg about his behavior during the Nazi dictatorship. (freely translated from the Staatsoper website)

The cast includes bass baritone Ralf Lukas (Emil Jannings), soprano Josephine Renelt (Tilla 1), soprano Maria Husmann (Tilla 2), baritone Martin Gerke (Paul), countertenor Johannes Euler (Jörg Jannings) and mezzo Nadia Steinhard (Gussy Holl). Max Renne conducts and Ingo Kerkhof directs.

Today : world première of Ahmed Essyad's 'Mririda' in Strasbourg

Today, the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg presents the world première performance of Ahmed Essyad's new opera Mririda, with a libretto by Claudine Galea.

Previous operas by the composer include Le collier des ruses (1977), L'eau (1985) and Héloïse et Abélard (2000).

As fascinating as she is mysterious, the figure of the Berber poetess Mririda inspired this new opera which plunges us into the horrors of war. At the heart of a fictitious land ravaged by fighting, can the beauty of language conquer men who are ready to do anything to destroy their fellow creatures ? (reproduced from the Opéra national du Rhin website).

The cast includes soprano Francesca Sorteni (Mririda), soprano Louise Pingeot (The Young Girl), mezzo Coline Dutilleul (The Old Woman) and tenor Diego Godoy (The Mercenary). Léo Warynski conducts the Chorus of the Opéra national du Rhin and the Orchestral Ensemble of the Académie Supérieure de Musique - HEAR  Olivier Achard directs.

The performance should last about 80 minutes, with no interval.

Today : world première of Missy Mazzoli's 'Breaking the Waves' in Philadelphia

Today, the Opera Philadelphia presents the world première performance of Missy Mazzoli's new opera, Breaking the Waves, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek.

It is the composer's second chamber opera, after Song from the Uproar : The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt (New York, 2012). The libretto is based on the 1996 Academy Award-nominated film by Lars von Trier.

The Scottish Highlands in the early 1970s. Bess McNeill is a religious young woman with a deep love for her husband Jan, a handsome oil rig worker. When Jan becomes paralyzed in an off-shore accident, Bess’s marital vows are put to the test as he encourages her to seek other lovers and return to his bedside to tell him of her sexual activities. He insists that the stories will feel like they are making love together and keep him alive. Bess’s increasing selflessness leads to a finale of divine grace, but at great cost. (reproduced from the Opera Philadelphia website)

The cast includes soprano Kiera Duffy (Bess McNeill), baritone John Moore (Jan Nyman), mezzo Eve Gigliotti (Dodo McNeill), tenor David Portillo (Dr. Richardson) and bass Zachary James (Terry). Steven Osgood conducts the Chorus and Orchestra. James Darrah directs.

The required orchestra is the following :

- 1 flute (doubling piccolo), 1 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 bassoon (doubling contrabassoon) ;
- 1 horn, 1 trombone ;
- percussion ;
- 1 piano (doubling synthesizer), 1 harp, 1 electric guitar ;
- strings.

The opera is published by G. Schirmer Inc. The performance (at the Perelman Theater) should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 20 minute intermission.

Received this morning : programme book for Anno Schreier's 'Hamlet' in Vienna

This Saturday morning, I have received in the mail the programme book published by the Theater an der Wien in Vienna for the world première performance of Anno Schreier's Hamlet. The first performance was on September 14.

It is a 100 pages book. It contains :

- the complete cast and crew ;
- color photos of rehearsals (38 pages) ;
- synopsis ;
- Mythos Hamlet, by Jan Kott (from Shakespeare heute, 1970) ;
- "Das muss ein Ausweg sein !", Hamlet im Mikrokosmos, a dialogue with librettist Thomas Jonigk and director Christof Loy, by Karin Bohnert ;
- "Schönheit ist nicht nur Harmonie", a dialogue with composer Anno Schreier, by Karin Bohnert ;
- Vom Amleth zu Hamlet - Quellen und Vorformen, by Karin Bohnert ;
 - Er gehört der Ewigkeit - über Shakespeare, by Peter Kümmel ;
- Die Revision des Ich, by Harold Bloom ;
- biographies of the cast and crew, with color headshots ;

The book is entirely in German, but it contains an English synopsis of the opera at the end. I now have 431 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. All the covers are available in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Hamlet' composed by Anno Schreier in Wien

Today, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna presents the world première of Hamlet, an opera in 25 scenes composed by Anno Schreier, with a libretto in German by Thomas Jonigk, based on the play by William Shakespeare, Historia Danica by Saxo Grammaticus and Histoires Tragiques by François de Belleforest.

It is the composer's seventh work of musical theatre. He has already composed two operas : Kein Ort. Nirgends (2006), after Christa Wolf and Möder Kaspar Brand (2011) after Edgar Allan Poe.

Hamlet, the old king, is dead, presumed poisoned. His widow Gertrude now plans to marry his brother, Claudius. She seems to have an over-affectionate relationship with her son, Hamlet. Presumably for this reason, and on grounds of decency, the son disapproves of her mother's remarriage so soon after his father's death. The young Hamlet feels that everything is becoming too much for him: his feelings towards his mother, his father's death and the looming prospect of one day succeeding him as king which would mean having to accept him or the new king, his uncle Claudius, as a role model. What is more he is sure that it was Claudius who killed his father. How should he react in this situation ? Gertrude is soon pregnant and convinced that the child will be a boy. Hamlet feels surplus to requirements and starts to suffer fits of depression. Gertrude engages Ophelia, a high-class prostitute who also bestowed her "favours" on the late king, as a distraction for Hamlet. However, the nature of her profession is also causing Ophelia to feel depressed. She and Hamlet realise that they have an emotional bond and fall deeply in love with each other. Gertrude now persuades Claudius to murder Ophelia. Once she is dead, Gertrude sets Hamlet against Claudius so she will be rid of him as well, but her plans go awry when Claudius stabs Hamlet to death. Claudius publicly expresses his regret at the death of the crown prince before securing family ties with the pregnant Gertrude. (reproduced from the Theater an der Wien website)

The required orchestra is the following :

- 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling English horn), 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon) ;
- 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones and 1 tuba ;
- percussions (2 players) ;
- harp, strings.

The cast includes baritone André Schuen (Hamlet), countertenor Jochen Kowalski (Dead Hamlet, former King, a spoken part), soprano Marlis Petersen (Gertrud, Queen) and baritone Bo Skovhus (Claudius) who recently performed the title role of Aribert Reimann's Lear in Paris. Michael Boder conducts the Symphony Orchestra of the Austrian Radio (ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien) and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Christof Loy directs.

The opera should last about 2 hours and 15 minutes. The first performance will be broadcast by Austrian Radio OE1 on Friday 16 September.

Today : world première of Bright Sheng's 'Dream of the Red Chamber' in San Francisco

Today, the San Francisco Opera presents the world première performance of Bright Sheng's new opera, Dream of the Red Chamber, with a libretto in English by David Henry Hwang and Bright Sheng, after Cao Xueqin's novel.

It i the composer's fifth opera. His previous workd for the stage include The Song of Majnun (1992) and Madame Mao (2003).

Despite his love for Dai Yu, Bao Yu is destined to marry another cousin, an attractive heiress, who might reverse the family’s declining fortunes. (reproduced from the San Francisco Opera website)

The cast includes soprano Pureum Jo (Dai Yu), tenor Yijie Shi (Bao Yu), mezzo Hyona Kim (Lady Wang), mezzo Irene Roberts (Bao Chai), contralto Qiulin Zhang (Granny Jia) and soprano Karen Chia-ling Ho (Princess Jia). George Manahan conducts the San Francisco Opera Chorus and Orchestra. Stan Lai directs.

The required orchestra is the following :

- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons ;
- 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone ;
- harp and piano ;
- strings ;
- 2 Chinese instruments.

The performance should last about 3 hours, including one intermission. This opera is a coproduction with the Hong Kong Arts Festival. There will be two more performances there on March 17 and 18, 2017.

Received in the mail this morning : programme book for 'The Exterminating Angel' in Salzburg

This Wednesday morning, I have received in the mail the programme book published by the Salzburg Festival for the world première performance of the new opera by Thomas Adès, The Exterminating Angel, on July 28th.

It is a 244 pages book. It is entirely bilingual, English and German. It contains :

- the complete cast and crew ;
- the synopsis of the opera ;
- several color photos of the original production, as well as black & white stills from Bunuel's film ;
- pages from the original manuscript score ;
- Why do we ever do anything ?, dialogue between the composer Thomas Adès and stage director Tom Cairns ;
- Retuning the Dance - The Music of Thomas Adès, by Paul Griffiths ;
- No Exit - On Luis Bunuel's idiosyncratic disaster film 'El angel exterminador', by Christian Arseni ;
- the complete libretto ;
- biographies of the cast and crew, with black and white headshots.

All the scanned front covers of the programme books for contemporary operas I have can be viewed in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'The Exterminating Angel' by Thomas Adès in Salzburg

Today, the new opera composed by Thomas Adès, The Exterminating Angel, with a libretto by Tom Cairns and the composer after Luis Bunuel's and Luis Alcoriza's screenplay for Bunuel's film El Angel exterminador.

It is the composer's third opera, after Powder Her Face (1995) and The Tempest (2003).

A group of elegant individuals have been invited to an exclusive dinner after a performance at the opera. The raft on which they drift, cut off from the world outside, is the salon of a luxurious villa owned by their host, Edmundo de Nobile. All around land is in sight, the door to the adjacent room is open ; but although there are no obvious obstacles, no one is capable of crossing the threshold. (reproduced from the Salzburg Festival website)

The cast includes soprano Amanda Echalaz (Lucia), soprano Audrey Luna (Leticia), mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter (Leonora), soprano Sally Matthews (Silvia), tenor Charles Workman (Nobile), tenor Frédéric Antoune (Raul) and baritone David Adam Moore (Colonel). The composer conducts the Salzburger Bachchor and the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien. Tom Cairns directs.

The performance should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The first performance is broadcast live by Austrian Radio. Following the world première in Salzburg, the opera will then be performed in London (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), New York (The Metropolitan Opera) and Copenhagen (Det Kongelige Teater).

New program books received recently from Montréal, St. Paul and Denver

I have recently received three program books published by North American opera theatres for new contemporary operas :

- Lori Laitman : The Scarlet Letter, Denver, May 7, 2016 ;
- Kevin March : Les Feluettes, Montréal, May 21, 2016 ;
- Paul Moravec : The Shining, St. Paul, May 7, 2016.

The covers of all program books I for contemporary I have can be seen in this flickr folder.

New in my collection : programme books from Cardiff, Los Angeles and Long Beach

I have recently received a number of programme books from various opera theaters for performances (new productions or world premieres) of contemporary operas :

- Louis Andriessen : Theatre of the World, Los Angeles (Philharmonic), May 6, 2016 ;
- Iain Bell : In Parenthesis, Cardiff, Welsh National Opera, May 13, 2016 ;

- John Adams : The Death of Klinghoffer, Long Beach, March 16, 2014 ;
- Gavin Bryars : Marilyn Forever, Long Beach, March 21, 2015 (U.S. premiere) ;
- Stewart Copeland : Tell-Tale Heart, Long Beach, May 11, 2013 (U.S. premiere, double bill with Michael Gordon's Van Gogh) ;

- Philip Glass : Hydrogen Jukebox, Long Beach, May 30, 2015 ;
- David Lang : The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, Long Beach, June 22, 2014 ;
- Peter Lieberson : King Gesar, Long Beach, September 7, 2013 ;

 
- Gabriela Ortiz : Camelia la Tejana, Long Beach, March 24, 2013 ;
- Tobias Picker : Thérèse Raquin, Long Beach, January 24, 2015 ;
- Tobin Stokes : Fallujah, Long Beach, March 12, 2016.

I now have 430 programme books for contemporary operas. All scanned covers are available in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of Moritz Eggert's 'Terra Nova' in Linz

Today, the Landestheater Linz presents the world première of Terra Nova, an opera in three acts composed by Moritz Eggert, with a libretto by Franzobel (a.k.a. Franz Stefan Griebl) and Rainer Mennicken.

Moritz Eggert has already composed several musical theatre pieces and operas, including Helle Nächte (Munich, 1997), Freax (Bonn, 2007), Linkerhand (Hoyeswerda, 2009) and All diese Tage (Bremen, 2011).

An apocalyptic scenario : The world government under President Ruler has not been able to prevent the exploitation and step-by-step destruction of the Earth. But Pandura, the state-certified astronomer, promises a specific utopia. A paradisiacal “sister planet” with seemingly peaceful and immortal aliens has contacted the Earth. Does this offer a chance at surviving in outer space ?! (reproduced from the Landestheater Linz website)

The cast includes tenor Jacques le Roux (Ruler), soprano Mari Moriya (Lara alias Chang'e), Anaïs Lueken (Marylin), mezzo Katerina Hebelkova (Pandura), baritone Martin Achrainer (Kolker) and tenor Sven Hjörleifsson (Armstrong). Dennis Russell Davies conducts the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the Chorus of the Landestheater Linz.

The orchestra is the following :

- 1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 1 contrabassoon ;
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 bass tuba ;
- timpani, 2 percussionists, 1 harp, electric guitar, electric bass, organ / keyboards / piano ;
- strings

The performance should last about 2 hours and 45 minutes. The score is published by Sikorski.

Today : world première of Kevin March's 'Les Feluettes' ('Lillies') in Montréal

Today, the Opéra de Montréal presents the world première of Les Feluettes (Lillies), composed by Australian composer Kevin March, with a libretto (in French) by Michel Marc Bouchard after his own play.

Kevin March has already composed three chambers operas : www.love : A 21st Century Romance (2001), Leading Lady (2004) and Razing Hypatia (2010).

In 1952 a group of ex-prisoners under the direction of Simon trap a bishop, Jean Bilodeau, and recreates a series of events for him that took place 40 years earlier when Simon and Bilodeau were at school in Roberval, a small town in Northern Quebec. Simon was in love with a young count, a ruined French aristocrat exiled with his mother (who had become mad while waiting for her husband's return and the fall of the Third Republic that would signal the return of the monarchy and the family's status). The ex-prisoners recount the troubled love story of the count and Simon and the attempts by Bilodeau to come between them. The actors are trying to get the bishop to admit to the real circumstances surrounding the death of the young count, a death for which Simon was unjustly condemned. (reproduced from the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia)

The cast includes baritone Étienne Dupuis (Simon Doucet young), tenor Jean- Michel Richer (Le Comte Vallier de Tilly), baritone Gino Quilico (Simon Doucet old), tenor Gordon Gietz (Monseigneur Bilodeau), baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson (La Comtesse Marie-Laure de Tilly), coutertenor Daniel Cabena (MademoiselleLydie-Anne de Rozier), tenor James McLennan (Jean Bilodeau) and bass Claude Grenier (Timothée Doucet). Timothy Vernon conducts the Opéra de Montréal Orchestra and Chorus. Serge Denoncourt directs.

The opera is performed at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and should last about 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one interval. As a coproduction between Opéra de Montréal and Pacific Opera Victoria, the opera will be performed at the Royal Theatre in Victoria (BC) in April 2017 with the same cast.