Music Theatre since 1990 - Schott Music

Music Theatre since 1990 

An annotated catalogue

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This catalogue was completed in March 2009. 

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Cover: Akie Amou as Venus in: György Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre, Komische Oper Berlin 2003, 

Photo: Monika Rittershaus 

Editors: Dr. Christiane Krautscheid, Rainer Schochow, Dr. Christian Wildhagen 

Translations by Sally Groves and Lindsay Chalmers-Gerbracht 

Print layout and typography: Christopher Peter 

Printed in Germany 

KAT 219-99

MUSIC THEATRE 

SINCE 1990 

An annotated catalogue 

2009 

www.schott-music.com 

Mainz · London · Berlin · Madrid · New York · Paris · Prague · Tokyo · Toronto

FOREWORD 

Dear reader, 

This new catalogue bears witness to the wide variety of music theatre published by Schott Music 

since 1990. We opted for a chronological listing according to the year of each work’s premiere, 

because we felt that this would give an interesting picture of what has happened in these years 

- as well as encouraging you to look at works you might have missed if we had listed things 

alphabetically! 

If you would like to have further information or samples about any work we would be delighted 

to send this to you. Just email us at infoservice@schott-music.com 

Some practical details on using this handbook: 

• The operas are listed chronologically from 1990 to March 2009 

• We have not included music theatre for children and young people: you can find this repertoire 

in our catalogue “Kinder brauchen Theater – Musiktheater für Kinder und Jugendliche” 

(KAT 33-99). This is available on our website or we can send it to you. 

• Each work is presented in the same way: 

title – date(s) of development – language(s) of the text – characters / voices – instrumentation 

– duration – information on performance materials – any special features – performances 

– short synopsis – quote from a review or a short explanation by the composer 

• At the back you will find an index, cross-referenced for names of composers or librettists, 

operas without a chorus, operas lasting under 70 minutes or operas with special topics or 

literary themes. 

We look forward to hearing from you! 

The Schott Promotion Team

CONTENTS 

Works in chronological order........................................................................ 6 

Index 

Composers and their works ..................................................................... 188 

Work titles .............................................................................................. 190 

Librettists................................................................................................. 191 

Subjects................................................................................................... 193 

Short operas............................................................................................. 194 

Operas without chorus............................................................................. 194

Hans Werner Henze 

Das verratene Meer | Gogo no Eiko 

Music drama in two acts 

Libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel after the novel „Gogo no Eiko“ („The Sailor who betrayed 

the sea“) by Yukio Mishima 

Origin: 1986, 1989 | 2003, 2005 (revised version) 

Language: German | Japanese (revised version) 

81990 

Cast: Fusako Kuroda, a 33year old Widow · lyric soprano – Noburo, her 13year old Son, also 

called “Number Three” · tenor – Ryuji Tsukazaki, 2. Officer of the cargo ship “Rakuyo-Maru” · 

bass – Petty Officer · tenor – the Youth Gang and Friends of Noburo: “Number One”, the Leader · 

baritone – “Number Two” · counter tenor – “Number four” · baritone – “Number five” · bass – 

a Naval Officer, Seamen, Dock Workers, the Business Manager of the Boutique “Rex”, three 

Salesladies · silent roles 

Orchestra: 3 (2. auch Picc., 3. auch Altfl.) · 1 · Ob. d‘amore (auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 

Bassklar. (auch Kontrabassklar.) · Sopransax. · 3 (3. auch Kontrafag.) – 4 · 3 · Altpos. · 1 · 1 Basspos. · 

1 Kontrabasspos. · 0 – P. S. (Beckenpaar · 2 Gong. · chin. Gong · Basstamt. · kl. Tr. · Schellentr. · 6 

Tomt. · Mil.Tr. · Rührtr. · Trinidad steel-drum · gr. Tr. mit Beck. · Mar. · Kast. · Tempelbl. · Woodblock 

· O-Daiko · Guiro · Peitsche · Ratsche · Waldteufel · Flex. · Vibr. · Marimb. · Sir. · 6 Gl.) (7 

Spieler) – 2 Hfn. · Klav. · Cel. – Str. – Tonband: Hafengeräusche, Möwengeschrei, Schiffsglocke 

Duration: 110‘ 

Libretto BN 3365-00 · Study score ED 8624 · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: The revised version (2003) in Japanese language has the title “Gogo no Eiko”; it contains 

music newly composed especially for this version and is free for the stage première. 

Selected Productions 

Das verratene Meer 

05.05.1990 Deutsche Oper Berlin (WP) 

Markus Stenz · Götz Friedrich · Hans Hoffer · 

Jan Skalicky 

30.06.1990 Hessisches Staatstheater 

Wiesbaden 

Ulf Schirmer · Alois Michael Heigl · 

Johannes Leiacker 

09.03.2002 Oper Frankfurt 

Bernhard Kontarsky · Nicolas Brieger · 

Hans Dieter Schaal · Margit Koppendorfer 

Gogo no Eiko 

15.10.2003 Suntory Hall Tokyo 

(WP, concert performance) 

Gerd Albrecht · Yomiuri Nippon Symphony 

Orchestra 

26.08.2006 Salzburg Festival 

31.08.2006 Philharmonie Berlin 

05.09.2006 Auditorium RAI Torino · 

Settembre Musica 

Gerd Albrecht · Orchestra Sinfonica 

Nazionale della RAI Torino 

(concert performances)

Synopsis 

Das verratene Meer | Gogo no Eiko, based on the iconic novel by Yukio Mishima, tells the story 

of a murder committed out of disappointment and a misconceived sense of honour: the teenage 

boy Noboru and the gang of youths that he has joined kill the lover of Noboru’s mother 

Fusako, 

the ship’s officer Ryuji. They cannot bear that he, the passionate seaman, wants to turn his back 

on the sea, the symbol of independence and vastness, out of his love for Fusako. 

Gogo no Eiko 

15.10.2003 Suntory Hall, Tokyo 

Das verratene Meer [is] a highly opulent work of mature and refined mastery: a summary with 

certain perspectives which are new for Henze. There are numerous moments of almost narcotic 

beauty: tonal constructions which only Henze could have created which alternate between simple, 

enchanting cantabile [and] passages of extreme and catastrophically shrillest complexity. 

(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 07.05.1990) 

9

Ingomar Grünauer 

König für einen Tag 

(King for a Day) 

Opera in three scenes 

Libretto by the composer after Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s “La vida es sueno” and 

Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s “Der Turm” 

Origin: 1989 

Language: German 

1990 

Cast: Prince Sigismund · baritone (bass baritone) – the Guard · tenor – the King · bass – Julia · soprano 

– First State Counsellor · high soprano (coloratura soprano) – Invisible Voices (governesses, 

teachers etc.) · chorus (in the 1. and 3. scene) – chorus solo parts in the 2. scene: 2.-8. State Counsellor 

· 4 altos, 3 tenors – 1.-4. Man from the street · 4 basses (one of them baritone alternatively) 

– 1.-4. Woman from the street · 4 sopranos 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 2 (2. auch Kontrafag.) – 

2 · 1 · 1 · 0 – S. (Marimb. · kl. Tr. · Rührtr. · 2 hg. Beck. · 3 Tomt. · 3 Crotales · Hi-hat) (1 Spieler) – 

Reißnagel-Klav. – Solo-Str. (4 Vl. · 2 Vla. · 2 Vc. · 1 Kb.) 


Performance material on hire 


16.05.1990 Luzern, Stadttheater Luzern (WP) 

Christian Pollack · Georges Delnon · Erich Fischer · Anuschka Meyer-Riehl 

10

Synopsis 

Ingomar Grünauer 1990 in front of the Stadttheater Luzern · Photo: Felix von Wartburg 

For 10 years Prince Sigismund has been incarcerated in a tower by order of his father, the king, 

so as to protect the royal household from his volatile moods. His soliloquies and fantasies 

constantly circle around his beloved Julia, the discoverer Amerigo Vespucci and a free and 

better world without a king and without exploitation. The king and Julia arrive at the tower 

and the king gives in to her demand to 

free Sigismund. Meanwhile, the empire is 

in danger and the people threaten unrest. 

The counsellors confer, no-one is sure how 

to deal with the situation. 

Amidst the confusion, the king informs 

the Privy Council of his decision that 

Sigismund should be the new king. Sigismund 

is rather unsure at first, not knowing 

whether he is being tricked and mocked, 

but all too soon his volatility takes over. 

He tortures the counsellors, announces 

the victory of the riotous rebels and wants 

to fraternize with the crowd. Soon the 

situation escalates; the crowd turns on 

the counsellors and is about to string 

Sigismund, “the last bloodsucker” up. At 

the last moment the king intervenes and 

calms the situation with a few words. The 

king reveals that everything was a game, 

to show Sigismund that “An empire isn’t 

a cue ball for fantasies.” Sigismund is distraught 

and of his own will returns to the 

tower, refusing to leave ever again. 

The whole musical event develops from one core, structured basic sound, which stands for Sigismund’s 

mental state. This permanently varying sound structure circles round itself, tries to escape 

from its hermetic spiral and ends up where it started without achieving closure. If an audience 

recognises this principle intuitively, it will recognise variations as elements of tension. And this is 

the most important fact for me: An audience experiencing an exciting, sensuous and complex music 

theatre. (Ingomar Grünauer) 

11

Volker David Kirchner 

Erinys 

(The Furies) 

Threnos in two parts after the “Orestie” by Aeschylus 

Text compilation by the composer 

Concept by Harald Weirich 

Origin: 1986 | 1989 



Cast: Elektra · dramatic soprano – Orest · baritone – Klytaimnestra · mezzo soprano – Agamemnon 

· baritone – Kassandra · high soprano – Aigisth · character tenor – 3 Servants / 3 female 

Voices behind the scene / 7 Mourning Women · 3 sopranos · 1 mezzo soprano · 3 altos – 9 Old 

Men · 3 tenors, 3 baritones, 3 basses – the Blind Beggar · counter tenor – Folk · silent roles 

Orchestra: 4 (2. bis 4. auch Picc., 2. auch Altfl. und Panfl.) · 3 (3. auch Engl. Hr.) · 3 (2. auch Es- 

Klar., 3. auch Bassklar.) · 2 · 1 · Kfg. – 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 – P. (2 Spieler) · S. (2 Trgl. · Röhrengl. · Gong · 

2 Tamt. · Beck.paar · 3 hg. Beck. · Ind. Schellen · Zimb. · Donnerbl. · Schellentr. · 2 Bongos · 10 

Tomt. · 2 Mil. Tr. · 2 Rührtr. · Tenortr. · 2 kl. Tr. · 2 gr. Tr. · Timb. · 2 Holzbl. · 4 Tempelbl. · Steinsp. 

· Kast. · Rute · Messgl. · Tastenglspl. · Xyl. · Vibr. · Marimb. · Röhrengl. · Gong.) (6 Spieler) – 

Hfe. · 2 Klav. (2. auch Cel.) · 3 Schofare (oder Stierhr.) – Str. – Tonband 


Libretto BN 3446-00 · Performance material on hire 


15.04.1990 Wuppertaler Bühnen (WP) 

18.04.1991 Opernhaus Mönchengladbach · Tage des Neuen Musik-Theaters 

25.04.1991 Forum Leverkusen · Tage des Neuen Musik-Theaters 

Neil Varon · Friedrich Meyer-Oertel · Hanna Jordan 

12

Synopsis 

Outside the palace in Mycenae: Clytemnestra proclaims that Troy has fallen. Agamemnon, 

the Greek commander-in-chief, returns home, bringing with him the Trojan king’s daughter 

Cassandra as one of the spoils of war. Clytemnestra greets her spouse and duplicitously invites 

him to enter the palace. Cassandra then raises her voice and all that can be discerned is that she 

is speaking of catastrophe and nemesis. Screams can be heard from inside the palace. Clytemnestra 

appears, before her the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. She confesses to having 

committed regicide: this was revenge for Agamemnon’s previous sacrifice of her daughter 

Iphigenia. Clytemnestra crowns her beloved Aegisthus as king. 

Ten months later. Agamemnon’s daughter Electra laments the still unatoned murder. A stranger 

arrives who announces himself as Electra’s long-lost brother Orestes and claims that he intends 

to kill Aegisthus. A blind man warns Orestes of Electra’s thirst for power. The inebriated Aegisthus 

comes out of the palace. The news that Orestes has fallen sends him into a state of ecstasy. 

At this moment, Electra stabs Aegisthus. Orestes also raises his knife to kill Clytamnestra, hesitates, 

but is persuaded by Electra to kill their mother. Electra crowns Orestes as king, but while 

the masses are exulting, the blind man prophesises that this misdeed will only bring renewed 

disaster. Orestes is driven insane: he believes that he can hear the voice of his mother who has 

set the spirits of revenge upon him... 

Erinys 

15.04.1990 Wuppertaler Bühnen 

The gripping effect […] is primarily generated by Kirchner’s music. Against all expectations, the 

music remains extremely quiet over long periods. Kirchner has categorically avoided superficial horror 

music. The music in the upper strings frequently stands still, almost as if not daring to breathe 

in the face of scorching danger… (Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 05/1990) 

13

Detlev Müller-Siemens 

Die Menschen 

(The Men) 

Opera in two acts after the play of the same name by Walter Hasenklever 

Libretto by the Composer 

Origin: 1989-1990 



Cast: Alexander · baritone – the Murderer – actor · the Head / the Guest · character tenor – the 

Drunkard / the Doctor · bass baritone – the Helper · actor – Lissi · dramatic coloratura soprano – 

the Fortune Teller / the Mother · alto – the Young Man · dramatic tenor – the Girl · lyric soprano 

– the old Waiter · bass – the begging Girl · soprano – the Banker / the Public Prosecutor · 

character tenor – the President · actor – 3 whores · 3 sopranos – 4 Speakers – the Beggar · actor – 

the Nurse · actress – 3 Thugs · actors – People wearing masks / People being deaf-mute · supernumeraries 

– the Gentlemen / the Shadows / the Jury · chorus 

Orchestra: 3 (alle auch Picc.) · 3 (3. auch Engl. Hr.) · 3 (3. auch Bassklar.) · 3 (2. u. 3. auch Kfg.) – 

4 · 2 · 3 · 1 – S. (I: P. · Beck. · Tamt. · Tomt. · 4 Tempelbl. · Metallplatte · Mar. · Glspl. · Xyl.; II: 

Beck. · Röhrengl. · Tamt. · 3 Tomt. · Metallplatte · Lotusfl. · Mar.; III: Röhrengl. · 3 Bong. · gr. Tr. · 

Mar. · Woodbl. · Clav. · Glspl.; IV: Beck. · 2 Cong. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Vibr.) (4 Spieler [Tamt., gr. Tr., 

Metallplatte, Röhrengl. und Glspl. sind jeweils nur einzeln vorhanden und werden von den 

Schlagzeugern abwechselnd bedient]) – Str. 

Auf der Bühne („Bar-Trio”): Es-Klar. – Klav. – Kb. 


Libretto BN 3550-50 · Recording CD WERGO 6253 · Performance material on hire 


18.11.1990 Nationaltheater Mannheim (WP) 

Jun Märkl · Christine Mielitz · Peter Heilein 

17.01.1993 Theater Basel 

Michael Boder · Michael Simon 

30.04.2005 Theater Aachen 

Jeremy Hulin · Barbara Beyer · Lothar Baumgarte · Barbara Aigner 

14

Synopsis 

“A murdered victim climbs out of the grave … He travels through the world carrying his 

head, presented to him by his murderer, seeking atonement as a doppelgänger in place of the 

murderer until he finds eternal peace.” This is Walter Hasenclever’s summary of the plot for his 

expressionistic drama Die Menschen. Birth, death, power, oppression, law, murder, fear and 

loneliness – Detlev Müller-Siemens was drawn to the spareness of the text, which often reveals 

only a hint of the plot. In his own adaptation, however, he eliminates Hasenclever’s intended 

theme of redemption and the occasionally theosophical colouring of the work. The music conjures 

up an atmosphere of permanent violence, both latent and direct, in which events simply 

occur – non-psychologically, factually, drastically, directly and grotesquely. In contrast, there 

are phases of repose and peace in which the music primarily develops in a linear and seemingly 

weightless fashion. The composer characterised his work as a “vertiginous panopticon in which 

dreamlike images rush past, burst explosively in the light and sink back into darkness.” 

Die Menschen 

18.11.1990 Nationaltheater Mannheim 

The experience is profound and its effect utterly overwhelming. […] One listens captivated, the 

one-and-a-half hours fly past in a twinkling and, on leaving the theatre, one feels a different 

person. […] The longer one listens to the work, the more avid one becomes: avid for the razorsharp 

sounds with which time is paced in the work. Anyone who wishes to discover theatre and 

music theatre in an all-embracing sense can experience this in the new production of the opera Die 

Menschen […]. (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 19.01.1993) 

15

Dieter Schnebel 

St. Jago 

Music and Pictures to Kleist 

After Texts by Heinrich von Kleist 

Origin: 1990-1991 | 1995 (revised version) 


Cast: 4 singing voices (soprano · alto · tenor · bass) – 3 speakers (male voice, female voice, low 

male voice) 

1991 

Orchestra: Altfl. (auch Picc.) · 0 · 1 · Bassklar. (auch Kb.-Klar.) · 0 – 0 · 1 · 1 · 0 – S. (Messgl. · 

Röhrengl. · 3 Beck. · Tamt. · 3 Tomt. · 2 Bong. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Kast. · Besteck · 2 Clav. · Dose 

mit Kugeln · Donnerblech · Glas-chimes · Guiro · Gummibälle in Handtr. · Holzbehälter mit 

Holzkugeln · Hyoshigi · Löwengebrüll · Mar. · Metallfolien · Metallinstr. · Peitsche · Pistolenschuss 

· Porzellan · Rainmaker · Ratsche · Papiere · Sandbl. · Sistr. · Steine · Schotter im Kasten · 

iberische und lat.-amerik. Schüttelinstr. · Tempelbl. · Vogelpfeife · Wasser · Waldteufel · Windchimes 

· Windmasch. · 2 Woodbl. · Zweige · Glspl. · Vibr. · Marimba) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cemb. · 

Synth. · elektr. Git. – Str. 



Remarks: The first version entitled Chili – Music and pictures to Kleist had its World Première 

in 1991 together with Schnebel’s Jowaegerli on the occasion of a double bill “Vergänglichkeit” 

(“Transience”) at the Hamburg State Opera. In the course of the revision of the work in 1995 

the title was changed into St. Jago – Music and Pictures to Kleist. 


12.05.1991 Hamburgische Staatsoper (WP) 

Marc Albrecht · Achim Freyer | Johannes Grebert · Maria-Elena Amos · Virginia Arndt 

16.01.2005 Konzerthaus Berlin 

Steffen Tast · Cornelia Heger · Fred Pommerehn · Elke von Sivers 

16

Synopsis 

Dieter Schnebel · Photo: Peter Andersen 

The principal voice in the musical-dramatic tale is the language of Kleist, in itself already highly 

musical in timbre and syntactic structure. […] The novella Das Erdbeben in Chili [The Earthquake 

in Chile] forms a quasi recurrent theme. The text is not transformed musically, for example 

incorporated in a musical setting, but is presented in musical form: in a particular tempo and 

dynamic level and also in a particular tonal colouring. This transformation occurs on the one 

hand according to musical criteria, e.g. a serial order of the types of speech and motif-like relationships 

on a higher level – on the other hand, psychic moods – ‘atmospheres’ – are conveyed 

though musical rhetoric. […] Each individual section has a particular method of performance 

in which its innermost content is expressed. Thus in the first section, the text of the tale ‘Der 

Todesschuss’ [The Fatal Shot] is spoken hesitatingly 

and softly; in the second section, ‘Das Geheimnis’ 

[The Secret], whispered rapidly, in the following section, 

‘Der Skandal’ [The Scandal], sonorously, but in 

a sneering tone. Through this manner of expression, 

undertones come to the surface and deeper layers of 

the text are made accessible. […] The four sections 

of the ‘musical action’ depict essential moments of 

the novella and also utilise Kleist’s poetry: ‘Tremors’, 

‘Night of Love’, ‘Day of Peace’ and ‘Death Orgy’. 

These are interludes which act as summaries. Words 

and music are combined in the prelude and postlude 

in which the subject is the poet himself. Extracts 

from Kleist’s letters from his later period run through 

the prelude ‘End of Kleist’ and utopian passages 

from his wonderful essay ‘On Marionette Theatre’ 

are quoted throughout the postlude. 

(Dieter Schnebel. Source: Hamburg State Opera 1991) 

Musically, Schnebel has formed Kleist’s and his two lovers’ journey towards death into an incredibly 

compact and disturbingly lurid current of emotion and moods; he creates an utterly contemporary 

and ominously threatening atmosphere through the chordal structure and the tense alternation 

between the spoken Kleist texts and the screams and panting of the vocalists. Thankfully, 

there are also idyllic highlights within this at times operatically lavish musical creation: refined and 

alienated “re-visions” of Romanticism and the art of motets, chorales and Carmina Burana. 

(Die Welt, 14.04.1991) 

17

Krzysztof Penderecki 

Ubu Rex 

(King Ubu) 

Opera buffa in two acts 

Libretto by Jerzy Jarocki and Krzysztof Penderecki after the play „Ubu Roi“ by Alfred Jarry 

Origin: between 1990 and 1991 


1991 

Cast: Father Ubu · character tenor – Mother Ubu · coloratura mezzo soprano – King Wenzel · 

bass buffo – Queen Rosamunde · soprano – Boleslaus (Son of the King) · soprano – Ladislaus 

(Son of the King) soprano – Bougrelas (Son of the King) · tenor – the Tsar (double role) · 2 

basses – Bordure · bass buffo – General Lascy · bass – Stanislaw Leczinski, a Farmer · bass – 7 

Touts (also Polish Army, Boyars, 2 Guests): Pile (1. Tout) · soprano – Cotice (2. Tout) · tenor – 

Giron (3. Tout) · bass – 4 Touts · 1 tenor, 3 basses – Russian Army (Boyars, 3 farmers) · 3 tenors, 

4 basses – 3 Judges, 3 Financial Administrators, 4 Noble Men, a Messenger, Michael Fedorowitsch, 

Folk · Speaking roles (actors) 

Orchestra: Picc. · 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · Klar. in Es · 2 · Bassklar. · 2 (2. auch 

Kfg.) – 2 · 2 · 2 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl.-Baum · 1 Paar Beck. · 6 hg. Beck. · 2 Tamt. · Mil. Tr. · Rührtr. · 

Schellentr. · gr. Tr. m. Beck. · 5 Tomt. · 5 Timb. · Schellen · Crotalenb. · Tempelbl. · Röhrengl. · 

Kirchengl. · Peitsche · Guiro · Säge · Windmasch. · Glsp. · Marimb. · Xyl.) (4 Spieler) – Cel. – Str. 

Bühnenmusik: 2 Fl. (auch Picc.) · 2 Klar. · 2 Trp. · 2 Flügelhr. · 2 Hr. · 2 Pos. · 1 Tenorhr. · 1 Bariton · 

1 Helikon (oder Sousaphon) – S. (Mil. Tr. · Rührtr. · gr. Tr. m. Beck. · Beckentr. · Lyra) – im Saal: 2 Trp. 




06.07.1991 Bayerische Staatsoper München (WP) 

Michael Boder · August Everding · Roland Topor 

06.11.1993 Teatr Wielki Lodz 

Antoni Wicherek · Lech Majewski · Francisezek Starowieyski 

02.10.2003 Moniuszko Auditorium Warschau · Polish National Opera 

Jacek Kaspszyk · Krzysztof Warlikowski · Malgorzata Szczesniak 

05.08.2004 Teatro Colón Buenos Aires 

Jacek Kaspszyk · Georges Delnon 

18

Synopsis 

Ubu is greedy for power, money and blood sausage. Spurred on by his wife, he plans an assassination 

attempt on the Polish King Wenzel: in his unlimited sense of self-importance, Ubu is 

deeply convinced that he is the only one worthy of being king. With the aid of a gang of louts, 

the treacherous assassination is successful and Ubu proclaims himself as the new ruler to the 

jubilation of the blinded masses. From this point on, his sole occupation is to gain unlimited 

wealth. Without further ado, he hurls all major figures of his state – the aristocracy, judges and 

financiers – into a highly effective brain-smashing machine and seizes their riches. Ubu’s reign 

of terror is however of short duration: when the Russian Tsar deploys his army against the usurper, 

Ubu chooses to retreat from the superior military force and escape to safety. 

Alfred Jarry’s scandalous work of 1896, Ubu Roi, has not lost any of its original explosiveness. 

Jarry depicts the prophetic image of a proletarian Philistine who – as soon as he has seized 

power – immediately initiates anarchistic acts of violence. Through parody and caricature, this 

primitive, power-hungry individual is however unmasked and revealed as a ridiculous figure – 

but in a tone of humour that freezes laughter in the throat. Krzysztof Penderecki chose Jarry’s 

timeless text as the basis for his fourth full-length stage work, following The Devils of Loudon, 

Paradise Lost and The Black Mask. 

Ubu Rex 

28.05.2004 Lithuanian National Opera Vilnius 

In a radical renunciation of his previous operas, which were characterised by monumental content 

and profound tonal sonority, Penderecki’s initial starting point in this work was the image of a 

buffoon. The music is determined by a vivid characterisation on the one hand, and on the other by 

an informal tone which enables the text to be easily heard and appreciated. The individual figures 

are assigned recognisable […] motifs and gestures and the […] orchestra is utilised with an economy 

more usually found in chamber music. (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 09.07.1991) 

19

Giovanni Paisiello | Hans Werner Henze 

Il Re Teodoro in Venezia 

(King Theodore in Venice) 

Dramatic and heroic comedy in two acts by Giovanni Battista Casti 

New orchestration and new recitatives by Hans Werner Henze 

(in collaboration with David Paul Graham) · Stage version by Lorenzo Mariani 

Origin: around 1784 | 1991-1992 

Language: Italian 

1992 

Cast: Lisetta · soprano – Belisa · mezzo soprano – Gafforio · tenor – Sandrino · tenor – Teodoro · 

baritone – Akmet III · baritone – Taddeo · bass – Messer grande · bass 

Orchestra: 2 (auch Picc.) · 2 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (auch Bassklar.) · 2 (auch Kfg.) – 2 · 1 · 1 · 0 – 

P. S. (Fingerzimb. [oder Trgl] · Tamt. [oder Beck.] · Tamb. · Mil. Tr. · gr. Tr. mit Beck. · 

Glspl. · Vibr.) (1 Spieler) – Klav. (auch Cel. ad lib.) · Git. · Mand. · Akk. (oder Harm.) – 

Str. (1 · 1 · 2 · 1 · 1) 


Libretto (it.) BN 3366-90 · Performance material on hire 


16.07.1992 Montepulciano · Cantiere Internazionale d‘Arte (WP) 

Giuseppe Mega · Lorenzo Mariani · Pasquale Grossi 

06.06.2004 Rokokotheater · Schwetzinger Festspiele 

Alicja Mounk · Andrea Raabe · Tobias Dinslage 

22.07.2006 Teatro Poliziano Montepulciano 

Stephan E. Wehr · Igor Folwill 

20

Synopsis 

The penniless adventurer Teodoro, in reality a Westphalian baron named Theodor von Neuhoff, 

falls in love with the innkeeper’s daughter Lisetta. As he is up to his ears in debt, he is however 

far more enamoured of her father’s stable income. Although Lisetta’s heart belongs to another, 

she allows herself to be led on by the prospect of becoming Teodoro’s queen – the fact that 

he has only assumed a regal state does not at present have to concern anybody… Lisetta’s 

original fiancé however, Sandrino, is not going to give up easily: his jealousy leads him to begin 

his counter-offensive by sending the debt collectors to King Teodoro. Although Teodoro has 

promoted the vain innkeeper to the rank of general, this can no longer save him. Arrested, 

maligned and now in a state of total bankruptcy, the unmasked imposter comes round to the 

bitter and ironic opinion that there is no ultimate security for anyone in the whole world. He 

accepts his fate heroically: ‘Whoever has sunk to the depths will eventually return to the top...’. 

© fotofrank - Fotolia.com 

I have taken the liberty of undertaking various rhythmic, tonal and also melodic alterations with 

loving care and respect. Many of these alterations have originated out of my mania for variation 

which is shared by many German composers. […] Ferruccio Busoni taught us that each epoch must 

reinterpret the works of past eras. I developed a great interest in the idea of devoting myself to 

Paisiello and revising his works in order to emphasise the vivacity, humour and tenderness inherent 

in his music […]. (Hans Werner Henze) 

21


Der Prinz von Homburg 

(The Prince of Homburg) 

Opera in three acts (9 pictures) after the play of the same name by Heinrich von Kleist 

Adapted for the opera by Ingeborg Bachmann 

Origin: 1958-1959 | 1991 (revised version) 

Language: German | French | English 

1992 

Cast: Princess Natalie of Oranien · soprano – 1 st Court Lady · soprano – 2 nd Court Lady · mezzo 

soprano – 3 rd Court Lady · alto – the Princess Elector · alto – Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg 

· heroic tenor – the Earl of Hohenzollern · lyric tenor – Field Marshal Dörfling · baritone 

– Prince Friedrich Artur of Homburg · high baritone – Colonel Kottwitz · bass – 1 st Officer · 

tenor – 2 nd Officer · baritone – 3 rd Officer · bass – 1 st Heiduck (Cavalryman) · tenor – 2 nd Heiduck 

(Cavalryman) · baritone – chorus of Officers (ad lib.) – Pages, Servants, Guards, Messengers, 

Standard Bearers, Soldiers · supernumeraries 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc. und Altfl.) · 1 · Engl. Hr. · 1 · Bassklar. · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) – 2 · 2 · 2 · 0 – 

P. S. (Trgl. · Röhrengl. · 2 Almgl. · hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar · 3 Tamt. · 3 Tomt. · Schellentr. · Mil.- 

Tr. · 2 Rührtr. · gr. Tr. · Rute · Glsp.) (3 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. – Str. 

Auf der Bühne: 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 – 1 · 2 · 0 · 0 – S. (Rührtr. · kl. Tr. [ad lib.]) – Vl. · Va. · Vc. 


Study score ED 9102 · Libretto BN 3360-10 · Vocal score (G./F.) ED 5080 



22.05.1960 Hamburgische Staatsoper (WP) 

Leopold Ludwig · Helmut Käutner · Alfred Siercke 

24.07.1992 Cuvilliés-Theater Munich · Bayerische Staatsoper (WP of the revised version) 

Wolfgang Sawallisch · Nikolaus Lehnhoff · Gottfried Pilz 

14.11.2009 Theater an der Wien, Vienna 

Marc Albrecht · Christof Loy · Dirk Becker 

22

Synopsis 

The opera is set in Fehrbellin in Brandenburg during the Prusso-Swedish Wars in the seventeenth 

century, immediately around the Swedish defeat at the battle of Fehrbellin 1675 

Prince Friedrich and Princess Natalie are in love, and she is promised to him by the Elector. 

Field Marshal Dörfling outlines the plan of battle, but the Prince daydreams about the princess. 

During the battle, not having listened to the orders he was given, he attacks prematurely, 

endangering the outcome by sending his cavalry after retreating Swedes. Nevertheless, the 

attack is successful. The Elector orders the arrest of the disobedient officer. The Prince is imprisoned, 

and the Elector is expected to ratify the sentence of death. The Prince appeals through 

Princess Natalie, but she is told that the Prince must comply with the sentence. Natalie uses her 

Dragoons to free the Prince. Meanwhile, the Elector, knowing that he has taught the Prince his 

lesson, decides to pardon him. Blindfolded, the Prince is led towards his execution, but when 

the blindfold is removed, the Elector gives him the hand of the Princess. 

Der Prinz von Homburg 

24.07.1992 Bayerische Staatsoper München 

In this way the prince appears as the first modern protagonist, passive, his fate decided by events, 

on his own in a fragile world and therefore close to us, not a hero any longer but instead both a 

complex ego and suffering creature, an “unmentionable human” as Kleist called himself, a dreamer, 

sleep walker who becomes self-aware. (Ingeborg Bachmann) 

23

Harald Weiss 

Amandas Traum 

(Amanda‘s Dream) 

Music theatre in two acts and one intermission 


Origin: 1988-1991 


1992 

Cast: Amanda, retired Opera Diva · coloratura soprano – Edgar, retired Agent of Amanda · actor – 

Caroppo, Singer · tenor – Imagination · lyric soprano – Female Dwarf (in the beginning as Child) · 

actress – Espe, Costume of Amanda and her ‘alter ego’ · actress – Gordon B., Critic · actor – Doctors, 

Hostesses, Security Men · supernumeraries (ca. 10 persons) 

Orchestra: 1 · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 · 0 – 2 · 0 · 0 · 0 – Hfe. – Str. (1 Vl. [verstärkt] · 2 Vla. · 2 Vc. · 

1 Kb.) 

On the side stage: Gongs · Tamt. 

Electro-acoustic supplies 




16.08.1992 Frankfurt, Alte Oper, Frankfurt Feste 1992 (WP) 

Harald Weiss 

15.06.1993 Hannover, Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover 

Ulrich Windfuhr · Harald Weiss · Ben Willikens · Barbara Brokate 

16.10.1996 Mannheim, Nationaltheater 

Wolfram Koloseus · Harald Weiss 

28.03.1997 Cottbus, Staatstheater 

Adrian Stern · Sebastian Baumgarten · Thilo Reuther 

24

Synopsis 

The plot is imaginary, and takes place somewhere at the beginning of the next century. The art 

form ‘opera’ no longer exists and all cultural life has been suspended. The aged diva Donna 

Amanda lives isolated in an old disused opera-house and her only contact with the outside 

world is her former agent Edgar, who supplies her with no more than what is absolutely necessary. 

Donna Amanda is lost in her dreams – memories of better times and hopes for better 

times in the future. Her hallucinations coalesce into the idea that she must sing before an audience 

once again. 

Amandas Traum 

28.03.1997 Cottbus, Staatstheater 

Amanda’s Dream is both a play about opera and an opera in itself. Through the collision of three 

time levels, spaces for fantasy and mental images arise. Viewing and listening habits will be encouraged 

and undermined at the same time. Game and reality, present and future merge almost 

imperceptibly and fluently – brilliant theatre, brilliant opera... (Cellesche Zeitung) 

25

Aribert Reimann 

Das Schloss 

(The Castle) 

Opera in two acts (nine scenes) after the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka and 

the dramatic version by Max Brod 


Origin: 1989-1992 


1992 

Cast: K., a stranger · baritone – the Landlord of the Inn “Zur Brücke” · baritone – the Landlady, 

his Wife · dramatic mezzo soprano – Schwarzer, Son of a Major Domus at the castle · actor – Artur, 

the Assistant (Coadjutor) · tenor – Jeremias, Second Assistant (Coadjutor) · bass baritone – 

Barnabas, Messenger from the castle · tenor – Olga, his Sister · mezzo soprano – Amalia, his Sister 

· soprano – the Landlord of the Inn “Herrenhof” · bass baritone – Frieda, Servant at the Inn 

“Herrenhof” · soprano – the Church Warden · bass – Mizzi, his Wife · silent role – the Teacher · 

tenor – Bürgel, Assistant Clerk · actor – 4 Farmers · 2 tenors, 2 basses · Farmers, Servants at the 

castle · supernumeraries 

Orchestra: Picc. · 1 · Altfl. · 1 · Engl. Hr. · Heckelph. · Klar. in Es · 1 · Bassklar. · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) · 

Kfg. – 4 · 4 · 3 · 1 – P. S. (Röhrengl. · 5 Tomt. · Mil. Tr. · Rührtr. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Glspl. · Xyl. · 

Vibr.) (4 Spieler) – 2 Hfn. · Klav. – Str. (12 · 10 · 8 · 6 · 5) 


Libretto BN 3685-40 · Recording CD WERGO 6614 · Performance material on hire 


02.09.1992 Deutsche Oper Berlin · Berliner Festwochen (WP) 

27.07.1995 Bayerische Staatsoper München · Münchner Opernfestspiele (WA) 

Michael Boder · Willy Decker · Wolfgang Gussmann 

14.11.1992 Theater Duisburg · Deutsche Oper am Rhein 

Janos Kulka · Kurt Horres · Xednia Hausner · Danielle Laurent 

17.10.1996 Jugendstiltheater Wien · Wiener Operntheater (NEA) 

Andreas Mitisek · John Lloyd Davies · Claudia Hannemann 

15.05.2005 Deutsche Oper Berlin (WA) 

Michail Jurowski · Willy Decker · Wolfgang Gussmann 

26

Synopsis 

Aribert Reimann’s opera, based on Franz Kafka’s novel Das Schloss, depicts K.’s various attempts 

to reach the castle for which he has been appointed as a surveyor. The scenes surround 

the ultimately inaccessible castle like a moat surrounding high walls. Although the attempts to 

reach the castle become successively more hopeless and K. swiftly loses his initial optimism as 

to what is achievable, at every attempt renewed hope is born, with new possibilities of success. 

It is however precisely this perpetual desire which alienates K. within a society in which the 

individuals have already succeeded in finding themselves. 

The fundamental characteristic of Reimann’s interpretation is the aspect of superimposition, the 

permeation through which all actions are depicted in an alienated hue. Reimann viewed this as 

being his underlying compositional task, to recapture Kafka’s enigmatic character, which had 

become lost in the dramatised versions, and recreating it in a new medium. 

Das Schloss 

02.09.1992 Berliner Festwochen · © Deutsche Oper Berlin 

The sensitively conceived score, as intimate as chamber music, is […] precisely tailored to each 

relevant section of K.’s hopeless journey. Figures such as landlady, office secretary or messenger all 

have the function of impeding and confusing K. Each scene has its own individual tonal language, 

mode of expression and distinctive instrumentation. (Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 11/1992) 

27


Die Rache einer russischen Waise 

(The Revenge of a Russian Orphan) 

Chamber operetta in 17 sentimental scenes after the play of the same name 

by Henri Rousseau 

Adaptation of the text by Matthias Kaiser and Ingomar Grünauer 

Origin: 1992 


1993 

Personen (the listed parts will be sung by the singers playing different roles): Anna / Nina / Mrs 

Martin / a Singer · high soprano – Sophie / Hannchen · soprano – Yadwigha / a Waiter / Gaudinet, 

Servant / Françoise / a Lady / a Singer · mezzo soprano – Heinrich (1.-5. scene) / Gaston / 

stoutly Peter · tenor – Postman / Heinrich (6.-16. scene) / a Singer · baritone – Ivan / Eduard / 

General Bosquet / Basilius / a Singer · bass 

Orchestra: Streichsextett (2 Vl. · 2 Vla. · 2 Vc.) – S. (Röhrengl. · gr. beck. · Tamt. · Sandbl. · Peitsche) 

(percussion instruments are played by strings) 




18.03.1993 Saarbrücken, Saarländisches Staatstheater, Alte Feuerwache (WP) 

Mark Pinzow · Peter Theiler · Gabriele Heimann 

28

Synopsis 

St. Petersburg (1.-3. scene): Sophie, a Russian orphan lives with her aunt Yadwigha. She falls in 

love with Heinrich, but her aunt forbids her to marry him. So the two of them decide to escape. 

Meanwhile Sophie’s aunt dies in St. Petersburg. Heinrich doesn’t really intend to marry Sophie 

– she is too poor for him. He absconds. Eduard, their wedding witness, has to tell Sophie, who 

is prostrate and decides to shoot herself. General Bosquet, a veteran of the Crimea war, takes 

care of her as his own child. Sophie’s friend Nina writes a letter from St. Petersburg to tell 

Sophie that Heinrich has married a rich woman. When General Bosquet dies Sophie, now an 

orphan again, goes back to St. Petersburg, and decides to take revenge on Heinirch. He is lured 

by a trick to a masked ball at Nina’s home, where he is exposed and shot in a duel with Gaston, 

Sophie’s former devotee. 

Die Rache einer russischen Waise 

18.03.1993 Saarbrücken, Saarländisches Staatstheater, Alte Feuerwache 

Rousseau’s work is a goldmine for satire. Girlish dreams of the fairy prince, love at first sight, a 

guardian who stands in the way of young love, seduction, escape, unfaithfulness, lovesickness, 

thoughts of suicide, duel, death: no stereotype is left unexplored. This work is a strange and unconventional 

presentation of contemporary music theatre. What in Rousseau is still a utopian idyll, 

becomes in Gruenauer and Kaiser a both pensive and cheerful game, juggling with feeling and 

expression. (Opernwelt, Mai 1993) 

29

Wilfried Hiller 

Der Rattenfänger 

(The Pied Piper) 

A Hamelin Death Dance in eleven scenes, a prologue and an epilogue 

Libretto by Michael Ende 

Origin: 1992-1993 


1993 

Cast: the Gleeman · clarinet – Mayor Heiner Gruelhot · bass – Atela, his Wife · dramatic soprano – 

Magdalena, her Daughter · lyric alto – Amelung Reicke, Reeve · baritone – Abbot Lambert · mezzo 

soprano – Gottfried Weregesius, the Seer · character tenor – Brother Fuchsgesicht (Foxface) · 

silent role – the Blind Boy · bright boy voice – the Lame Girl · bright girl voice – 3 Wives · soprano, 

mezzo soprano, alto – 3 Men · tenor, baritone, bass – the Poor, the Rich, Lansquenets · 

chorus – Children, Aldermen, Bailiffs, Maidservants, “Rattenkönig” (an oversized bugaboo), Rat 

Ghosts, Monks · supernumeraries 

Orchestra: 3 (2. auch Picc., 3. auch Altfl.) · 0 · 0 · 2 · Kfg. – 4 · 4 (1. auch hohe Tr. [ad lib.]) · 3 · 

1 – P. S. (Trgl. · Zimb. · Zimbelspiel · 4 hg. Beck. · chin. Gongs · Buckelgongs · 2 Tamt. · 1 gr. balinesischer 

Gong · 4 Tomt. · Bong. · 6 Cong. · Schellentr. · 6 Holztr. · gr. Tr. · 2 Tempelbl. · Mar. · 

Clav. · Röhrengl. · gestimmte Weingläser · Steinspiel · Flusssteine · Windmasch. · Glspl. · Xyl. · 

Bassxyl. · 2 Marimba) (3 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. (auch Cel.) – Str. 

On stage: 1 gr. Mühlstein, mit gestimmten Bambusrohren zu bespielen – 6 Cong. · Messgl. · 

Tamb. · kl. Tr. · Rührtr. – Harm. – Chor mit Flusssteinen – Pos. – Viol. · Va. · Kb. 




26.09.1993 Theater Dortmund, Opernhaus (WP) 

Laurent Wagner · Heinz Lukas-Kindermann · Hans Georg Schäfer 

23.06.1996 Bühnen der Landeshauptstadt Kiel, Opernhaus 

Lutz de Veer · Katja Czellnik · Susanne Bertram · Elke Lucia Corbach 

30

Synopsis 

The mysterious, disturbing tale of the Pied Piper is revisited in this haunting work. Why did the 

rat infestation break out What salary did the Pied Piper want ‘I was clear’, explains Michael 

Ende, ‘that the thing which brought 

the rat infestation into town was what 

the Pied Piper wanted as his salary. 

Something that has to be destroyed, 

so the town can get well again. To 

complete the mythos I introduced a 

kind of “Popanz”, a demonic being 

which continuously produces money. 

Every time it produces money the form 

of a ghost of death, the smaller double 

of the Pied Piper, sets off into the world 

and something has to die. This could be 

a tree, a river or a child...’ 

The town of Hamelin is already haunted 

by these ghosts of death by the beginning 

of the opera. Nature has been 

turned into a desert, the river Weser is 

dry and the trees are dead. To rescue 

the children from being sacrificed to the 

town’s wellbeing, the Pied Piper leads 

them out of the town to the mountain 

of Calvanien. However, it soon becomes 

clear that there’s no way out for them. 

(Quotation: Theater Dortmund 1993) 

Der Rattenfänger 

26.09.1993 Theater Dortmund 

I have dealt intensively with the music of the 13th century and even earlier. You will find passages 

in the piece which clearly refer to the music of the Gothic period. This means renunciation of 

thirds, no final resolution in the vocal parts or in the orchestra. The Pied Piper’s world of sounds 

in my opera is strongly based on Eastern Jewish music such as you can find in Galicia, Bessarabia, 

Bohemia and Moravia – regions where the historical rat-catcher might have come from. 

(Wilfried Hiller) 

31


The Bassarids 

Music drama in one act by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman 

Language: English | German 

Origin: 1964-65, 1992 (revised version) 

1994 

Cast: Autonoe, Sister of Agaue · coloratura soprano – Agaue, Daughter of Cadmos and Mother 

of Pentheus · dramatic mezzo soprano – Beroe, an Old Slave · alto – Dionysus, also Voice and 

Stranger · tenor – Teiresias, an Old and Blind Seer · tenor – Pentheus, King of Thebes · baritone – 

Captain of the King’s Guard · lyric baritone – Cadmos, Grandfather of Pentheus · bass – Young 

Woman, Slave in the Household of Agaue · silent role – Child, her Daughter · silent role – Bassarids 

(furies and bacchants), Citizens of Thebes · chorus – Guardsmen, Servants · silent roles 

Orchestra: Revidierte Fassung 1992: 4 (2. mit B-Fuß, 3. auch Picc., 4. auch Altfl. u. Picc.) · 2 · 2 

Engl. Hr. · 4 (3., 4. auch Altsax., 4. auch Piccoloklar.) · Bassklar. (auch Altsax. u. Tenorsax.) · 

4 (4. auch Kfg.) – 6 · 4 (4. auch Baßtrp.) · 3 · 2 – P. S. (3 Kuhgl. · kl. Trgl. · hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar 

· 3 Tamt. · kl. Tr. · Mil. Tr. [mit und ohne Schnarrs.] · 3 Tomt. · 3 Bong. · Holztr. · gr. Tr. [mit 

oder ohne Beck.] · Mar. · Peitsche · Ratsche · Metallbl. · Glspl. · Xyl. · Vibr. · Marimb. · Fingerzimb. 

· Röhrengl.) (8 Spieler) – 2 Hfn. · Cel. · 2 Klav. – Str. 

On stage: 4 Hr. (may also be replaced by trumpets form the orchestra) · 2 Git. · 2 Mand. · 

3 Kuhgl. 


Study score ED 9411 · Vocal score (D/E) ED 8121 · Libretto (G) BN 3348-00 · Libretto (E) BN 

3349-90 · Performance material on hire 


Remarks: The 20minute intermezzo The Judgement of Caliope was cut in the 1992 version but 

may be performed within The Bassarids. A reduced orchestral setting is available. 


20.02.1994 Staatsoper Hamburg 

Markus Stenz · Christine Mielitz · Gottfried Pilz 

13.02.1999 Teatro Real Madrid 

Arturo Tamayo · Gerd Heinz · Rudolf Rischer · Jutta Harnisch 

14.12.2005 De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam 

Ingo Metzmacher · Peter Stein · Moidele Bickel 

32

Synopsis 

The setting is ancient Thebes. Prior to the opera, Dionysus has stated that he intends to revenge 

himself upon Agave and the women of Thebes because they have denied his divinity. 

At the start of the opera, Cadmus, King of Thebes, has abdicated his throne in favour of his son 

Pentheus. Pentheus has learned of the cult of Dionysus, which involves wild and irrational rites, 

and decides to ban the cult in his city. A stranger arrives and entices the women into increasingly 

abandoned celebrations of Dionysus. Pentheus, still unwilling to acknowledge his onw 

Dionysiac impulses, is seduced by the stranger into disguising himself as a woman and going 

to Mouth Cytheron to observe the women in their sacred revelries. In their frenzy, Agave his 

mother and Autone his sister sieze Pentheus and tear him limb from limb. Still delirious and 

unaware, Agave cradles the severed head of her son in her arms. The stranger is revealed to be 

Dionysus himself. 

The Bassarids 

14.12.2005 De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam 

The composer has filled the four symphonic movements of this two-hour long one-act play with 

sensuous, bewitching and magical music whose beauty, sonic imagination and dramatic power give 

this work a unique status in the second half of the last century. (Giessener Allgemeine) 

33

Kurt Weill 

Der Kuhhandel 

(Horse Trading) 

Operetta in two acts 

Book and lyrics by Robert Vambery 

Currently available for stage performances only in a version with libretto revised by 

Robert Vambery and music completed and edited by Lys Symonette 

Origin: 1934 | Edition by Lys Symonette 1978 

Language: German | First performed in English Adaptation as A Kingdom for a Cow 

1994 

Cast: Singing roles: Juanita Sanchez · lyric soprano – Juan Santos · lyric tenor – President Mendez 

of Santa Maria · tenor buffo – Bimbi, the President‘s Son · boy soprano – Ximenez · tenor 

buffo – Leslie Jones · operetta baritone – General Garcia Conchas · high operetta baritone – Bailiff 

· tenor buffo – Schoolmaster Emilio Sanchez · bass baritone – Juan‘s Mother · mezzo soprano – 

Mme. Odette · mezzo soprano – Soldiers, Guests, Servants · tenors, baritones – chorus (SATB) 

Speaking roles: P.W. Waterkeyn, Minister of Ucqua, Lieutenant, various small roles 

Orchestra: 2 (auch Picc.) · 1 · 2 (1. auch Altsax., 2. auch Tenorsax.) · 1 – 1 · 2 · 2 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl. · 

Gong · Beck. · Tamb. · 3 Tomt. · Rührtr. · Steeldrum · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Kast. · Glspl. · Xyl. · Vibr.) 

(4 Spieler) – Git. (auch Banjo, Bassgit.) · Hfe. · Org. oder Harm. (auch Akk.) – Str. 




28.06.1935 Savoy Theatre London (WP) 

Muir Matheson 

18.06.1994 Deutsch-Sorbisches Volkstheater Bautzen (WP of the Edition Symonette) 

Dieter Kempe · Wolfgang Poch 

19.05.2001 Theater Hagen 

Arn Goerke · Rainer Friedemann · Hartmut Krügener 

13.08.2004 Operette am Kornmarkt · Bregenzer Festspiele 

30.03.2006 Alhambra Bradford · Opera North Leeds 

05.05.2007 Volksoper Wien (Co-production with Bregenz and the Opera North) 

Christoph Eberle (Bregenz and Vienna) | Jim Holmes · David Pountney · Duncan Hayler 

34

Synopsis 

The Caribbean island of Santa Maria is the target of an unscrupulous arms dealer, who manages 

to sell a shipment of weapons to the pacifist president. He then stirs up the neighboring nation, 

which prepares to invade in order to defend itself. To make sure the war goes forward, the 

arms dealer organizes a coup in Santa Maria. Meanwhile, the rush to war is resisted by Juan, a 

humble peasant, whose cow, his sole source of income, is confiscated so the government can 

pay for the war effort. Sentenced to death, he is saved by the fact that none of the purchased 

weapons actually works. This discovery effectively halts the threat of war, Juan gets his cow 

back, and all ends happily, as the bad guys flee the island. 

Der Kuhhandel 

13.08.2004 Bregenzer Festspiele 

The great advantage of this piece lies in the fact that it revives the tradition of operetta, which has 

been buried for decades, and that it shows current issues (issues which are even more current than 

the Third Reich) in a friendly and comical way. (Kurt Weill) 

35


Winterreise 

(Winter Journey) 

Opera in 11 scenes 

Libretto by Francesco Micieli 

Origin: 1994 | 1996 (revised and reduced version) 


1994 

Cast: Walter Benjamin · tenor – Angel · alto – Angelus Novus · counter tenor – Lisa Fittko · soprano 

– Max · baritone – a Man · tenor – Franz · bass – Hans · baritone – Asja · mezzo soprano 

– Dora · soprano 

Orchestra: 2 Picc. · 1 · 1 · Engl. Hr. · Es–Klar (auch Bassetthr.) · 1 · Bassklar. · 1 · Kfg. – 

1 · Korn. · 1 · 1 · 1 – S. (Crot. · 3 Beck. · Hi–hat · Tamt. · Steeldrum · Tamb. · 4 Tomt. · kl. Tr. · 

gr. Tr. [auch m. Fußmasch.] · Ratsche · Hyoshigi · Agogó · Sandbl. · Holzbl. · Frusta · Kast. · 

Stimmpfeife · Holzlatten · Nagel Chimes · Streichpsalter · Bambus-Pendel rassel · 2 Flaschen · 

2 Steine · 6 Metallstücke · Lithophon · Vibr. · Marimba) (2 Spieler) – Akk. – Banjo – Hfe. · Klav. 

[präp.] (auch Kinderklav. u. Ratsche) – Str. (6 · 0 · 1 · 4 · 3) 

Reduced version: Picc. · 1 (auch Picc.) · 1 · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · 1 (auch Kfg.) – 1 · 1 · 0 · 1 – S. 

(Crot. · 3 Beck. · Hi–hat · Tamt. · Steeldrum · Tamb. · 4 Tomt. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. [m. Fußmasch.] · 

Ratsche · Hyoshigi · Agogó · Sandbl. · Holzbl. · Frusta · Kast. · Stimmpfeife · Holzlatten · Nagel 

Chimes · Streichpsalter · Bambus–Pendel–Rassel · 2 Flaschen · 2 Steine · 6 Metallstücke · 

Lithophon · Vibr. · Marimba) (2 Spieler) – Akk. – Banjo – Keyboard · Hfe. · Klav. [präp.] (auch 

Kinderklav. u. Ratsche) – Str. (1 · 0 · 1 · 1 · 2) 




24.08.1994 Internationale Musikfestwochen Luzern (WP) 

Roger Epple · Philipp Himmelmann · Muriel Gerstner | Thomas Hamann 

15.03.1997 Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Kleines Haus 

(WP of the revised and reduced version) 

Marcus R. Bosch · Georg Köhl · Norbert Ziermann · Ute Frühling 

36

Synopsis 

In the early hours of September 25th 1940: Walter Benjamin and Lisa Fittko escape from the 

Fascists and find their way to Port Bou on the Spanish border. Exhausted by the arduous climb 

across the Pyrenees, Lisa leaves Benjamin as night sets in, intending to return the next morning 

in the hope of leading him over the mountains to safety. 

Left on his own Benjamin suppresses his fear with morphine. He spends his last night before 

committing suicide in a waking dream. Images of his past haunt him: his imprisonment in Paris, 

the evacuation to the camps and his childhood. Benjamin realizes that he has always been 

an outsider. Two angels, as in Paul Klee’s drawing, face him with the choice between life and 

death. One promises him freedom and the chance of a new life (from which he is only a few 

hours away). But the other angel, Klee’s ‘Angelus Novus’, draws him closer: Benjamin can’t 

escape the destructive power of the angel of death. 

Winterreise 

24.08.1994 Internationale Musikfestwochen Luzern 

Isolation, cold, homelessness: Benjamin the hopeless non-conformist, both the eternal outsider and 

observer, aware of both himself and his environment, a man who suffers from his hopelessness, but 

also exploits it [...] The heart of the musical material is an altered motive of the “Wegweiser” (Song 

20 of Franz Schubert’s Winterreise). 

(Ingomar Grünauer, Source: Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden 1997) 

37

Rodion Shchedrin 

Lolita 

Opera in two acts after the novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov 

Libretto by the composer 

Origin: 1992–1993 

Language: Russian | Swedish text version by Lasse Zilliacus | English text version by Ariane 

Comstock 

1994 

Cast: Lolita · lyric coloratura soprano – Humbert Humbert · baritone – Clare Quilty · high tenor – 

Charlotte, Lolita’s Mother · mezzo soprano – Citizens of Ramsdale: Mrs Chatfield · mezzo soprano 

– her Husband · light, high bass – Citizens of Beardsley: Ms Pratt · mezzo soprano – Neighbour 

in the East · soprano – Music Teacher · mezzo soprano – Church Warden · tenor – 

Red Pullover · bass – Reception Manager · low bass – black Maidservant · alto – 1. Drunkard 

· tenor – 2. Drunkard · bass – two black Girls on advertising boards on the street · soprano, 

mezzo soprano – Boy in the church · boy soprano – Boy’s Choir in the church · Boy’s Chorus – 

Chorus of the Judges · Basses 

Orchestra: 4 (3. auch Altfl., 4. auch Picc.) · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 3 (3. auch Altsax.) · 2 · Kfg. – 

4 · 3 · 3 · 1 – P. S. (hg. Crot. · Gl. · Sonagli · Hi-Hat · Tamt. · 2 Bong. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Choclo · 

Glass-Chimes · Sirene · Wind-Chimes · Plattengl. · Tin-Whistle · Flex. · Xyl.) (3 Spieler) – 

Hfe. · Cel. · Cemb. – Str. 


Vocal score ED 9894 · Performance material on hire 


14.12.1994 Royal Opera Stockholm (WP in Swedish) 

Mstislav Rostropovitch · Ann-Margret Pettersson · John Conklin 

12.05.2003 Academic State Theatre Perm (WP of the Russian version) 

Valerij Platonov · Georgij Isaakjan · Jelena Solowjewa · Tatjana Parfenowa 

30.10.2008 Marinsky Theatre St. Petersburg (concert performance) 

Valery Gergiev 

38

Synopsis 

Rodion Shchedrin’s Lolita is the only staged opera based on Nabokov’s famous and infamous 

novel. Humbert Humbert, professor of literature and sophisticate, is obsessed with 12-year-old 

fatherless Lolita. He seduces the girl and lives with her for some time after marrying pro forma 

her mother (who dies shortly after). Three years after the end of their increasingly fraught 

relationship, Humbert meets Lolita again, now married to another man and expecting his baby. 

Humbert’s jealousy, however, is not directed towards Lolita or her husband, but towards the 

Mephistophelian film director Quilty who has used Lolita for porn films. Humbert takes bloody 

revenge on Quilty – and is sentenced to death in the electric chair. 

Lolita 

14.12.1994 Königliche Oper Stockholm 

A particular quality of Shchedrin’s opera is that he does not trivialise the plot and channel it 

one-dimensionally onto an erotic plane, but instead fragments it into the numerous relationship 

levels and possibilities of reaction between the child-woman Lolita and Humbert the mature man. 

(Walter Kläy, Swiss Radio DRS) 

39


Inferno d‘amore (Shakespearion I) 

Scenic moments after texts from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare and a 

sonnet by Michelangelo 

Origin: 1992-1994 

Language: German, Italian (Michelangelo) 

Cast: Romeo · actor – Julia · actress – Foster Mother / Countess · actress – Capulet / Mercutio · 

actor – two sopranos 

Pre-recorded: 2 sopranos, 2 tenors, 1 baritone, 1 bass 

1994 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc. und Altfl.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · Kfg. – 2 · 1 · 2 · 

1 – S. (Trgl. · 3 Beck. · ant. Zimb. · 3 Tamt. · 4 Tempelbl. · O-Daiko · gr. Tr.) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · 

Klav. (auch Cel.) – Str. (0 · 0 · 3 · 3 · 1) 


Performance material (including re-recorded chorus parts) on hire 

Remarks: 

The work can be performed in two versions: 

I. Scenic performance: The spoken texts are recited off stage (from the side stage or from the 

pit). The scenes are played in the centre of the stage. 

II. Concert version: All spoken texts are cut. Only the orchestral parts are played, including the 

pre-recorded chorus parts. 


04.09.1994 Musiksaal des Hessischen Landtages Wiesbaden · Rheingau Musik Festival (WP, 

concert performance) 

Anthony Bramall · Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover 

12.03.1995 Ballhof Hannover (WP, scenic production) 

Anthony Bramall · Kirsten Harms · Maria Johanna Fischer 

40

Synopsis 

Volker David Kirchner gave his seventh work for the stage the subtitle “Scenic Moments”. The 

texts are compiled from Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and sonnets by Michelangelo. 

Kirchner’s Inferno d’amore entwines the language of music and the musical language of 

the lyrical styles of Shakespeare and Michelangelo. Kirchner has largely reduced Shakespeare’s 

well-known drama to the love scenes between Romeo and Juliet; this allows the theme of “love 

and death” to take centre stage with the result that the family conflicts between the Montagues 

and Capulets and their effects on the pair of lovers are largely shaded out. Inferno d’amore is 

primarily focused on the central theme of the unfulfilled yearning for love, the burning desire to 

be consumed by each other – nirvana achieved in a kiss. 

Inferno d‘amore 

12.03.1995 Ballhof Hannover 

The composer’s central aim was to display the lovers’ wish to be consumed by each other – and 

how this wish leads them to be devoured by the flame. The underlying style of the music is therefore 

dark in tone, saturated with yearning and a madrigalistic solemnity (only occasionally is one 

startled by sharp accents). […] Kirchner provides […] a mellow intermezzo: a new view of an old 

and vernally uplifting love story. (Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 03/1995) 

41

Viktor Ullmann 

Der Sturz des Antichrist 

(The Fall of the Antichrist) 

Opera (Bühnenweihefestspiel - “A Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage”) in 

three acts 

Libretto by Albert Steffen 

Origin: 1934-1936 

Language: German | English translation by Daniel Marston 

1995 

Cast: the Regent · heroic tenor – the Priest · tenor – the Technocrat · baritone – the Poet · lyric 

tenor – the Old Jailor · bass – the Demon of the Regent · tenor – the Imperfect Angel of the 

Priest · mezzo soprano – the Ghost of the Technocrat · baritone – the Barker · tenor – 

the Crowd · chorus (in the third act only) 

Orchestra: 3 (3. auch Picc.) · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 2 (1. auch Bassetthr., 2. auch Bassklar. und Bassetthr.) · 

Bassklar. · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) · Kfg. – 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl. · Beck. · tiefes Tamt. · kl. Tr · Xyl.) – 

Org. · Hfe. – Str. 

Stage music (in the 3. act, can be cut if not available): Picc. · 2 · 0 · 2 Klar. in Es · 0 – 3 · 3 · 3 · 

1 – S. (gr. Tr. mit Beck. · kl. Tr.) 


Recording CD CPO 999 321 · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: Ullmann’s opera Der Sturz des Antichrist (The Fall of the Antichrist) was never performed 

in the composer‘s lifetime who was murdered at Auschwitz in 1944. The posthumous 

World Première in 1994 was made possible by the 1994 edition of the musical material that 

had fortunately survived. 


07.01.1995 Theater Bielefeld (WP) 

Rainer Koch · John Dew · Thomas Gruber 

19.01.2007 Theater Hof 

Karl Prokopetz · Anton Nekovar · Daniel Dvorak 

42

Synopsis 

A power-hungry Regent strives to attain world domination. He has already subdued the masses 

and only three figures resist his power: the technocrat, the priest and the poet – personifications 

of knowledge, religion and art. The technocrat is instructed to master gravity with his 

specialised knowledge, to construct a spacecraft and conquer the universe; the priest is ordered 

to create synthetic food out of stones and the poet is entrusted to extol the greatness of the 

tyrant in words. 

The technocrat and priest are easily won over, but the poet refuses to carry out his task and is 

thrown into prison. However he is saved by the jailor, in defiance of the Regent, in an initiation 

and re-birthing ritual. As the technocrat and priest both fail in their insoluble tasks, the Regent 

passes sentence on them. He in turn is outwitted by the poet who relies on the strength of the 

word: the logos in human hearts. The Regent who, in his delusion, would have unhinged the 

entire world finally crashes into the depths with his spacecraft. 

Der Sturz des Antichrist 

19.01.2007 Theater Hof 

Ullmann’s music for the Antichrist is stringently organised throughout. Although the formal 

aspects are not necessarily new, they are utilised with intense dramatic consistency. Even those 

who do not immediately recognise that the entire second act is constructed as a large-scale fugue 

[…], will be unavoidably caught in the grip of its mighty maelstrom and will hear two principles 

clashing and disengaging from one contradiction to the next and speeding down the final home 

stretch to the climax and the work’s culmination. (Die Zeit, 13.01.1995) 

43

Erwin Schulhoff 

Flammen 

(Flames) 

A musical tragic comedy in two acts 

Libretto by Karel Josef Beneš · German translation by Max Brod 

Edited by Andreas Krause 

Origin: 1923-1929 | 1932 (Revision) 

Language: German | Czech 

1995 

Cast: Don Juan · heroic tenor – a Woman / a Nun · mezzo soprano – Margarethe · soprano – La 

Morte · mezzo soprano – 6 Female Shadows · 3 sopranos, 3 altos – female chorus behind the scene 

Orchestra: Picc. · 1 · 1 · Engl. Hr. · 1 (auch Es-Klar.) · Bassklar. · 1 · Kfg. – 4 · 1 · 0 · 0 – P. S. (Trgl. · 

Gl. · Schellen · Beckenpaar · Tamt. · Schellentr. · Tomt. · Mil. Tr. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. m. Beck. · Kast. · 

Ratsche · Guiro · Sirene (Torpedo) · Klaviaturglspl. · Xyl. · Vibr.) (5 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cel. · Org. 

(hinter der Szene) – Str. (12 · 10 · 8 · 6 · 6) 

Stage music: Jazzband I (Sopransax. · Tenorsax. – 3 Trp. · Pist. – Jazz(Traps)-Schlagzeug: 

Beckenteller · 2 Tomt. · 2 Holztr. · Mil. Tr. · gr. Tr.) – Tenorbanjo · Klav. oder Jazzband II (Altsax. · 

Tenorsax. – Traps – Tenorbanjo) · Klav. – Vl. (obligat) 


Recording CD DECCA 444 630 · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: The performance material documents all versions of the opera prepared by Schulhoff 

on various occasions in updated performance versions. 


16.04.1994 Großer Sendesaal des SFB (WP of the full opera, concert performance) 

John Mauceri · Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin 

17.03.1995 Oper Leipzig (WP, scenic production) 

Jörg Krüger · Uwe Wand · Johannes Conen · Johannes Conen 

21.05.2005 Concertgebouw Amsterdam 

Edo de Waart · Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland 

07.08.2006 Theater an der Wien 

Bertrand de Billy · Keith Warner · Es Devlin 

19.04.2008 Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern 

Uwe Sandner · Urs Häberli · Thomas Dörfler · Ursula Beutler 

44

Synopsis 

Homage to Mozart of a special kind: in his approach to the Don Juan myth, Schulhoff does not 

portray the libertine as a sexual predator, but as a figure eternally driven by desire. In contrast 

to Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the hero is not sent to hell but, like Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, is 

condemned to an eternal search for love and redemption. Two archaic principles, the “flames” 

of life (symbolised by the male figure of Don Juan) and the “flames” of death (represented 

by the female figure La Morte), yearn to be unified, but mutually repel each other. Man and 

woman, life and death, yearning and fulfilment and hope and resignation are set in Schulhoff’s 

only work for the stage as bold dualisms in a fascinating interplay. 

Flammen 

07.08.2006 Theater an der Wien 

Schulhoff has composed the eleven scenes with a random virtuosity. A shadow-like flute solo is 

followed by glittering orchestral waves in which the presence of […]Debussy and Strauss can be 

discerned […]. A moaning Tristanic suspended second is utilised to symbolise love, […] the smouldering 

fire from Don Giovanni is integrated into the composer’s stylistic layered cake and the 

masked ball is as bombastic as Ben Hur. Music which is simultaneously intelligent and obsessive. 

(Leipziger Volkszeitung, 20.03.1995) 

45

Stewart Wallace 

Harvey Milk 

Opera in three acts 

Libretto by Michael Korie 

Origin: 1994 

Language: English 

1995 

Cast: Harvey Milk, City Counsellor of San Fancisco · high baritone – Dan White, Murderer of 

Harvey Milk and George Moscone · tenor – Scott Smith, Harvey Milk’s partner · tenor – Diane 

Feinstein, Head of the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco · soprano – George Moscone, Mayor 

of San Francisco · bass – Anne Kronenberg, Election Campaign Manager for Harvey Milk · 

mezzo soprano – Henry Wong · male soprano – Messenger · high baritone – Young Harvey · boy 

tenor – Medora · girl soprano – mixed chorus 

Orchestra: 2(2pic).2(2.ca).2(2.Eb cl).bcl(cl).2(2.cbsn)-4.3.3.2-timp.3perc(glsp, mar, avnil, wdbl, 

police whistle, tri, timbales, agogo bells, xyl, cimbalon, tam-t, vib, tub bells, sus cym, h.h, s.d, 4 

tom-t, cow bell, tempbl, cym, sirene, samba whistle, pic wdbl)-keyboard-str 


Performance Material on hire 

Also available: Kaddish for Harvey Milk for soprano, mezzo soprano, high baritone, large 

chorus and orchestra 


19.01.1995 Houston Grand Opera, Wortham Theater, Houston, TE (WP) 

Ward Holmquist · Christopher Alden 

24.02.1996 Theater Dortmund, Dortmund 

Daniel Klayner · John Dew 

09.11.1996 San Francisco Opera, San Francisco, CA 

Donald Runnicles · Christopher Alden · Paul Steinberg · Gabriel Berry 

46

Synopsis 

Harvey Milk is inspired by the life and martyrdom of San Francisco‘s first openly gay elected 

public official. Harvey Milk had a foot in two separate ghettos: one gay, one Jewish. He was a 

boy in Long Island at the time of the liberation of the concentration camps in Europe at the end 

of World War II. Like many Jews of his generation, he clearly saw that remaining silent was no 

longer a moral option. His sense of moral outrage and courage stems from this time. When he 

began to transfer these lessons to himself as a gay man, he transformed himself from a closeted 

Wall Street businessman into an outspoken leader of the gay community. 

Harvey Milk 

19.01.1995 Houston Grand Opera 

Harvey Milk contains moments that are touching and zany and contemporary in ways that we 

are used to on the stage but hardly ever encounter in the opera house. And as it reaches its tragic 

conclusion, the opera suddenly feels both wrenching in its pain and heroic in its politics. At these 

moments Harvey Milk seems to open possibilities for a vital, risk-taking musical theater, free from 

the oppressions of tradition, good taste, and Masterpiece Theater restorationism. 

(David Schiff, The New York Times) 

47


Die Weise von Liebe und Tod 

des Cornets Christoph Rilke 

(The Melody of Love and Death 

of the Standard Bearer Christoph Rilke) 

Twelve scenes from the novel by Rainer Maria Rilke 

Reconstructed from fragments of the full score and the piano score by Henning Brauel 

Origin: 1944 | 1995 (Reconstruction) 

1995 


Cast: Narrator 

Orchestra: 3 (3. auch Picc.) · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 2 · Bassklar. · 2 · Kfg. – 4 · 2 · 3 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl. · 

Röhrengl. · ant. Cymb. · 3 hg. Beck. · 3 Tamt. [h/m/t] · kl. Tr. · Mil.tr. · Rührtr. · gr. Tr. · Glspl.) 

(3 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. (auch Cel.) – Str. 


Recording CD ORFEO C 366 951 A · Performance material on hire 


27.05.1995 Prag, Prager Frühling (WP, concert performance) 

28.05.1995 Konzerthaus Wien 

06.07.1995 Deutsches Haus Flensburg 

02.09.1995 Kunsthaus Luzern 

08.07.1998 Semperoper Dresden · MDR-Musiksommer 

Gerd Albrecht · Tschechische Philharmonie 

25.06.1998 Kraftwerk Salzburg-Hallein (WP, scenic production) 

Alexander Drcar · Herbert Gantschacher · Erich Heyduck | Eva-Maria Schön 

27.02.1999 Nationaltheater Weimar 

George Alexander Albrecht · Staatskapelle Weimar 

17.02.2007 Theater Rudolstadt 

Oliver Weder · Christian Marten-Molnár · Nikolaus Porz 

48

Synopsis 

Rainer Maria Rilke depicts in his text the events and scenes from the final days in the life of an 

imaginary ancestor, the young standard bearer (Cornet) Christoph Rilke, master of Langenau. 

We follow the progress of the Cornet against the background of the first Turkish War (1663- 

1664) through the vastness of the Hungarian plain, are witness to a love episode and finally 

experience his death in combat with his opponent. 

Ullmann selected 15 text extracts from the original collection of 28 for his opera and arranged 

them in two sections. Through alteration, abridgement and reductions, he produced a coherent, 

taut and continuous storyline. Although Ullmann’s composition received its first performance 

in 1944 in a version for narrator and piano in the concentration camp Theresienstadt, the manuscript 

dated July 1944 reveals that Ullmann had planned his work for a large-scale orchestra. 

The unfinished orchestration was completed by Henning Brauel in 1994. 

Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke 

12.02.2007 Theater Rudolstadt 

Against the background of the reality of Theresienstadt, the constant threat and eventual murder 

of Ullmann in the extermination camp, Rilke’s already fragmented lyrical celebration, even eroticisation, 

of death becomes a manifesto of yearning for peace, love and serenity and mourning for 

their absence. (Dominik Schweiger, Wien 1995) 

49

Stephen Paulus 

The Woman at Otowi Crossing 

Opera in two acts 

Libretto by Joan Vail Thorne, based on the novel by Frank Waters 

Origin: 1994-1995 


1995 

Cast: Helen Chalmers · soprano – Emily Chalmers, her Daughter · mezzo soprano – Jack Turner, 

a Journalist · baritone – Tilano, an old Indian · bass baritone – Dr. Joel Edmund, a Young Scientist 

· tenor – Tranquillino, an old Indian · baritone 

Smaller parts: FBI-Agent · baritone – Soldier · baritone – two Brujas, religious Zealots · mezzo 

sopranos – three Scientists: ‘Mr Baker’ (Code name for Nils Bohr) · baritone – ‘Mr Farmer’ 

(Code name for Enrico Fermi) · bass baritone – Dr. Breslau · baritone – the Scientist’s Wifes (the 

‘Women from the Hill’): Lucy · soprano – Martha · soprano – Harriet · mezzo soprano – Maria, 

Tranquillino’s Wife · soprano – chorus of Indian Spirits · mixed chorus (10.8.6.6.4) 

Orchestra: 2(2.pic)2.2.2-2.2.1.1(btbn)-timp.2perc-hp.cel-str(10.8.6.6.4) 




15.06.1995 Opera Theatre of St. Louis (WP) 

Dirigent Richard Buckley 

50

Synopsis 

This is a story based on the life of Edith Warner, who lived at Otowi Crossing in New Mexico 

from 1928 to 1951. The tea room of Edith’s character, Helen Chalmers, at the old railway station 

serves as a metaphorical bridge between the ancient Pueblo culture and the U.S. government 

installation at Los Alamos where the atom bomb is being developed. 

In the course of the parable like story describing the long lasting process of Helen’s passing 

away, Helen becomes a person of insight into the unity and harmony of all life as those first 

atomic scientists take from her hope that people of intelligence and goodwill understand their 

sense of crisis. 

The Woman at Otowi Crossing 

15.06.1995 Opera Theatre of St. Louis, © Ken Howard 

51

Alexander Goehr | Claudio Monteverdi 

Arianna 

Lost opera by Monteverdi in eight scenes newly composed (1995) 

Text by Ottavio Rinuccini · English text version by Patrick Boyde 

Op. 58 

Origin: 1994-1995 

Language: Italian 

1995 

Cast: Arianna · mezzo soprano – Dorilla / Venere · contralto – Amore · soprano – Bacco / Coro · 

altus – Teseo / Coro · tenor 1 – Nunzio 2 / 1. Soldier / Coro · tenor 2 – 2. Soldier / Messenger / 

Coro · tenor 3 (or baritone) – Counsellor / Coro · baritone – Nunzio 1 / Giove / Coro · bass 

Orchestra: fl. (soprec) · afl (soprec) · 2 ssax. (2Bbcl, 2bcl; 1:Ebcl) · bcl (cbcl) · bn. (cbn)-2ttbn. 

(atbn) - perc. (2 baroque timp., t.d., small cym., hi-hat, w.bl., 3 tabors, tamb., small tamb., 

casts., tri., small tam-tam, small jingle stick, xyl., glock.l, vib. (3 octaves), tub.bells, antique 

cym., small gng pitched at middle C, rainstick)(4 players) - hp. (medieval hp) · sampler (AKAI 

S1000 or AKAI S3200) · gtr. (amplified) - vn.I · vn II · va. 


Vocal score ED 12457 · Recording CD NMC D054 · Performance material on hire 


15.09.1995 Royal Opera House Covent Garden London (WP) 

Ivor Bolton · Francesca Zambello · Alison Chitty 

14.08.1996 Kammeroper im Rathaushof Konstanz 

Peter Bauer · Mauro Guindani · Marcel Zaba 

04.10.1996 West Road Concert Hall Cambridge 

William Lacey · Annilese Miskimmon · Francio Terry 

07.06.1998 Opera Theatre Saint Louis 

Grant Llewellyn · Tim Ocel · Leslie Taylor · Robin Verhage-Abrams 

52

Synopsis 

It was surely an act of faith - if not of folly - for me to choose Rinuccini’s old Arianna libretto, 

when I could barely make out the meaning of the words. Yet I knew it was right for me, just 

as I would have known that Orfeo or Poppea or, for that matter, La Traviata or Lohengrin (had 

they been so unfortunate as to lose their music) would not be right. I also knew and this may 

seem almost perverse, that it was to be Arianna and not Ariadne - that is Italian and not English. 

Common sense led me to experiment with the possibility of an English version, for it would 

certainly have made things a lot easier; but in this case I knew that my attraction had as much 

to do with the sound as the meaning of the antique Italian [...] My final score is deliberately 

patchy: some parts are highly worked, polyphonically and instrumentally; elsewhere the bare 

bones of the original are left to stand. The impression I aim to create is one of transparency: 

the listener should perceive, both in the successive and simultaneous dimensions of the score, 

the old beneath the new and the new arising from the old. We are to see a mythological and 

ancient action, interpreted by a 17th-century poet in a modern theatre. My hope, as expressed 

by Rinuccini’s Apollo in the (unset) prologue of Arianna, is that ‘it will come to pass that in 

these new songs you will admire the ancient glory of the Grecian stage’. (Alexander Goehr, 

Royal Opera House programme, 1995) 

Arianna 

15.09.1995 Royal Opera House Covent Garden 

© Cliver Barder/Arenapal.com 

The eight scenes from Rinuccini’s text in Goehr’s musical adaptation give the impression that 

Monteverdi has come back to life 356 years after his death and, still familiar with his own idiom, 

is attempting to find himself somewhere between the Second Viennese School and Goehr’s 

teacher, Olivier Messiaen. Unlike Alfred Schnittke, Goehr does not assemble or alienate quotations 

or pseudo-quotations; in fact, he transforms precisely observed stylistic characteristics of Monteverdi 

in the light of his experiences with Schoenberg, Webern, Berg and Messiaen into his own 

tonal language. Thus his concentrated, quasi pointillist instrumentation is both reminiscent of the 

brilliant Spaltklang ensemble of the Early Baroque period and also of Webern’s structural colouring 

of Bach’s Ricercare. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 23.04.1999) 

53

Hans Werner Henze | Jörg Widmann 

Knastgesänge 

(Songs from the Prison) 

Three music theatre works for puppet players, singers and instrumentalists 

Variations on four songs by Hans Werner Henze 

Composed by Jörg Widmann 

Texts by Hans-Ulrich Treichel 

Origin: 1984 (Henze) / 1995 (Widmann) 


1996 

Cast: 

I Antonio der Dieb (Antonio the Thief): Antonio · tenor – Nero · bass – Signora Rossi · actress – 

Gianluca · tenor – Paolo · baritone – Renzo · bass – two Carabinieri · silent roles 

II Rodolfo Foscati: Rodolfo Foscati · tenor – Vittoria · soprano – Giovanni · tenor – Roberto · 

baritone – Piero · bass – Count Foscati, Lieutenant Franz von Brück, Lady’s Maid, Prison Guard · 

actors – Fairies · 3 children’s voices (or chorus) – Austrian soldiers · silent roles 

III Pantelleria – Insel der Schmerzen (Pantelleria – Island of Pains): Francesco Petuso · tenor – 

Giorgetta · soprano – Giacomo · tenor – Giorgio · baritone – Mother Petuso, Paolo, Pietro, Vito 

Tavese, Lawyer, Merchant, Waiter · actors 

Orchestra: 4 Blockfl. (Sopran, Alt, Tenor, Bass) · 2 Fl. · Klar. – Krummhorn · Trp. · Pos. – 

Orff-Instrumentarium (Glsp. · Sopranxyl. · Altxyl. · Bassxyl. · Bassmetalloph.) – P. S. (3 hg. Beck. · 

gr. Tr. · Basstamt. · 5 Tomt. · Mil.-Tr. · 2 Bong. · Mar. · Guiro · Wassergong · Löwengebrüll) 

(4 Spieler) – Konzert-Git. · elektr. Git. · elektr. Bass · Akk. – Vl. · 3 Psalter · Kb. 



Remarks: In his three music theatre works which are combined under the general title Knastgesänge 

(Songs from the Prison), Jörg Widmann uses musical sketches by Hans Werner Henze, 

transforming them into a self-contained music theatre work. 


23. März 1996 Theater Basel, Theaterfoyer (WP) 

Graziella Contratto · Susanne Iphigenie Rost · Stefan Bullerkotte 

54

Synopsis 

In Antonio der Dieb [Antonio the Thief], set in contemporary Venice, the title figure follows the 

insinuations of the Devil, becomes a thief in order to satisfy his piercing hunger and subsequently 

discovers that a devil can simultaneously be crook, prison warden, innkeeper and priest 

in one. 

Rodolfo Foscati is set in the historical period of the Italian campaign against the Hapsburgs in 

1821 in Milan and is an enthralling tale of injured pride, revenge and betrayal. 

Pantelleria – Die Insel der Schmerzen [Pantelleria – Island of Pain] is based in the contemporary 

Mafia and drug-dealing world of Catania and relates the story of a respectable young man who 

through a false female friend becomes involved with the dealings of her protector, a drug boss. 

The tale ends with prison and hopelessness. 

„Prisoner“ © LOU OATES - Fotolia.com 

In the manner of Virginia Woolf’s “progression” through the ages as shown in her novel Orlando, 

these three individual pieces depict how an innocent person loses his innocence: the Devil as enticer, 

political pressure as provocation and finally the Mafia as a blackmailer in times of need.[…] 

I decided on a variation technique […] which addresses Henze’s songs and also follows on from 

them. In my work, all scenes and interludes process melodic, rhythmic and tonal motifs which are 

present in the Henze originals – these naturally set the tone in attitude, atmosphere and instrumentation. 

(Jörg Widmann) 

55

Herbert Willi 

Schlafes Bruder 

(Brother of Sleep) 

Opera in a prologue, eight scenes and an epilogue 

Libretto by Robert Schneider in collaboration with Herbert Willi 

Origin: 1994-1996 | 2006 (revised version) 


1996 

Cast: Eliaskind [Elias as a Child] · boy soprano – Elias · tenor – Elsbeth · mezzo soprano – Lukas, 

her Fiancé · baritone – Peter · low bass – Seff, his Father · counter tenor – Seffin, his Wife · alto – 

Haintzin · coloratura soprano – Corvinius, a Preacher · tenor – Kurat · bass – Schlafes Bruder 

(Brother of Sleep) · chorus, invisible – chorus of the Village People · chorus (SSSAAATTTBBB), on 

stage – 4 Village People · mezzo soprano, tenor, baritone, bass – a solo Speaker 

Orchestra: 3 (1. auch Altfl.; 2., 3. auch Picc.) · 1 · Engl. Hr. · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 

Sopran sax. · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) – 2 · 2 · 2 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl. · Crot. · 3 Bong. · Mil. Tr. · Holzblocktr. · 

Pedalglspl. · Xyl. · Vibr. · Marimba) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. (auch Cel.) – Str. 

(7 · 6 · 5 · 4 · 3) 



Remarks: In his revision (finished in 2006) Herbert Willi added new music, especially for the 

‘Hörwunder’ (‘Miracle of Listening’) described in the libretto; in addition he reworked the prologue 

and made some minor cuts in the libretto, thus improving the balance of instrumental, 

vocal and spoken parts. 


28.04.1996 Opernhaus Zürich (WP) 

19.05.1996 Theater an der Wien · Wiener Festwochen (Guest performance) 

Manfred Honeck · Cesare Lievi · Erich Wonder · Florence von Gerkan 

03.11.1996 Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck 

Arend Wehrkamp · Dominique Mentha · Werner Hutterli · Birgit Edelbauer 

10.12.1997 Mozarteum Salzburg (concert performance) 

Peter Keuschnig · Camerata Academica Salzburg 

29.03.2008 Stadttheater Klagenfurt (WP of the revised version) 

Michael Brandstätter · Aron Stiehl · Jürgen Kirner 

56

Synopsis 

In the manuscript of the then unpublished debut novel Schlafes Bruder [Brother of Sleep] by 

Robert Schneider, the Austrian composer Herbert Willi discovered a plot which was particularly 

suitable for a musical setting and which in certain key passages was literally ‘crying out to be 

set to music’ (Willi). The composer also discovered startling parallels between the story and his 

own biography. In intensive cooperation with the author, an independent libretto was compiled 

which in form and partially also in content diverged from the novel for Herbert Willi’s first work 

for the stage. This libretto does however also incorporate core motifs from the novel (which has 

subsequently received numerous awards and been transformed into an opulent film by Josef 

Vilsmaier). 

Johannes Elias Alder, an exceptionally gifted musician, lives in an isolated mountain community 

and is destroyed by the wordless villagers and their inability to relate to each other. Ultimately 

he takes his own life by depriving himself of sleep. However, the composer has replaced 

Schneider’s bleak conclusion with a positive final twist incorporating the concept of love and 

hope. 

Schlafes Bruder 

29.03.2008 Stadttheater Klagenfurt 

Herbert Willi has produced one aural miracle after another; the result is a remarkable and fascinating 

piece of music theatre – dramatically conceived and imaginatively created: […] a superb 

mixture of lyricism and intoxication. (Der Spiegel 17/1996) 

57


Der zerbrochene Krug 

(The Broken Pitcher) 

Opera in one act 

Libretto by Viktor Ullmann after the play by Heinrich von Kleist, Op. 36 

Origin: 1942 


1996 

Cast: Walter, Court Inspector · bass – Adam, Village Judge · high bass buffo – Licht, Court Clerk · 

tenor buffo – Mrs Marthe Rull · low alto – Eve, her Daughter · lyric soprano – Veit Tümpel, 

a Farmer · baritone – Ruprecht, his Son · heroic tenor – Mrs Brigitte · alto – 1. Maidservant · 

soprano – 2. Maidservant · alto – a Bailiff · silent role 

Orchestra: Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 · Bassklar. · Ten. Sax. · 2 · 

Kfg. – 3 · 2 · 1 · 0 – P. S. (Trgl. · hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar · Schellen · Tamb. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. mit 

Beck. · Kast. · Ratsche · Glspl. · Xyl) (3 Spieler) – Cemb. · Tenor-Banjo – Str. 


Vocal score ED 8434 · Recording CD ORFEO C 419 981 A · Performance material on hire 


17.05.1996 Dresdner Musikfestspiele · Nationaltheater Weimar (WP) 


Israel Yinon · Ehrhard Warneke · Dieter Lange 

29.04.2007 Städtische Bühnen Münster, Kleines Haus 

Peter Meiser · Axel Kresin · Martina Toeberg 

17.02.2008 Dorothy Chandler Pavilion · Los Angeles Opera 

James Conlon · Darko Tresnjak · Ralph Funicello · Linda Cho 

58

Synopsis 

Viktor Ullmann composed his setting of Kleist’s popular dramatic comedy in 1942 between his 

two operas Der Sturz des Antichrist [The Fall of Antichrist] (1936) and Der Kaiser von Atlantis 

[The Emperor of Atlantis] (1943) against the background of an increasingly bleak political situation. 

The score was completed only a few weeks prior to Ullmann’s deportation to the concentration 

camp Theresienstadt. Nonetheless, these tragic omens appear only to have had an 

underlying effect on the humorous and trenchant work. On a superficial level, Ullmann largely 

adheres to Kleist’s text (albeit with highly effective abridgements) and concisely relates the 

story of the village judge Adam who has to pass judgement on his own misdeed – the broken 

pitcher of Marthe – and is ultimately unmasked as the true culprit. 

Closer study of the text reveals several passages which can clearly be interpreted as a commentary 

on the iniquities of the justice system under the Third Reich. Specifically, the final verse, 

written by Ullmann himself, is set in the context of the Nazi’s Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) 

and its henchmen in the red robes of judges, a witty but undisguised warning: ‘Fiat justitia, | 

damals wie ebenda: | Richter soll keiner sein, | ist nicht sein Herze rein.’ (Fiat justitia: then as 

now, no-one should be a judge if his heart is not pure). 

Der zerbrochene Krug 

17.02.2008 Los Angeles Opera 

Ullmann combines references to18th century opera buffo with the tonal language of his own 

time. A harpsichord is alienated by its modernistic plucked chords, in the background a sultry 

string cantilena and brass soli clumsily interrupt the emotional operetta-like melodies. Here comedy 

is created through the overlapping of perfectly imitated musical fashions. […] Ullmann creates 

an ideal comic tempo with his rhythmical sprechgesang: the nimble post-Rossini parlando which is 

the motor of numerous German “comic” operas. (Der Tagesspiegel, 21.05.1996) 

59

Tobias Picker 

Emmeline 


Libretto by J.D. McClatchy, based on the novel by Judith Rossner 

Origin: 1994-1995 


1996 

Cast: Emmeline Mosher · soprano – Sophie, an Elderly Girl at the mill · soprano – Harriet 

Mosher · soprano – Ella Burling · soprano – Mrs. Bass · mezzo soprano – Aunt Hannah Watkins, 

Henry’s Sister · dramatic contralto – Matthew Gurney, a Railway Worker · tenor – Mr. Maguire, 

a Checker · baritone – Hooker · tenor – Simon Fenton · baritone – Henry Mosher, Emmeline’s 

Father · bass – Pastor Avery · bass – Sarah Mosher, Mr Summers, Mrs Maguire · speaking roles – 

Women’s chorus – Children’s voices (2 to 12 years old) 

Orchestra: 2(2. pic).2(2. ca).2.2-4.2.2.0-timp-hp.harm.str(10.8.6.6.3) 


Vocal score EA 818 · Recording CD Albany Records ASIN B000006A6Q · Performance material 

on hire 


27.07.1996 Santa Fe Opera (WP) 

George Manahan · Francesca Zambello · Robert Israel · Dunya Ramicova 

60

Synopsis 

Emmeline Mosher is only 13 when she is sent away from her home town of Fayette, Maine to 

work in the cotton mills of Lynn, Massachusetts. Falling prey to the advances of her boss’ son, 

Mathew Gurney, she becomes pregnant and is again sent out of town to have the child. What 

follows is a series of catastrophic events in Emmeline’s life that ultimately lead to her ostracism 

from the community. 

Emmeline 

27.07.1996 Santa Fe Opera 

The City Opera should put Emmeline in its permanent repertory. It is a model of its kind. 

(Bernard Holland, The New York Times) 

Aside from being a new opera that, for once, is defined and driven by music of quality, Emmeline 

is remarkable for containing a central role designed to flatter the voice and probe a character‘s 

emotional dilemma through flexibly contoured, expressively exploratory vocal lines. 

(Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine) 

Have you ever heard of a contemporary opera where the audience stands up and cheers when the 

composer takes his bow That‘s what happened at the Santa Fe Opera this summer after the final 

performance of Emmeline by composer Tobias Picker. (Heidi Waleson, Billboard Magazine) 

61


Ein Landarzt 

(A Country Doctor) 

Radio opera based on the novella by Franz Kafka 

Origin: 1951 (Radio opera) | 1964 (Stage version) | 1965 (alternative version as Monodrama for 

baritone and orchestra) | 1994 (revised stage version) 

Language: German | English version by Wesley Balk 

1996 

Cast: the Country Doctor · baritone – Rosa · light soprano – the Daughter · soprano – the 

Mother · alto – the Groom · tenor – the Patient · low boy‘s voice – the Father · bass – children’s 

chorus (SA) 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc.) · 1 · Engl. Hr. · 1 · Bassklar. · 1 · Kfg. – 2 · 2 · 1 · 1 – S. (Trgl. · hg. Beck. · 

Beckenpaar · Tamt. · Tomt. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. m. Beck. · Clav. · Guiro · Mar. · kl. Glspl. · Xyl. · Vibr. · 

6 Röhrengl.) (5 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cel. · 3 Klav. (1. u. 2. präp. Klav.) · Org. – Str. 


Vocal score (D/E) ED 5674 · Study score ED 8481 · Recording CD WERGO 66662 (together 

with Das Ende einer Welt) · Performance material on hire 


19.11.1951 Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Hamburg 

(public broadcast of the studio production) 

Harry Hermann Spitz · Orchester des NWDR · Otto Kurth (director) 

30.11.1965 Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main (WP of the Stage version) 

Wolfgang Rennert · Hans Neugebauer · Jacques Camurati 

27.09.1996 Studio für Elektronische Musik des WDR Köln (WP of the revised version) 

Markus Stenz · Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester 

17.11.2006 Prinzregententheater München 

Ulf Schirmer · Christof Nel · Marc Weeger · Silke Willrett 

62

Synopsis 

A country doctor is called to a patient. For the journey, a shadowy carriage unexpectedly 

awaits. While Rosa the housemaid is being threatened by the coachman, the horses as if by 

magic sweep off with the doctor before he can come to the aid of his housemaid. The patient 

is a boy who does not appear to be ill, but is actually close to death. He has a palm-sized open 

wound in the region of his hip in which bloody worms are visible. The doctor cannot offer 

any help and is thus transformed into a patient himself. He lies down with the boy and has to 

listen to his accusation: ‘Instead of helping me, you take up space in my deathbed.’ The open 

wound as a symbol of human indebtedness returns the doctor-patient’s thoughts to Rosa, the 

housemaid who is in danger at home. He wishes to return home swiftly, but the horses now 

walk extremely slowly at the pace of old men. He abandons all hope, ‘naked and exposed to 

the frost of these ill-fated times’. (Source: WDR) 

Ein Landarzt 


There is on the one hand the state of having been deserted by all good spirits, of having been cast 

out and exposed to the most terrible loneliness which appears to have been “ordered” by unseen 

powers operating in “higher places”. There is deception, self-deception, deceit and having been 

deceived, the fathomlessness and unreliability of everyday things, beginning with the most simple 

(or banal) and rising to the metaphysical and grotesque. (Hans Werner Henze) 

63


Das Ende einer Welt 

(The End of a World) 

Radio opera | Opera buffa in two acts with prologue and epilogue 

Libretto by Wolfgang Hildesheimer 

Origin: 1953 (Radio opera) | 1964 (Stage version as opera buffa) | 1993 (revised version of the 

radio opera) 

Language: German | English version available 

1996 

Cast: Mr Fallersleben · tenor – Marchesa Montetristo · alto – Dombrowska, a Multi-talent · high 

tenor – La signora Sgambati, Astrologer · coloratura soprano – Professor Kuntz-Sartori, Politician · 

baritone – Golch, Man of culture · bass – Maggiordomo · baritone – the Narrator · actor – chorus 

of Guests · mixed chorus 

Orchestra: Blockfl. · Fl. · Okar. (Sopran u. Alt) · Fag. – 4 Jazztrp. · 4 Pos. – P. S. (2 hg. Beck. · 

Tamt. · kl. Tr. · 2 Tomt · gr. Tr · Clav. · Mar. · Glspl. · Xyl. · Vibr. · Röhrengl. · 3 Autohupen · 

Nebelgl. · Nebelhorn · Morseapp.) (4 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. · Harmon. · Akk. · Cemb. · Mandol. · 

Git. (mit Verstärker, auch E-Git.) · E-Bass – Str. – 3 Tonbänder (pre-recorded) 


Vocal score ED 5673 · Study score ED 8480 · Performance material on hire 


04.12.1953 Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Hamburg (WP broadcasting) 

Harry Hermann Spitz · Orchester des NWDR · Curt Reiss 

30.11.1965 Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main (WP of the Stage version) 

Wolfgang Rennert · Hans Neugebauer · Jacques Camurati 

27.09.1996 Studio für Elektronische Musik des WDR, Köln (WP of the revised version) 

Markus Stenz · Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester 


Ulf Schirmer · Christof Nel · Marc Weeger · Silke Willrett 

64

Synopsis 

The immensely rich Marchesa Montetristo has ordered an artificial island to be created in the 

lagoon near Venice, as she feels the mainland a threat to her mental equilibrium and she has 

found nothing suitable among the existing islands. 

She is now esconced on “San Amerigo” and celebrates ‘culture’. She has issued invitations to 

one of her celebrated soirées: her guest list includes illustrious names from the spheres of art, 

science and politics. Not included in any of these circles, but also among today’s invited guests, 

is Mr Fallersleben to whom the Marchesa is particularly indebted as he has recently sold her the 

very bathtub in which the famous Marat was murdered. 

The highlight of the evening is the performance of a reputedly rediscovered flute sonata from 

the 18th century, actually a fake. The Marchesa herself accompanies the flautist Beranger on the 

harpsichord. During the concert, a tremor is felt through the palazzo: its fortifications have been 

washed away by the sea, but the musical performance continues regardless. “San Amerigo”, the 

artificial island and its world of artificiality sinks slowly – and with it all the illustrious guests. 

Only Fallersleben is able to save himself – in Marat’s bathtub. 

Das Ende einer Welt 


The world in which Wolfgang Hildesheimer’s loveless novella is set only sank in part at the time; 

the number of artificial islands has been reduced, but snobs are ubiquitous […] To Hildesheimer’s 

uncharitableness, my own is added which is not dissimilar to that of the poet. It is not the world 

itself which is sinking, but a particular world which is minutely and accurately depicted and it is 

this world which infuriates us as it provokes unease and even horror. (Hans Werner Henze) 

65


Venus und Adonis 

(Venus and Adonis) 

Opera in one act for singers and dancers 

Libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel 

Origin: 1993-1995 


1997 

Cast: the Prima Donna · soprano – Clemente, a young Opera Singer · tenor – the Actor playing 

the Hero’s role · baritone – 6 Shepherds · 2 sopranos, mezzo soprano, tenor, baritone, bass – 

Venus, Adonis, Mars, the Mare, the Stallion, the Boar · dancers 

Orchestra I (‘Venus’): 3 Fl. (2., 3. auch Picc., 3. auch Altfl.) · Altsax. (auch Sopransax.) – 

Alttrp. · Tenortrp. · Basstrp. · Tb. – S. (Tamb. · Trinidad steel-drum · chin. Bl. · Peitsche · Vibr. · 

Flex. · Tempelbl. · Cymb. · Vibr.) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. – Str. (4 · 0 · 3 · 3 · 1) 

Orchestra II (‘Adonis’): 3 Ob. (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 Fag. (3. auch Kfg.) – 4 Hr. – S. (Pk. · 4 Tomt. 

· 4 Holzbl. · Kast.) (2 Spieler) – Cel. – Str. (4 · 0 · 3 · 3 · 1) 

Orchestra III (‘Mars’): 3 Klar. (2. auch Es-Klar., 3. auch Bassklar.) – 3 Trp. · Basstrp. – S. (P. · 

3 hg. Beck. · 3 Tamt. · chin. Gong · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. mit Beck. · Marimb.) (2 Spieler) – Klav. – 

Str. (4 · 0 · 3 · 3 · 1) 


Study score ED 8722 · Libretto BN 3367 · Performance material on hire 



20.03.1998 Teatro Carlo Felice, Genua 

31.03.1999 Nationaltheater Mannheim 

Markus Stenz (München) | Jan Latham-Koenig (Genua) | Jun Märkl (Mannheim) · 

Pierre Audi · Chloë Obolensky 

05.09.1997 Roayal Albert Hall · BBC Proms (concert performance) 

Markus Stenz · BBC Symphony Orchestra 

29.07.2000 Santa Fe Opera, USA 

Richard Bradshaw · Alfred Kirchner · John Conklin · David Woolard 

11.01.2001 Suntory Hall Tokyo (concert performance) 

Jun Märkl · NHK Symphony Orchestra 

66

Synopsis 

The prima donna, the heroic actor and the young tenor Clemente are rehearsing for a performance 

of the mythical tale of Venus, Adonis and Mars which relates the love between the goddess 

Venus and the handsome youth Adonis. This incurs the displeasure and jealousy of the god 

Mars and culminates in the death of Adonis who is attacked by a boar. During the performance, 

the boundaries between the myth and the singers’ private conflicts become blurred: the heroic 

actor is just as enamoured of the prima donna as his persona Mars is of Venus. Following initial 

resistance, a relationship between them develops, causing the heroic actor to be as outraged 

as was Mars at the sight of Venus and Adonis together. In the same moment as Adonis is killed 

by the boar, the heroic actor stabs Clemente. In death, Clemente and Adonis become one. 

Accompanied by shepherd song, Adonis is transported to the planet Venus. (Source: Bavarian 

State Opera Munich, season 1996| 1997) 

Venus und Adonis 


Venus and Adonis is a modern treatise on love: the love of two ageing persons for an adolescent 

boy, a youth. […] I describe great currents of emotion which have probably always been familiar 

to humans, but are possibly now portrayed differently in our time. This begins with their tonal 

representation. I also attempt – and this has been of special interest to me – to create music of our 

time in its unmitigated vehemence (and also in its entire range) on the basis of a generally familiar 

plot with the aid of a simple, classical formal vehicle. 

(Hans Werner Henze, Source: Bayerische Staatsoper 1997) 

67

Harald Weiss 

Das Gespenst 

(The Ghost) 

Music theatre for children and adults in two acts and an intermission 


Origin: 1995-1996 


1997 

Cast: 

The Theatre Company: Milan Smetak, Opera Singer · tenor – Ana von Velde, Opera Diva · mezzo 

soprano – Leslie Tyler, youngest Member of the Ensemble · soprano – Mick, Assistant and 

Stage Manager · sprechgesang [rap style] – Carlos Graun, Stage Director and Company Manager · 

baritone – Anton Pfaff, Répétiteur and Pianist · pianist 

The City Representatives (all acting roles): Karl-Heinz Schroff, Assistant Head of Cultural Administration 

– Mechthild Oberwasser-Lautenthal, M.P for the Green Party and Vice President 

of the Citizen’s Action Committee ‘Support the refurbishment of your local Guildhall’ – Heiner 

Pevestorf, Chief Supervisor of City Administration 

The Ghost · coloratura soprano (not acting on stage; voice by microphone or off stage) – Back 

Stage Personal, Ladies and Gentlemen from the Court · supernumeraries (4 persons, 2 male, 2 

female) 

Orchestra: 1 · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · 1 – 2 · 0 · 0 · 0 – P. S. (Trgl. · Gl. · Crot. · 

Gongs · Röhrengl. · 2 hg. Beck. · chin. Beck. · Tamt. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Donnerblech · Muschelwindspiel 

· Bambuswindspiel · Xyl.) (2 Spieler) – Klav. – Str. (4 · 0 · 2 · 2 · 1) – Tonbandpart 

(DAT-Kassette oder CD mit Toneinspielungen ist Teil des Aufführungsmaterials) 


Libretto BN 3933 · Recording CD ALC 5201 · Performance material on hire 


18.04.1997 Ballhof Hannover · Niedersächsisches Staatstheater (WP) 

Stephan Tetzlaff · Harald Weiss · Maria Johanna Fischer 

21.08.2004 Theater Erfurt 

Karl Prokopetz · Eva-Maria Abelein · Peter Steineke · Inge Steineke 

68

Synopsis 

Strange things are happening in an old, abandoned theatre: a small opera company has rented 

the theatre and is attempting to rehearse the fairy tale The Fisherman and his Wife when suddenly 

a ghost which happens to be lurking in the ancient walls creates a general disturbance, 

ultimately resulting in total confusion. On top of all this, a small love story is in progress … a 

great deal of turbulence ensues before the happy end. 

Harald Weiss effectively interlinks three levels in his opera: the unreal level of the theatre ghost, 

the prosaic level of the caricatured and exaggerated representatives of the town and the playful 

level of the theatre group which sees itself permanently confronted by the other two levels. 

The audience should however also be ‘seduced’ from its observer role to participation in the 

scenario. 

Das Gespenst 

18.04.1997 Ballhof Hannover · Niedersächsisches Staatstheater 

Harald Weiss plays with the various levels which constantly interrupt and overlap each other, 

inevitably producing both comical and satirical moments. The bureaucracy of public authorities 

and everyday life in the theatre is lampooned in a play of words. […] The different levels are also 

defined musically. […] The spectrum ranges from the traditional operatic aria to the jazzed up musical 

song. For the world of the ghost, the composer employs synthesised sounds, voices and noises. 

The whole auditorium is awash with sound. (Neue Musikzeitung 06/1997) 

69

Mark-Anthony Turnage 

Twice Through the Heart 

Dramatic scene for mezzo soprano and 16 players 

Text by Jackie Kay 

Origin: 1994-1996 


Cast: the Woman · mezzo soprano 

1997 

Orchestra: 1(afl)1(ca)2(bcl).0-1.1.1.0-perc(8 crot, vib, mar, sus cym, 3 gongs, tam-t, b.d, pedal 

b.d, ratchet, clav, whip)-hp.pno(cel)-str(1.0.2.2.1) 


Study score ED 12536 · Recoding LPO 0031 · Performance material on hire 


13.06.1997 Snape Maltings Concert Hall · Aldeburgh Festival (WP) 

Nicholas Kok · Orchestra of English National Opera 

24.04.1999 Stadttheater Gießen 

Herbert Gietzen · Christian Marten-Molnár · Nikolaus Porz 

20.05.2006 · Göteborg · Röda Sten 

Jerker Johansson · Bodø Sinfonietta 

06.11.2006 Manchester · Royal Northern College of Music 

Nicholas Kok · Psappha 

11.12.2006 Wiener Musikverein, Brahms-Saal 

Peter Keuschnig · Ensemble Kontrapunkte 

01.12.2006 Adrian Boult Hall Birmingham 

Nicholas Cleobury · Thallein Ensemble 

70

Synopsis 

A woman has killed her husband with the kitchen knife ‘twice through the heart’ in the heat of 

the moment. He had abused her mentally and physically for many years. In court however, the 

woman does not talk about this, and she is given a long prison sentence. ‘I wanted to write a 

simple voice that was not poetic, literary or polemical. I wanted the voice to be so everyday 

it would be banal: the language to be flat and ordinary. I wanted to contrast the heightened 

drama of such domestic violence with plain, unpoetic speech. I was captivated with the idea 

that both the home and the prison were forms of incarceration for the battered wife. That 

there was no place she could be free. That the battered wife received a double sentence: the 

first from the husband and the second from the judge’. (Jackie Kay, ENO programme, 1997). 

Twice Through the Heart 

© Sue Adler/Arenapal.com 

The texts are direct and unflinching, their language matter-of-fact; there is no attempt to lyricize 

what are brutal, appalling experiences. That sometimes makes the words seem flat and banal, 

and almost deliberately unpoetic, though Turnage’s treatment of them is unfailingly sympathetic 

and deeply expressive. The kernels of lyricism that were studded through the general declamatory 

style of Greek now dominate his vocal writing; the lines for the mezzo-soprano move in smooth, 

grateful curves, supported on instrumental textures (drawn from 16 players) that shift and change 

colour with astonishing vividness. Turnage’s treatment of his ensemble is intense, by turns fiercely 

dramatic and lyrical; his tangy writing for wind is a long-standing hallmark, but the succulent, 

sensuous string parts, sometimes conjuring an almost Straussian warmth, are new. 

(Opera, July 1997) 

71


Hopper’s Wife 

opera in five scenes 

libretto by Michael Korie 

Origin: 1997 


Cast: Hopper · baritone – Mrs. Hopper · mezzo soprano – Ava · soprano 

1997 

Orchestra: 1(pic).0.1(cl in A, Ebcl and bcl). ssax.asax.tsax.barsax .1(cbsn)-1(pic tpt).1.0.1-percussion-vn.vc 




June 1997 Long Beach Opera (WP) 

Michael Barrett 

72

Synopsis 

Hopper’s Wife imagines American scene painter Edward Hopper married to Hollywood gossip 

columnist Hedda Hopper with Ava Gardner as the artist’s model. The opera explores the conflicts 

between high art and low art, gossip and pornography - through the prism of a crumbling, 

competitive marriage. 

Edward Hopper and his wife both began as painters at the New York Art Students League. 

Competitiveness entered their marriage as Mrs. Hopper’s need for creative expression was 

subjugated to her husband’s. 

Though Hopper is strongly identified with cityscapes of urban America and landscapes of Truro, 

Cape Cod, he also painted female nudes. He approached his nudes from a characteristically voyeuristic 

stance, treating the female body as a screen on which to project unconscious desires. 

For years, his only model was his wife. 

Simultaneously, beginning in the mid-thirties on America’s opposite coast, the vituperative 

Hedda Hopper became a Hollywood fixture from her radio gossip show, her syndicated column, 

and her movie appearances in an ever-changing parade of flashy hats. Pandered to and fawned 

upon by obsequious studios and frightened stars, she wielded great power and venom, eventually 

cooperating with the reactionary forces behind the blacklist. 

Hopper‘s Wife 

1997 Long Beach Opera 

Dazzling. Wallace and Korie use a peculiar kind of mythic-historic fantasy to heigthen the allegorical 

dimension of Edward Hopper‘s real-life domination of his bitter and frustrated wife. With 

its odd and sophisticated premise, the production makes a case for opera as a genuinely adult art 

form, one able to confront and decry the current „dumbed-down“ state of American culture. 

(Michael Duncan, Art in America) 

73

György Ligeti 

Le Grand Macabre 

(The Grand Macabre) 

Opera in four scenes 

After the play “La Balade du Grand Macabre” (“The Ballad of the Grand Macabre”) by 

Michel de Ghelderode 

Text by György Ligeti and Michael Meschke 

Origin: 1974-1977 | 1995-1996 (new version) 

Language: German | English translation of the revised version by Geoffrey Skelton 

1997 

Cast: Chief of the Secret Political Police · coloratura soprano – Venus · high soprano – Amanda 

· soprano – Amando · mezzo soprano – count Go-Go · boy soprano, soprano or counter tenor – 

Mescalina · dramatic mezzo soprano – Piet vom Fass · high tenor buffo – Nekrotzar · character 

baritone – Astradamors · bass – Ruffiak · baritone – Schobiak · baritone – Schabernack · baritone 

– White Minister · tenor – Black Minister · baritone – Secret Police officers and hangmen 

(assistants of Secret Police), Master of Ceremonies of count Go-Go (a person of short stature, 

if possible), Pages and Servants at the Court of count Go-Go, Hellish Entourage of Nekrotzar 

during his entering the Court of count Go-Go · silent roles – Chorus: mixed chorus backstage 

(‘Echo of Venus’ [female chorus], ‘Choral of ghosts’, ‘The Whispering of the Walls’ and the Folk 

of Breughelland I) – mixed chorus in the auditorium (the Folk of Breughelland II) 

Orchestra: 3 (2. u. 3. auch Picc.) · 3 (2. auch Ob. d’am., 3. auch Engl. Hr.) · 3 (2. auch Klar. in Es 

und Altsax. in Es, 3. auch Bassklar. in B) · 3 (3. auch Kontrafag.) – 4 · 4 Tromp. in C (1. u. 2. ad 

lib. auch kl. Tromp. in D) · 1 Basstromp. in C · 3 Pos. (Tenor, Tenor-Bass, Kontrabass) · Kb.-Tb. – 

P. S. (Xyl. · Vibr. · Glspl. · Marimb. · 12 mechan. Autohupen · 4 Spieluhren · 6 elektr. Türklingeln · 

2 Schellentr. · Militärtr. · 2 kl. Tr. · 3 Bong. · Conga · Rührtr. · Paradetr. · 4 Tomt. · 2 gr. Tr. · 2 

Trgl. · 3 Paar Crot. · 3 hg. Beck. · 1 Paar kl. Beck. · 2 Paar norm. Beck. · Gong · 2 Tamt. · 

Röhrengl. · 2 jap. Tempelgl. [Rin] · Mar. · 2 Gueros · 2 Peitschen · 1 Paar Claves · 1 Paar Kast. · 

Ratsche · 3 Woodbl. · Holztr. · 5 Tempelbl. · gr. Holzhammer · Holzlatten · Lotosfl. · Trillerpfeife · 

Kuckuckspfeife · Signalpfeife · Sirenenpfeife · Dampfschiffpfeife · 2 Sirenen · 2 Flex. · Entengequake 

· 2 Brummtöpfe · gr. Weckeruhr · gr. pyramidenförm. Metronom · Papierbögen, Seidenoder 

Zeitungspapier · 1 Paar Sandpapierblöcke · Windmaschine · Papiertüte · Tablett voll 

Geschirr · Kochtopf · Pistole) (4 Spieler) – 3 chrom. Mundharmonikas (werden von den Bläsern 

oder Schlagzeugern gespielt) · Cel. (auch Cemb.) · Konzertflügel (auch elektr. Klav.) · elektr. Org. 

(nur Manual) (auch Regal) · Mand. · Hfe. – Str. (3 · 0 · 2 · 6 · 4) 

Stage music: Instrumentalists from the pit 


Study Score ED 8522 · Libretto (G/E) BN 3502 · Recordings CD WERGO 61702 (first version) / 

CD SONY S2K 62312 (revised version) · Performance material on hire 

74

Synopsis 

‘The opera takes place in the completely degenerate but recklessly flourishing dukedom 

of Breugelland. […] The opera’s main character is Nekrozar, the Grand Macabre, a sinister, 

demagogic and dubious figure with an unshakable sense of mission. He maintains that he is the 

figure of Death who has come to Breugelland in order to wipe out the entire population and 

thereby also the whole of mankind with the aid of a comet that very day at midnight. Although 

he enters the ducal palace with great pomp to proclaim his apocalyptic threats with supreme 

confidence, he becomes caught up in the maelstrom of the all too worldly goings-on of the 

people of Breugelland and, with the aid of the court astrologer and his drinking partner Piet 

vom Fass, becomes so inebriated […] that his loftily declaimed proclamation on the imminent 

end of the world falls totally flat. The intoxicated people of Breugelland believe themselves to 

have already arrived in heaven, but it gradually becomes clear that life in heaven is identical to 

that on earth. Everyone is still alive after all and only Nekrozar, the Grand Macabre, dies from 

grief that he has failed in his crusade. If he were Death himself, then Death is now dead, eternal 

life has begun and earth is at one with heaven: the Last Judgement has taken place. Should he 

however merely have been a conceited charlatan and a dark and false messiah and his mission 

merely empty words, life will continue as normal – one day everyone will die, but not today, 

not immediately.’ (György Ligeti; source: Salzburg Festival 1997) 


12.04.1978 Königliche Oper Stockholm (WP of the original version) 

Elgar Howarth · Michael Meschke · Aliute Meczies 

28.07.1997 Salzburger Festspiele (WP of the new version) 

05.02.1998 Théâtre du Châtelet Paris 

Esa-Pekka Salonen · Peter Sellars · George Tsypin · Dunya Ramicova 

11.03.1998 Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover 

Andreas Delfs · Ernst Theo Richter · Hartmut Schörghöfer · Jorge Jara 

29.10.2004 War Memorial Opera San Francisco 

Michael Boder · Kasper Holten · Jesper Kongshaug · Steffen Aarfing 

07.02.2009 New National Theatre Tokyo 

Uri Segal · Yasuki Fujita 

17.09.2009 English National Opera 

tba. 

Le Grand Macabre is a unique masterpiece of absurdist opera and one of the few new works of 

the post-Britten era to establish itself firmly in the international repertoire, thanks to a score of 

dizzying pace and variety. It begins with a car-horn prelude, a parodic reference to the toccata of 

Monteverdi’s Orfeo.[...] Juxtaposed with scenes of anarchic, earthy farce are passages of almost 

Straussian eroto-lyricism — the love-duetting of the androgynous Amanda and Amando, who seek 

oblivion in sex. (The Sunday Times, March 2009) 

75


Labyrinthos (Shakespearion II) 

After texts from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare and Claudio 

Monteverdi’s ‘Guerrieri ed Amorosi’ (La Ninfa) 

Origin: 1995-1996 


1997 

Cast (all actors/actresses): Oberon – Puck – Titania – Lysander – Hermia – Demetrius – Helena 

– Zettel [Nick Bottom] – Squenz [Peter Quince] – Schnautz [Tom Snout] – Schlucker [Francis 

Flute] – Pyramus 

Singers in the pit: 2 sopranos · 1 tenor · 1 baritone · 1 bass 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 1 (auch Kfg.) – 

2 · 1 · 1 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl. · 3 hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar · ant. Cym. · Tamt. · Röhrengl. · Schellentr. · 

2 Tomt. · 2 Bong. · 2 kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Holzbl. · Solid bar chimes · Gläsersp. · Glsp.) (3 Spieler) – Hfe. · 

Klav. (auch Cel.) – Str. (1 · 1 · 2 · 2 · 1) 




17.10.1997 Staatstheater Mainz, Kleines Haus (WP) 

Stefan Sanderling · Peter Brenner · Waltraud Engelberg 

76

Volker David Kirchner · Photo: Peter Andersen 

Synopsis 

Errors and confusion in a shimmering summer night: Oberon, the king of the fairies, and his 

queen Titania have fallen out with each other and are living apart but in the same forest near 

Athens. 

In the same location, two pairs of lovers have 

lost their way: Helena who loves Demetrius 

who loves Hermia who loves Lysander who 

loves Helena … A plot with great potential 

for complications. Oberon feels sorry for the 

lovers – the magic flower belonging to his 

servant Puck should help to solve all problems. 

This however has the opposite effect as 

Puck’s magic causes the person to fall in love 

with the first creature he or she sees! Thus 

Titania suddenly regards the simpleton Bottom 

with the ass’s head as the god of love. 

In addition, there is the troupe of craftsmen 

who rehearse the play ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’ 

for the wedding of Theseus and thereby initiate 

further confusion. The midsummer night 

becomes a labyrinth of encounters and emotions; 

in culmination, Oberon and Titania are 

confronted with utter chaos. 

“The musicality of Shakespeare’s language in the German translation by Schlegel proved to be a 

great inspiration for the composer […] Kirchner leaves the speech melody unaltered and intervenes 

as a commentator. […] He adds colour which appears to influence the events taking place, almost 

giving the impression that the composer has stepped into the playwright’s shoes, identifying himself 

with Shakespeare. Kirchner never breaks with tradition, but incorporates it consciously into his 

music.” (Das Orchester 02/1998) 

77

Peter Eötvös 

Radames 

Chamber opera 

Concept and libretto by Peter Eötvös, based on texts by András Jeles, Lászlo Najmányi, 

Manfred Niehaus and Antonio Ghislanzoni 

Origin: 1975 | 1997 (revised version) 

Language: German, Italian, English 

1997 

Cast: Radames / Aida · counter tenor – Opera Director · mezzo soprano – Theatre Director · 

tenor – Film Director · baritone 

Ensemble: Ssax., Horn, Tuba, E-Piano (Clavinova) 




05.03.1976 WDR Musiktheater Festival Köln (WP) 

Peter Eötvös · Peter Eötvös 

29.12.1997 Budapest (UA der revidierten Fassung) 

Gergely Vajda · Péter Halász · Zsolt Csengery · Sári Gerlóczy | Domokos Moldován 

12.06.1999 Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe 

Robin Engelen · Renate Ackermann · Markus Grob | Jai Young Park · Katrin Köhler 

10.11.2005 Kulturzentrum Herne 

Errico Fresis · Ensemble PanArte 


Joachim Tschiedel · Renate Ackermann · Stefan Wintersberger · 

Lisa Mohini-Müller | Takako Senda 

78

Synopsis 

A rehearsal of the opera Aida is in progress: due to large-scale cost reductions in the orchestral 

budget, only three musicians are available. The conductor has to direct from the keyboard (or 

an electric piano). He lives off his income as a pianist in a coffee bar. There is only one counter 

tenor remaining in the ensemble, a leftover from the Baroque opera craze of the late 20th 

century. He is able to take both the part of Aida sung falsetto and Radames in his normal vocal 

range – ideal casting! In contrast, the directors are over-represented: following the amalgamation 

of the opera house and dramatic theatre, the directors of both houses are available. These 

are joined by a film director, as the funds for the opera are being financed by a parallel film 

production. The scene involving the death of Radames is currently in rehearsal and all three directors 

are attempting to work with the singer at the same time. The singer breaks down under 

the pressure and simultaneously the operation of the entire opera house collapses. In essence, a 

death scene in which the actor dies and the actor of the actor dies while he is acting out death: 

the death of death. Opera dies - is in fact already dead. The film dies - but the directors survive 

and write their memoirs … (Source: Cultural Centre, Herne, 2005) 

Radames 

29.03.2008 Prinzregententheater München, Photo: Hilda Lobinger 

Eötvös’ chamber opera, perhaps originally conceived as ironical music of the future, has in the 

meantime become alarmingly up-to-date – a real (cultural-political) tragedy! 

(Sabine Radermacher | Errico Fresis, Quelle: Kulturzentrum Herne 2005) 

79

Petr Eben 

Jeremias 

(Jeremiah) 

Church opera in five scenes 

Libretto after the same-named play by Stefan Zweig, 

Adapted by the composer 

Origin: 1996-1997 


1997 

Cast: Narrator · tenor – Jeremias · bass baritone – Mother · alto – Baruch · tenor – Zedekia · 

bass – 2 Assyrian Warriors · tenor, bass – 2 Israelite Warriors · tenor, bass – 2 Men · tenor, bass 

– chorus 

Ensemble: 1 · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 · 1 – 1 · 1 · 1 · 0 – S. (Trgl. · Gong · Beck. · 4 Tomt.) – Orgel 

(Org.-positiv) – Str. 




25.05.1997 St. Vitus Kathedrale (Veitsdom) Prag (WP) 

Bohumil Kulínsky · Josef Prudek · Irena Janovcová (Choreographie) 

12.08.1999 Stiftskirche Ossiach, Österreich 

Peter Keuschnig · Erwin Ebenbauer · Walter Vogelweider 

06.05.2000 Seminarkirche St. Michael Würzburg · Stadttheater Würzburg 

Sören Eckhoff · Mario Schröder · Werner Pick 

03.06.2000 Hauptkirche St. Michaelis Hamburg (concert performance) 

Christoph Schoener · Choir and Orchester of the Hauptkirche St. Michaelis 

29.06.2007 Dominikanerkloster Retz · Festival Retz 2007 (concert performance) 

Andreas Schüller 

80

Synopsis 

Jeremiah has a vision of the imminent fall of Jerusalem. Not even his mother wants to believe 

him and she curses him – Jerusalem will last forever. Eager for war, the people are determined 

to shake off the Assyrian yoke and reject Jeremiah’s warnings. 

The Assyrians surround the town. The king of the Israelites, Zedekia, is Jeremiah’s last hope. But 

Zedekia too does not want to listen to Jeremiah’s warnings. The crowd’s anger is directed at 

Jeremiah and they threaten to stone him. Zedekia leads his people into war. 

Jeremiah returns to his father’s home, where his mother lies dying. She hears the noise of battle 

close by and knows that Jerusalem is awaiting its downfall. The crowd forces its way into the 

house and throws Jeremiah into a dung pit. Jerusalem has fallen and king Zedekia blinded. As 

soon as the enemy’s trumpet call sounds three times the Israelis must leave town. The prophet 

Jeremiah, whose words have come true, finds words of comfort: ‘God will build a temple in 

your heart and he will build the eternal Jerusalem in each one of you.’ 

Jeremias 

06.05.2000 Stadttheater Würzburg 

Petr Eben has fleshed out the original Old Testament texts into five expressive scenes, [...] each 

introduced by a sung commentary. In effect, Jeremiah is an opera for baritone and choir. The 

protagonist finds an equal partner in the choir, which leaves the fallen Jerusalem at the end of the 

work to begin its everlasting pilgrimage. (Jan Panenka, Prague 1997) 

81

Toshio Hosokawa 

Vision of Lear 


Libretto by Tadashi Suzuki after William Shakespeare 

Origin: 1997-1998 


1998 

Cast: Lear · bass – Goneril · alto – Regan · high soprano – Cordelia · soprano – Albany · low baritone 

– Cornwall · high baritone – Edgar · high baritone – Edmund · high tenor – Gloucester · 

deep baritone – Oswald · tenor – Servant / Captain / Gentleman · tenor – Nurses · actors – 

Children’s or female Chorus (ad lib.) 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Altfl., Bassfl., Picc.) · 0 · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · 0 – 0 · 0 · 0 · 0 – P. S. (2 kl. Tr. · 

2 gr. Tr. · 2 Tamt. · 3 hg. Becken · 8 Bongos · 2 ant. Cym. · 3 Gongs · 3 Trgl. · 8 Tom-t. · 7 Holzbl. · 

Löwengebrüll · Xyl. · 2 Mar. · Vibr. · Glsp. · Peitsche) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. – Str. (1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1) 




19.04.1998 Carl-Orff-Saal im Gasteig · Münchener Biennale (WP) 

19.06.1999 Bunka Kaikan Tokyo 

Georges-Elie Octors · Tadashi Suzuki 

04.12.1998 Oldenburgisches Staatstheater 

Raoul Grüneis · Anke Hoffmann · Heike Scheele 

31.01.2002 Royal Opera House Covent Garden London · Linbury Studio Theatre 

Gregory Rose · Harry Ross · Mike Jardine 

82

Synopsis 

A nurse is reading to an old man from Shakespeare’s King Lear. During the man’s reminiscences 

of his life, his memories fuse with the story of Lear … Before the aged king divides his kingdom 

among his heirs, he demands that his three daughters declare their love for him. Only the youngest 

daughter, Cordelia, refuses to make the required profession of love and is banned from 

the kingdom. Edmund, the illegitimate son of Gloucester, convinces his father that Edgar, the 

legitimate heir, is planning to murder his father. Edgar is also banned. As soon as Lear’s elder 

daughters, Goneril and Regan, have divided the inheritance between them, they begin to treat 

their father with contempt. 

The old man, shunted off into hospital, becomes agitated: in his visions, he thinks he is bringing 

Goneril and Regan to court. The nurse continues to read: Gloucester attempts to save Lear 

and in turn is brought into Regan’s clutches. The old man continues to fantasise. In Lear’s own 

words, he begins to threaten the figures of his fantasies. The nurse remains unperturbed … 

Consumed by her desire for Edmund, Goneril poisons her rival Regan. Edgar acts out his revenge 

on Edmund in a duel. Edmund admits too late that he has issued instructions for Lear and 

Cordelia to be killed. Lear appears with the corpse of Cordelia in his arms and dies of despair. 

With these visions, the death struggle of the old man also comes to an end. Enthralled by the 

story, the nurse continues to read her book. Only her laughter can be heard echoing from the 

stage... 

Vision of Lear 

19.04.1998 Münchener Biennale 

If the whole world is a madhouse, there is little hope of recovery; it is however possible – although 

in the face of great resistance – at least to make the attempt to clarify in what sort of ‘disease’ 

mankind is ensnared. This for me is the task of a contemporary theatre artist. 

(Tadashi Suzuki; source: Munich Biennale 1998) 

83

Dieter Schnebel 

Majakowskis Tod – Totentanz 

(Mayakovsky’s Death – Dance of the Death) 

Opera fragment and aftermath for two speakers, soprano, bass, chorus and orchestra 

Text collage after Wladimir Majakowski and Lilja Brik by Dieter Schnebel 

Origin: 1989-1997 

Language: German a.o. 

1998 

Cast: Nora (Veronika Polonskaja) · high soprano – Lilja Brik · alto / female speaker – Wladimir 

Majakowski · bass / male speaker – speaking choir (10-20 persons, among them solo speakers 

and a female speaker): Makarow · Sajzew · Michejew · Ehrlich · Schreier · the Chairman · X · Y · 

Z (female voice) – singing chorus (SATB, small or large chorus) 

Orchestra: 3 (1. und 2. auch Altfl., 3. auch Picc.) · 3 (1. auch Engl. Hr.) · 3 (1. auch Es-Klar., 3. auch 

Bassklar.) · Sax. (Sopranino-Bariton) · 3 (3. auch Kfg.) – 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 (auch Kb.-tb.) – S. (Trgl. · Beck. 

[h./m./t.] · Tamt. [m./t.] · Schellen · Schellenreif · Tamb. · Tomt. · Holztr. · kl. Tr. · gr.Tr. [auch mit 

Beck.] · Tr. [auf Metall · Holz · Fell zu spielen] · Woodbl. [h./m./t.] · Hammerschlag · Kuhgl. · Gong 

[wie bei Boxkampf] · Meßgl. · Schiffsgl. · Crot. · Röhrengl. · Plattengl. · gr. Sirene [t.] · Windm. · 

Flex. · Donnerblech · Amboss · Schleifgeräusche [Wetzstein · Metall · Messer · Sensen] · Chimes 

[Glas u. Metall] · Waldteufel · Löwengebrüll · Sistrum · Kast. · Guiro · Claves · Schotterkasten · 

Ocean Drum · mehrere Rainmaker · Mar. u. andere Schüttelinstr. · Sandbl. · Peitschenknall · Pistolenschuss 

· Ratsche · Schwirrholz · Geräuschemacher [Papiere, Plastik, Plastikbecher] · Mundsirene · 

Trillerpfeife · Hyoshigi · Wasserplätschern · polterndes Geräusch · Kettengerassel · Vogelstimmen · 

Hartgummibälle in Handtr. · Autohupe · Fahrradkl. · Knirschen [raue Steine] · Glspl. · Xyl. · Vibr. · 

Marimba) (6 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. · E-Git. · Cymb. · Akk. · Synth. – Str. (12 · 12 · 12 · 10 · 10) · 

Live-Elektronik | Tonbandzuspielungen (mit den jeweiligen Protagonisten zu produzieren) 



Remarks: Majakowskis Tod [Mayakovsky’s Death] and Totentanz [Dance of the Dead] may be 

performed separately. When Majakowskis Tod [Mayakovsky’s Death] is performed alone, the 

wood wind section can be reduced to two players each. 


10.03.1995 Konzerthaus Berlin · Musik-Biennale Berlin (WP Totentanz, concert performance) 

Zoltán Peskó · Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester 

08.03.1998 Oper Leipzig (WP) 

04.10.1998 Semperoper Dresden · Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik · Oper Leipzig 

Johannes Kalitzke (Leipzig) | Jörg Krüger (Dresden) · Achim Freyer · Achim Freyer | Jakob 

Niedermeier · Maria Elena Amos 

84

Synopsis 

Majakowkis Tod [Mayakovsky’s Death] describes the failure of the revolutionary poet Wladimir 

Mayakowsky who, being ahead of his time, is forging a new model for human moral existence 

but departs too far from his fellow men in his demands for future concepts. The radicalism with 

which he protests against the artistic views of the past during his youth borders on anarchy – 

even though his aspiration is the transformation of daily life through art. His identification with 

sufferers and unfortunates causes him to pin all his hopes on mankind, freed through revolution 

to regain moral strength. However it soon becomes obvious that mankind cannot keep pace 

with historical transformation, that Philistines will triumph anew and that thoughtlessness and 

indifference will reign. For Mayakovsky, a fight begins which is initially fanned by hate, but is 

ultimately suffocated by resignation. 

Totentanz [Dance of the Death], the second part of the evening, goes beyond Mayakovsky; a 

confrontation with the phenomenon of death commences. The fate of individuals becomes 

lost within the context of human history. The casualties of the wars of modern times alone are 

measured in millions, but what significance does the life or death of an individual possess A 

prosaic and totally unsentimental string of figures, names and facts dissolves individuality within 

statistics – a modern form of requiem which is contemporary in its impersonality and inconceivability. 

(Source: Leipzig Opera 1998) 

Majakowskis Tod - Totentanz 

15.07.2005 Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, München 

“An exemplary curriculum vitae – Mayakovsky’s own – including the chapters (acts) Childhood and 

Youth, Revolution, Work and Love – the long journey (America) and Farewell and death. An unorthodox 

commencement of the work on the last act depicting the death of the protagonist. Spontaneous 

concept of a large-scale, general operatic postlude: the perspective seen from the individual 

event of death to the billions of casualties of this world. The long chronicle of the dead is read out 

followed by its increasing numbers and catastrophes recorded alongside the entire creatural behaviour; 

the choir declaims the names. In conclusion, the chronicle fades out with dates in the distant 

future and the opera disintegrates. Following the culmination of the dance of death, [I decided] to 

break off of the project which threatened to expand to excessive proportions.” (Dieter Schnebel) 

85

Gavin Bryars 

Doctor Ox‘s Experiment 

Opera in two acts after a novella by Jules Verne 

Libretto by Blake Morrison 

Origin: 1994–1996 


1998 

Cast: Suzel · soprano – Suzanne · soprano – Aunt Hermance · mezzo soprano – Frantz · counter 

tenor – Fritz · counter tenor – Doctor Ox · tenor – Ygène · baritone – Van Tricasse · bass baritone 

– Passauf · bass – Niklausse · bass – Valentine · coloratura mezzo soprano – Raoul · tenor – 

chorus 

Orchestra: 2 (2pic).2 (1: obd‘am, 2: ca).1.bcl.1.cbn-4.flhn.0.2.btbn.0-3perc (timp., b.d., tamtam, 

sizz.cym.l, sus.cym., tub. bells, tuned c. b., crots., glock., vib., mar., mark tree, chinese 

b.tree, wind machine)-hp · ekeybd - str (6.6.5.4.3* min) 

* plus 1 improvising jazz player amplified and including at least one bass with a 5th string or 

low extension 


Vocal Score ED 12570 · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: A 25 minute concert version of the final scene, Doctor Ox‘s Experiment (Epilogue) was 

first performed in 1988 and is available on hire 


15.06.1998 Coliseum London · English National Opera (WP) 

James Holmes · Atom Egoyan · Michael Levine · Sandy Powell 

24.01.1999 Theater Dortmund, Opernhaus 

Alexander Rumpf · Pascal Paul-Harang · Heinz Balthes · José-Manuel Vazquez 

86

Synopsis 

‘Doctor Ox’s Experiment is an apparently straightforward narrative which could be seen to have 

the concept of “tempo”, relative pace and the play between musical time and chronological 

time as a structuring device.’ (Gavin Bryars) 

The place is not marked on any map: Quiquendone, a small town in Flanders of deep tranquillity 

and bureaucratic stultification. Nothing has happened here for centuries and the townsfolk 

conduct their lives with extreme slowness, never raising their voices or taking risks. Into their 

midst comes the animated impetuous figure of Doctor Ox, a scientist and adventurer who offers 

to supply the town (at his own expense) with a modern street-lighting system. In fact, along 

with his loyal but anxious assistant Ygène, he is conducting an experiment to see if the injection 

into the atmosphere of an oxygen gas can alter the behaviour of the townsfolk – and in time, 

perhaps change the world. 

As the experiment proceeds, a ‘strange fever’ affects everything and everyone, and revolution 

threatens. There is a riotous performance of Meyerbeer’s ‘Les Hugenots’ (which in the old days 

was performed so slowly that it never got beyond the first act). As authority crumbles and various 

political factions compete for the people’s heart, the town leaders unite the townsfolk in a 

local nationalist cause, reviving a centuries-old dispute over a cow as a pretext to declare war 

on neighbouring Virgamen. Ox is delighted and develops his gas to give it fighting potential. 

Ygène repeatedly pleads with Ox to stop but he refuses. They fight, but meanwhile the dials 

and monitors in the empty lab have gone haywire. There is an almighty explosion, Ox and 

Ygène run off, and slowly everything seems to return to normal. Yet, in the final closing duet, it 

is clear that nothing can ever be the same again. 

Doctor Ox‘s Experiment 


Doctor Ox’s Experiment is a real, singable, musically self-justifying opera, with many of the 

medium’s traditional strengths, if always at a deceptive angle to tradition. It is a work of pungent 

originality that is never “experimentalist” in the way of earlier Bryars works, but makes a surprisingly 

close approach to mainstream repertoire. (The Sunday Times 21.6.1998) 

87


Der Schimmelreiter 

(The Dykemaster) 

Twenty-two scenes and an interlude after Theodor Storm 

Libretto by Andreas K. W. Meyer 

Origin: 1996-1997 


1998 

Cast: Hauke Haien · tenor – Elke Volkerts · lyric mezzo soprano – Trin Jans · mezzo soprano – Ole 

Peters · bass baritone – The Fiddler · solo violin – Tede Haien, Hauke’s Father / Geestkretler 

[umpire at a ball game played at the Geest, i.e. the German coastal areas] / 1. Man · bass – Tede 

Volkerts, Dike Reeve, Father of Elke / 3. Man / Working Man · bass baritone – 1. Gambler / 2. 

Man / Farm Hand · baritone – 2. Gambler / 4. Man / Day taller · high tenor – Preacher · actor – 2 

Voices · lyric soprano, lyric baritone – curious Onlookers / Mourners / Members of a religious sect 

/ Workers · chorus (SATB) 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (1. auch Es-Klar.) · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) – 

3 · 2 · 2 · 1 – S. (I: Marimb. · kl. Peitsche · Zimb. · 2 Tomt. · Amboss · kl. Tr. · Windmaschine · 

Weinglas · Vibraslap · Mark Tree · sehr hohes Beck. Kirchengl.; II: Marimb. · mittelgr. Peitsche · 

Vibraphon · 2 Tomt. · Amboss · 4 Tempelbl. · 2 Plattengongs · 4 Rototoms · Maracas · 4 Beck. 

unterschiedlicher Größe · Kirchengl.; III: Maracas, hoch · gr. Peitsche · 3 Röhrengl. · Tempelbl. · 

Holzbl., hoch · 2 Tomt. · Amboss · gr. Tr. · Tamt. · Cabaza · Nietenbeck. · Kirchengl.; IV: Maracas, 

tief · sehr gr. Peitsche · Dobaci · Schellentamb. · Holzbl., tief · 2 Tomt. · Amboss · Buckelgong · 

tiefes Beck. · Beckenpaar · Kirchengl.) (4 Spieler) – Org. (kann vom Band zugespielt werden) – Str. 

(0 · 0 · 0 · 6 · 3) 

Chamber ensemble (to be placed separately): 1 Fl. (auch Altfl.) · 2 Klar. (2. auch Bassklar.) – S. (can 

be played by a percussionist from the orchestra) – Hfe. – 1 Solo-Violine (also acting on stage) 


Libretto BN 3384 · Performance material on hire 


21.06.1998 Bühnen der Landeshauptstadt Kiel (WP) 

Ulrich Windfuhr · Kirsten Harms · Bernd Damovsky · Susanne Hubrich 

29.01.2000 Carl-Schurz-Kaserne, Musik- und Konzertsaal · Stadttheater Bremerhaven 

Peter Aderhold · Ricardo Fernando · Petra Mollérus · Stephan Stanisic 

23.05.2000 Reaktorhalle Luisenstraße · Hochschule für Musik und Theater München 

Naoshi Takahashi · Stefan Spies · Rainer Sellmair 

88

Synopsis 

‘For me, Der Schimmelreiter (The Dykemaster) forms the second part of a major trilogy which 

began with Rattenfänger (The Pied Piper) and ends with Eduard auf dem Seil (Eduard on the 

Tightrope). In all three works, a figure comes from the East and sets the story in motion; […] 

in Schimmelreiter, it is a fiddler from Slovakia who persuades Hauke Haien to buy his white 

horse. […] I have specifically noticed how through the opening up of Eastern Europe, particularly 

in the case of composers from Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Georgia, elements appear in 

our Central European music which were frowned upon post-1945: emotion, humour and an 

unbroken relationship with melody. […] As I was formulating my initial concepts for Schimmelreiter, 

I heard the legend of the horse-head violin. I was fascinated by the idea of the Mongolian 

rider who, after his horse was killed by the Khan because he did not receive it as a present, 

fashioned a staff from the backbone of the animal, strings from its hair and a bow from its tail 

and attempted to reproduce the mournful cries of his beloved animal with his new instrument. 

As I repeatedly read Theodor Storm’s novella Schimmelreiter, and was further drawn into the 

scene of the tale with the aid of reference literature, my mind returned again and again to the 

horse-head violin with its mournful trills and glissandi. It was soon clear that the violin must be 

the central instrument in Schimmelreiter and its singing melody would permeate the entire work 

and appear at both its opening and culmination.’ (Wilfried Hiller; source: Bühnen der 

Landeshauptstadt Kiel, 1998) 

Der Schimmelreiter 

21.06.1998 Bühnen der Landeshauptstadt Kiel 

In the brief scenes compressed in the manner of film collage sequences, the motifs are visible in 

concentrated form. Superstition and tradition influence daily life in the remote village and spiritual 

and material dependence characterise the relationships between the small number of figures involved. 

[…] Wilfried Hiller saw in this material and its reduction to a series of scenes in the manner 

of wood carvings an ideal basis for compositional work. […] His Schimmelreiter is a sensuous 

kaleidoscope, compiled from many sources – folk songs, jazz rhythms and the sounds of organs and 

pealing of bells as naturalistic notes within a refined and ingenious instrumentation. 

(Frankfurter Rundschau, 27.06.1998) 

89

Heinz Holliger 

Schneewittchen 

(Snow White) 

Opera in five scenes, a prologue and an epilogue after Robert Walser 

Text compiled by the composer 

Origin: 1997-1998 


1998 

Cast: Snow White · soprano – Queen · mezzo soprano – Prince · tenor – Hunter · baritone – 

King · bass 

Orchestra: 2 (beide auch Picc. u. Altfl.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 3 (2. u. 3. auch Bassklar.) · 2 

(2. auch Kfg.) – 2 · 2 · 2 · 1 – 4 P. S. (Trgl. · Röhrengl. · Crot. · 4 Gongs · 3 hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar · 

3 Tamt. · 4 Tomt. · 4 Bong. · 2 Holztr. · Rührtr. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · 2 Woodbl. · 4 Mar. · Guiro · 

Geophon · 2 Sandbl. · 2 Pfannendeckel · 2 Metallbl. · Waschbrett mit Fingerhütchen · Shellchimes · 

Metallchimes · Glaschimes · Bambuschimes · Glasscherben und Steine in Tongefäß · Papier · 

Sandpapier auf Tamt. · Wassergong · Windmasch. · Hyoshigi · Ruten · Ratschen · Flex. · sing. 

Säge · Lotosfl. · Raintree · Amboss · Clav. · Brummtopf · Prallstock · Superball · Glsp. · Vibr. · 

Marimba) (4 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cel. · Glasharm. · Akk. – Str. (1 · 1 · 2 · 2 · 1) 


Libretto BN 3385 · Recording CD ECM 1715 · Performance material on hire 


17.10.1998 Opernhaus Zürich (WP) 

28.10.1998 Opernhaus Frankfurt am Main 

Heinz Holliger · Reto Nickler · Hermann Feuchter · Katharina Weissenborn 

25.11.2002 Konzerthaus Wien, Großer Saal (concert performance) · Wien Modern 

Heinz Holliger · Orchester der Oper Zürich 

90

Synopsis 

Unlike the Brothers Grimm fairytale, Robert Walser’s short play begins after the rescue of Snow 

White: the eponymous heroine and the archetypal cast of characters – the queen, the hunter, 

the prince and the king – meet again to analyse and comment on both the wondrous and the 

terrible prehistory of the famous fairytale. While doing so the original evaluation seems increasingly 

dubious: who is actually good and who is evil – and what really happened By re-building 

several versions of the story, the protagonists discuss the question of their true identity and 

their relationships from within Robert Walser’s aesthetic. 

Schneewittchen 

17.10.1998 Opernhaus Zürich 

Holliger’s music reveals a truly wondrous sonic imagination. [...] The basic structure of his music is 

lyrical, a filigree of a huge range of sounds, often on the threshold of the inaudible. [...] Often the 

ear has to decode the aural landscape, which can sound electronic but is always acoustic. A master 

of the orchestra, Holliger’s score is a significant achievement. 

(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 19. October 1998) 

91

Tobias Picker 

Fantastic Mr. Fox 


Libretto by Donald Sturrock, based on the children’s story by Roald Dahl 

Origin: 1998 


1998 

Cast: Fantastic Mr. Fox · baritone – Mrs. Fox · mezzo soprano – Bennie, Lennie, Jennie & Pennie 

Foxcub · Children voices – Farmer Boggis · bass – Farmer Bunce · tenor – Farmer Bean · bass 

baritone – Mavis the Tractor · soprano – Agnes the Digger · mezzo soprano – Miss Hedgehog · 

soprano – Badger the Miner · baritone – Burrowing Mole · tenor – Rita the Rat · mezzo soprano – 

Porcupine · tenor – chorus of Trees · Children – Various geese and chicken 

Orchestra: 2(1.alfl 2.pic).2(2.ca).2(2.bcl).2(2.cbn)-4.2.2.1-timp.2perc(bs dr., temple blk., mar., 

low dr., snare., gongs., toms., vib., xyl., hanging cym., glock., hh., cym.)- hp.pno-str(10.9.6.8.4) 




09.12.1998 Los Angeles Opera (WP) 

Peter Ash · Donald Sturrock · Gerald Scarfe 

92

Synopsis 

A modern fable, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a story about good vs. evil, animal vs. human, and nature 

vs. technology. With the help of the other creatures of the forest, Mr. Fox must outwit his enemies 

to keep his family safe. Mr. Fox finds that he may have stolen one hen too many from the 

henhouse, as the meanest farmers anywhere — Boggis, Bunce, and Bean (one fat, one short, 

one lean) — conspire to rid their lands of the Fox family once and for all. The Foxes are able to 

evade capture with the help of some woodland friends, leaving the farmers laying in wait while 

the animals help themselves to the fruit of the farmers’ lands. Having had their revenge, the 

animals return for a sumptuous feast far from danger in the Foxes‘ new home, while the farmers 

continue to wait in the rain. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox 

09.12.1998 Los Angeles Opera 

[Picker‘s score is] is a strong, flexible piece of sustained writing that skilfully juxtaposes the animal 

kingdom‘s buoyant innocence with the more mordant colours of the human realm… [this is] music 

that consistently boasts grateful, characterful vocal writing. 

(Timothy Pfaff, The Financial Times London, 12/1998) 

The great skill of Picker‘s compositional art can be seen very clearly in this opera. On the one 

hand the counterpoint of his ideas presents an intellectual challenge...but it is often subliminally 

combined with bold and catchy orchestral effects. Fantastic Mr. Fox was more than just a success 

d‘estime. (Helmut Mauro, Süddeutsche Zeitung) 

93

Enjott Schneider 

Albert – Warum 

(Albert – Why) 

Chamber opera 

Libretto by Josef Rödl, after his film of the same title 

Origin: 1997-1998 


1999 

Cast: Albert · is played by three persons: actor / young lyric tenor / boy soprano – Father · bass 

baritone – Hans · baritone – Anna · soprano – the Man · baritone – the Woman · mezzo soprano 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc.) · 0 · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · 0 – S. (Trgl. · Zimb. · Beck. · Tamt. · Tomt. · kl. 

Tr. · gr. Tr. · Tempelbl. · Clav. · Vibr.) (1 Spieler) – Hfe. – Akk. – Str. (1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1) 


Distributed by Schott Music · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: Josef Rödl wrote the libretto for Albert – Warum [Albert – Why]based on his film of 

the same name; the film was premièred at the film festival Hof in 1978 and won the International 

and German Film Critics Award and the Otto-Dibelius Award at the International Film 

Festival Berlin 1979. 


20.01.1999 Regensburg, Theater am Haidplatz (WP) 

Rudolf Piehlmayer · Josef Rödl · Klaus Caspers 

94

Synopsis 

The chamber opera Albert – warum takes us to a remote village and describes the martyrdom 

of the “village idiot” Albert. The certainties of his life break down during the play: his father 

throws him out of his home, his mother dies, his childhood sweetheart Anna falls in love with 

someone else, the people of the village mock him and abuse him every time he tries to assert 

himself. In the end death is the only way he can escape and find peace: Albert hangs himself in 

the graveyard. 

Albert - Warum 

20.01.1999 Regensburg, Theater am Haidplatz 

“You are a fool, you will always be a fool, and because everybody says this, it is true” – this is the 

rural credo of a close village community which confronts Albert on his return from the lunatic 

asylum. The outsider, who stutters and moves jerkily but has plenty of imagination and a naive 

enthusiasm, cannot have a proper place in this microcosm which inexorably and cruelly singles out 

those who can’t keep up with the others. (BR 2 Kultur, 21. January 1999) 

One sound spreads. It stretches out dazzlingly between strings, flutes and clarinets, cutting off 

all neighbouring sounds, trills, figures and phrases. The prelude based on C#, which opens Albert 

– Warum establishes the one tone which encloses all other sounds, creating a claustrophobic 

confinement. [...] In Albert’s monologue and stuttering comments the music suddenly develops an 

emotional intensity. A dense atmosphere develops especially in those moments when the unseen is 

manifested. (Miriam Stumpfe, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 22. January 1999) 

95

Robert Beaser 

The Food of Love 


Libretto by Terrance McNally 

Origin: 1998-1999 


1999 

Cast: Woman · soprano – Policeman · baritone – Au Pair · mezzo soprano – Little Girl · soprano 

– Hot Dog Vendor · tenor – Rich Lady · soprano – Frisbee Player No. 1 · baritone – Frisbee 

Player No. 2 · tenor – Painter · bass – Man with Sun Reflectors · tenor – Woman with Sun 

Reflectors · soprano – Man with Cell Phone · tenor – Zookeeper · baritone – Elderly Man · baritone 

– Elderly Woman · mezzo soprano 

Orchestra: 2(pic).2(ca).2(Ebcl, bcl).2(cbn)-2.4.2.0-timp.3perc(glsp, vib, mar, xyl, crot, tub bells, 

sus cym, cym, 2 sizz cym, tri, steel pipes, wind chimes, tam-t, tempbl, vibraslap, sandbl, frusta, 

cabasa, gong, tamb, guiro, mexican bean, lion‘s roar, snare drum, field drum, 2 b.d, 2 bng, 2 

timbales, cong) -pno(cel)hp-str 




24.07.1999 Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown, NY (WP) 

Stewart Robertson · Mark Lamos · Michael Yeargan · Candice Donnelly 

96

Synopsis 

A homeless woman in Central Park, carrying her new-born baby, finds herself surrounded by a 

chorus of characters habituating the park: painters, lovers, yuppie sun-bathers, a zookeeper, and 

a cop. In desperation, she attempts to give her baby away to any of the unsuspecting strangers. 

Not only do these passers-by not accept the offer, they don’t even acknowledge her presence. 

‘Terrence McNally and I spent a good deal of time developing the idea together. He was extremely 

open to all the musical necessities and had a wonderful understanding of structure. The 

music was prime and I valued Terrence‘s long experience in the theatre’. (Robert Beaser, from 

Anthony Tommasini’s article ‘Central Park’ from The New York Times 1999) 

The Food of Love 

24.07.1999 Glimmerglass Opera 

The Food of Love contains the most impressive music I’ve heard from Beaser. [The conductor] 

feasted on the sumptuous instrumentation of Beaser’s score. (Alex Ross, The New Yorker) 

In The Food of Love Beaser creates a little masterpiece to McNally’s story… Beaser has crafted his 

music to fit the dramatic shape of McNally’s script. (Kenneth LaFave, The Arizona Republic) 

What makes this piece soar is Beaser’s masterful score, with its beautiful rhapsodic turns, its canny 

pacing and pungent orchestral writing. (The San Francisco Chronicle) 

97

Bernard Rands 

Belladonna 

Libretto by Leslie Dunton-Downer 

Origin: 1998-1999 


Cast: Agatha Liu · contralto – Dr. Marina Rojas-Harper · mezzo soprano – Ms. Brittany Peters · 

counter tenor – Sister Suzanna · high soprano – Professor Cynthia Reid · soprano – William · 

tenor – Judge · bass baritone – Herman Morris · bass baritone – Simon West · tenor – Mr. Liu · 

tenor – Tina · boy soprano 

1999 

Orchestra: 1( afl.) .1 . 1(bcl.) . Asx .1 - 1 . 1 . 1 . 0 - 2 perc. - hp. pno. - strings - Two Choruses 




29.07.1999 Aspen Opera Theatre Center (WP) 

David Zinman · Edward Berkeley 

98

Synopsis 

Five women have gathered in an American college town to spend a convivial evening over 

cocktails and supper. The hostess, a visiting professor from China, greets four friends: an 

alcoholic Classicist in love with one of her students; an opera singer devoted to her admiring 

audience; a young divinity student soon to take holy vows, and a doctor of alternative medicine 

who runs a fertility-abortion clinic. A heated discourse ensues as, in five central scenes, each of 

these women lives out fears, desires, fantasies, or experiences associated with her views of love, 

with each scene set in a distinct fantasy landscape. The final scene returns to the dinner table 

where the women have been transformed not only by a few too many glasses of wine, but also 

by their experiences and exchanges. 

Belladonna 

29.07.1999 Aspen Opera 

The opera, which the authors refer to as a Mise en Scene, draws on a dual model. On one level, the 

dinner revisits Plato‘s Symposium, the famous Socratic dialogue in which great men from different 

walks of life converse about love, „Eros,“ over the course of a dinner party. On a separate linear 

plane, Belladonna follows the sequence of events of the Easter passion. Scene I parallels The Last 

Supper and subsequent scenes Temptation, Solitude (as in the Garden of Gethsemane), Betrayal, 

Accusation and Trial, and Execution. The final scene brings the action full circle with its recasting 

of the Resurrection. While it’s Greek and Christian models explore love from an exclusively male 

viewpoint, however, Belladonna celebrates human love from the vantage point of women‘s experiences. 

I have been given a superb libretto which calls for a music of subtle and supple flexibility 

as it responds to the spectrum of human passions contained therein. (Bernard Rands) 

It‘s a triumph, at turns bold, beautiful, wry, dramatic, sweet and sad. 

(Harvy Steimen, Music Bulletin Board) 

99


Summer 


Libretto by Joan Vail Thorne, based on the novella by Edith Wharton 

Origin: 1998-1999 


1999 

Cast: Charity Royall, an 18year old Girl · mezzo soprano – Lucius Harnell, her Lover, an Architect 

from the nearby town Nettleton · baritone – Lawyer Royall, Charity’s Warden · bass baritone – 

Liff Hyat, Charity’s Cousin · baritone (also: 2 nd Man from Nettleton, Bas Hyatt) – Miss Hatchard, 

an elderly Woman · soprano (also: 1 st Woman from Nettleton) – Verena Marsh, 60 year old 

House Maiden with Lawyer Royall · mezzo soprano (also: old Mrs Hyatt, Girl from Nettleton) – 

Alley Hawes, Charity’s School Mate · soprano (also: Wife of Bash Hyatt, 2 nd Woman from Nettleton) 

– Reverend Miles, Reverend from Nettleton and Friend of Mrs Hatchard · tenor (also: 1 st 

man from Nettleton) – Annabel Balch, Lucius Harnell’s Fiancée · soprano (also: Prostitute) 

Orchestra: Chorus; 2.1.2.1-2.1.1(btbn)-timp.2perc-hp-str(6.5.3.3.1) 




28.08.1999 Berkshire Opera Company, Koussevitzky Arts Center, Pittsfield, MA (WP) 

Joel Revzen · Mary Duncan · David P. Gordon · Helen E. Rogers 

100

Synopsis 

This opera is set in the early 1900’s in the small town of North Dormer located in the Berkshire 

Mountains of Massachusetts. The novel‘s heroine, eighteen-year-old Charity Royall, is bored 

with her life in the small town of North Dormer and ignorant of desire until she meets a visiting 

architect, Lucius Harney. Like the lush summer of the Berkshires around them, their romance 

is shimmering and idyllic, but its consequences are harsh and real. Wharton‘s prose, her raw 

depiction of the mountain community where Charity was born, the intrusion into Charity‘s 

bedroom by her guardian, Lawyer Royall, and Charity‘s rites of passage into adulthood elevate 

Summer into a study of society, nature, and human needs. 

Summer 

28.08.1999 Berkshire Opera Company 

Mr. Paulus knows his way around the stage: Summer, which has a libretto by Joan Vail Thorne, 

based on the novella by Edith Wharton, is the seventh of his eight operas. His writing for the voice 

is streamlined and attractive, and if the score does have passages in the awkwardly angular style 

common in contemporary opera, that style is by far outpaced by straightforward, inviting lyricism. 

His orchestral writing is equally striking, not least because Mr. Paulus is adept at finding exactly 

the right coloration and textures – anything from lush strings or solid brass choirs to delicate harp 

and percussion tracery – to underscore what is happening in the drama. The string playing, in 

particular, was strikingly beautiful. (Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, June 21, 2002) 

101

Harald Banter 

Der blaue Vogel 

(The Blue Bird) 

Opera in five acts after a French fairy tale 

Libretto by Dorothea Renckhoff 

Origin: 1996-1998 


1999 

Cast: King Silencieux · high baritone – Florine, his Daughter · lyric soprano – Countess Grognon · 

dramatic alto – Truitonne, her Daughter · young dramatic soprano – Prince Ariston · young 

lyric-heroic tenor – the Foreign Prince · bass – the Jester Perlimpinpin · high baritone – a Silk 

Merchant · lyric buffo tenor – Countess Montholon · alto – Adèle · mezzo soprano – Sophie, her 

Daughter · mezzo soprano – Baron Kellerman · bass – Alfred, his Son · tenor – Members of the 

Royal Household / Maiden / Dark Creatures / Guards / Entourage of Truitonne / Entourage of 

the foreign Prince · chorus (SATB) 

Orchestra: Picc. · 2 · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 2 · Bassklar. · 2 · Kfg. – 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 – P. S. (Trgl. · Crot. · Bell 

Tree · Röhrengl. · Handbeck. · hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar · 2 Tamt. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Tablas · Windchimes 

· Glsp. · Xyl.) (3 Spieler) – Hfe. · Keyboard – Str. 

Duration: 110’ 



04.09.1999 Theater Hagen (WP) 

Georg Fritzsch · Peter P. Pachl · Hank Irwin Kittel 

102

Synopsis 

The prince is loved by two princesses, one “beautiful” and the other “ugly”. He loves the 

beautiful princess: dejected by the prince’s rejection, the ugly princess develops magical powers 

so strong that she is able to turn the prince into a blue bird and thus separate the two lovers. 

But the blue bird finds its way back to the beautiful princess, although she is kept captive, and 

reinstates her faith in a wide and exciting world on the other side of the dungeon walls. But 

when the ‘ugly’ princess finds him out and wounds him, the prince has to go through yet another 

transformation, as a comet. He will now appear in the sky only for brief moments, before 

heading back into deep space. His bluebird plumage, left behind, lends anybody who touches it 

the ability to understand foreign tongues and overcome hostility. 

Der blaue Vogel 

04.09.1999 Theater Hagen 

“The music looks back, without relinquishing its individual voice. [...]This score is harmonically 

structured and definitely shows a love for the human voice. [...] You want to listen to this opera 

again straight away.” 

(Opernwelt 10/1999) 

103

Alexander Goehr 

Kantan and Damask Drum 

Text by Alexander Goehr (I and II) and Sarugai Koto (III), based on the original by Zeami 

Motokiyo in the English translation by Arthur Waley and Royall Tyler 

German translation by Bernhard Helmich 

Op. 67 

Origin: 1997-1998 


1999 

Cast | Orchestra: 

I. Kantan: Rosei (a young man) · tenor - A woman (the housekeeper) · mezzo soprano - An envoy 

· baritone - A courtier · bass - Male voices · 2 tenors, 2 baritones - A boy dancer, 2 porters 

baring a palanquin · non singing roles 3perc(tabor (t.d.), cimbalini (high pitched pair of temple 

cym.), 3w.bl., slapstick (small), 2tri., small gng., xylorimba, vib., glock., crots., antiquecym., 

claves, musical saw)-hrp-sampler-str 

II. Damask Drum: An old gardener · tenor - Two mischievous boys · tenor, baritone - A beautiful 

lady · mezzo soprano - Additional male voices · tenor and baritone with boys making up a vocal 

quartet (2 tenors, 2 baritones) afl-atbn-hp-sampler-3perc(timp., chromatic timp., w.bl., antique 

cym., 4gngs., ‚footstamp‘ (a hollow drum on the ground, upon which the gardener stamps to 

make an exaggerated sound)-str(6-12vlns.vla.vc) 

(Un)fair Exchange: Blind old husband · baritone - Young wife · mezzo soprano - Monkey-man · 

tenor - Monkey · non singing role afl-2perc(s.d., t.d., metal dr., vib., xylorimba, jingle)-hp. 

sampler-str 

Duration: 130 (35 · 40 · 15)‘ 


Remarks: The orchestra players are actively acting on stage. 


19.09.1999 Theater Dortmund (WP) 

Axel Kober · Philipp Kochheim · Philipp Kochheim | Katja Schindowski · 

José Manuel Vazquez 

22.06.2001 Snape Maltings Concert Hall · Aldeburgh Festival (NEA) 

David Perry · Tim Hopkins · Tanya Spooner 

09.03.2002 Arts Theatre Cambridge 

Richard Baker · Sarah Chew · Mia Flodquist 

104

Synopsis 

In Kantan, a young man drifting about and seeking a meaning to life takes shelter from a storm 

in a cottage where he finds a magic pillow. Falling asleep he dreams that he is an emperor in a 

magnificent palace. But as the dream turns to a nightmare, days and nights and the seasons of 

the year seem to go by faster and faster until the young man, horrified, rushes back to his bed 

to wake up. He has now learned the futility of ambition: life is here and now. He goes back 

home. 

In Damask Drum, an old gardener falls in love with a beautiful Lady. He is tricked by two boys 

into believing that if he beats a drum at night, she will come to him. But the drum is magical, 

and although he who plays it doesn’t know this, it makes no sound. The old man beats it in 

vain, until he is so dejected that he drowns himself. Upon learning of the poor man’s tragic 

end, the Lady is deeply affected by what has been done in her name. The gardener, who has 

turned into an angry demon, now comes back to haunt the Lady whom he (wrongly) believes 

spurned him: he doesn’t know that she couldn’t hear the sound of the charmed drum. ‘Beat it 

once more’ she says to him, ‘I’m sure I’ll hear it this time’. 

In Un(fair) Exchange, an old blind man is persuaded by his young wife to go on an outing, to 

drink and dance and see the blossoms of spring. They run into by a monkey-man, who has 

different plans for the young wife! He gives the old man his monkey and runs off with her. Fair 

exchange 

Kantan and Damask Drum 


The instrumentation of the small orchestra [...] is inspired by Handel and avoids any generalised 

orientalism. [...] Thus this opera seems to be more like Kurt Weill’s Der Jasager than like Boulez’ 

Le Marteau sans Maitre, although you can find elements of both. [...] You shouldn’t listen to the 

orchestra of my opera as a luxurious dressing (as with Richard Strauss), but as an equal member of 

the play. [...] For me the “opera of the future” (fateful term) is like modern chamber music where 

every character has to play his or her own part. 

(Alexander Goehr, Source: Theater Dortmund 1999) 

105


Eduard auf dem Seil 

(Eduard on the Tightrope) 

A poet’s tale in 23 scenes by Rudolf Herfurtner 

Origin: 1998-1999 


1999 

Cast: Eduard Mörike | the Nöck [the King of the Underwater World] · tenor – Liebmund Wispel · 

tenor – the Fairy Briscarlatina · soprano – Peregrina · soprano – the Herald · bass – the Landlady · 

soprano – Xaver · tenor – the Abbot · bass baritone – the Beautiful Lau [a female Water Ghost] · 

female dancer – 3 Maiden of the Beautiful Lau: Aleila · soprano – the Mermaid Binsefuß · mezzo 

soprano – Silpelit · alto 

Orchestra: 3 Picc. (1. auch Fl.) · 2 · 3 (3. auch Bassklar.) · 2 · Kfg. – 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 – S. (hohe Trgl. · 

Trgl. · 4 Beck. · Nietenbeck. · Hi-hat · Tamt. · Schellenbaum · Dobaci · 3 Peitschen · Claves · 

Holzbl. · Tempelbl. · Marac. · kl. Tr. · mehrere Rührtr. · gr. Tr. · Brummtopf · 2 Bongos · 6 Tomt. · 

6 Rototoms · 8 Stalagmitentr. · Jazz-Schlagzeug · Crash · Ride · China Type · Metal Chimes · 

Shell Chimes · mit Wasser gefülltes Schaff [mit Gartenschlauch] · Flex. · Gl. · Zimb. · Zimbelspiel · 

Gong · Röhrengl. · Xyl.) (3 Spieler) – 2 Hfn. · Cel. · Org. (ggf. vom Band) · Hackbr. – Str. 

Bühnenmusik: 2 Klarinetten · Trompete · Tuba · Klavier · Violine · Kontrabass · Wein gläser · 

6 Pauken 


Libretto BN 3386 · Performance material on hire 


31.10.1999 Herkulessaal der Residenz, München (WP, concert performance) 

Werner Seitzer · Münchner Rundfunkorchester 

12.11.1999 Opernhaus Halle (WP, stage production) 

Roman Brogli-Sacher · Wolf Seesemann · Kazuko Watanabe · Bettina Merz 

02.12.1999 Ulmer Theater 

Thomas Mandl · Klaus Rak · Bernd-Dieter Müller · Annette Zepperitz 

13.05.2001 Bühnen der Landeshauptstadt Kiel 

Markus Frank · Katja Czellnik · Vera Bonsen 

106

Synopsis 

Eduard auf dem Seil is the last part of a triptych of legends (with The Pied Piper and Der Schimmelreiter). 

Scenes from the life of the German romantic poet Eduard Mörike, especially “Peregrina 

trauma” (Mörike’s illicit love for a waitress) are interlaced with motifs and poems from 

Mörike’s “Historie der schönen Lau” from the “Stuttgarter Hutzelmännchen”. The boundaries 

between reality and art become blurred, but the poet’s sense of loneliness is the overriding 

theme of the work. 

Eduard auf dem Seil 

02.12.1999 Ulmer Theater 

What interested me most in Eduard Mörike‘s story of the ‚Beautiful Lau‘ was a contrast: On the 

one hand, there is the real life situation of the poet who lives in a world of upheaval, revolutions, 

war, and suppression and is on the verge of giving up in desperation. On the other hand, there is 

the story he tells to get rid of his depressions. And this is a story about the laughter of the ‚Beautiful 

Lau‘ only at first glance; on closer reading, it is also a story by which Mörike saves himself from 

desperation – a serious comedy, very quiet, yet very wild, crudely funny and full of melancholy. 

(Wilfried Hiller) 

107

Chaya Czernowin 

Pnima... ins innere 

(Pnima… inward) 

Chamber opera in three acts for four vocal soloists and ensemble 

Origin: 1998-1999 

Language: - 

Cast: 2 actors – in the pit: 2 female voices (high / low) · 2 male voices (low) 

2000 

Orchestra: 0 · 0 · Bassklar. (auch Klar., Es-Klar.) · Alt-Sax. in Es (auch Sopranino-Sax. in Es) · 

0 – 0 · 0 · 1 · 0 – Viola · Violoncello – singende Säge - S. (I: Bassdrum · Marimb. · Vibr. · 3 

Holzkisten [1 hoch, 2 mittel] · hängendes Becken · Guiro [hoch | tief] · Waldteufel · Löwengebrüll 

· Tamtam · 3 Fingerzimbeln · Plastikeimer · Karton · 2 Wasserflaschen oder Metallschüsseln 

· Drahtgestell · Flusssteine · Konservendosen [fixiert] · Metallklopfer · Plastiktüte, gefüllt 

mit großen Konservendosen · Plastiktüte, gefüllt mit kleinen Konservendosen; II: 2 Pauken · 

Bassdrum · Donnerblech · Kontrabass-Bogen hängendes Becken · 2 Maracas · 2 Chimes · Guiro 

[hoch] · 2 Holzkisten [hoch | tief] · Regenrohr · Bongos · Konservendosen · Flusssteine · Flasche) 

(2 Spieler) – Sampler – Str. (10 Vl. · 6 Vla., 4 Vc.) · 6 Kb. (solistisch) 


Performance material on hire · Einspielung DVD MODE Records 764593016991 

Remarks: The scenic realisation is done by actors; the vocal soloists may be placed in the pit. 

The singing roles consist of vocalises - there is no text. 


10.05.2000 Carl-Orff-Saal im Gasteig · Münchener Biennale (WP) 

Johannes Kalitzke · Claus Guth · Christian Schmidt 


Johannes Harneit · Karsten Wiegand · Bärbl Hohmann 

10.07.2010 Wilhelma Theater Stuttgart 

Johannes Kalitzke · N.N. 

108

Synopsis 

We have an old man (a survivor of the Holocaust) and a child. There is no contact between 

them – no touch. Eventually, the child tries to find out and to understand anything about the 

story – the secret - of the old man. A timid exchange starts. The opera is based on the story of 

Momik in the book See Under Love by David Grossman and it deals with individual memories 

of the Holocaust and the continuing trauma, but also the release, which comes with passing on 

those memories to succeeding generations. 

The opera was awarded the Bavarian theatre prize and received an award for the best premiere 

of 2000 by the German magazine ‘Opernwelt’. 

Pnima... ins Innere 


Pnima...ins Innere is more than a music theatre about the Holocaust. It basically deals with how 

we are able to handle traumatic experiences. First you react with resistance, anger and hardening 

like the old man in the piece. But then you feel sorrow, fragility and vulnerability, like the child 

who awakens the voice of its soul, a voice of survival and overcoming – and yet of despair, because 

she has recognised that she can’t change the world. (Chaya Czernowin) 

109

Mark-Anthony Turnage 

The Silver Tassie 

Opera in four acts 

Text by Amanda Holden after the play of the same name by Sean O’Casey 

Origin: 1997-1999 


2000 

Cast: Harry Heegan · baritone – Susie Monican · mezzo soprano – Mrs Foran · soprano – Teddy 

Foran · baritone – Barney Bagnal · baritone – Jessie Taite · soprano – Mrs Heegan · mezzo soprano 

– Sylvester Heegan · tenor – Dr. Maxwell · tenor – The Croucher · bass – Officer · tenor – 

Corporal · baritone – Stretcher Bearers · boy’s or children’s choir – Soldiers · male choir 

Orchestra: 3 (2pic, afl).3 (3: ca).2 (2: Acl, bcl).bcl (Bbcl).3 (3: cbn)-ssax (asax).4.3.3 (3: euph).1- 

3perc (timp., sn.dr., t.d., large b.d., pedal b.d., 2 tom-toms, large sus.cym., small sus.cym., 

splash cym., sizz.cym., w.bl., 4t.bl., tamb., wh., tri., large tam-tam, 7 tuned gngs (B, C, D, Eb, E, 

F, G), Japanese temple bell, 4 large cb., log dr., brake dr., mar., vib., crots., tub.bells, large metal 

bar, cast., lion‘s roar, harmonica)-hrp.pno (cel) · upright pno (act IV only)-str (12.12.10.8.6) 


Vocal score ED 12725 · Recording CD ENO Alive 2002 · Performance material on hire 


16.02.2000 Coliseum London · English National Opera (WP) 

Paul Daniel · Bill Bryden · William Dudley 


David Neely · Ralf Nürnberger · Thomas Gruber · José Manuel Vazquez 

31.03.2001 Gaiety Theatre Dublin · Opera Ireland 

David Jones · Patrick Mason · Joe Vanek 

110

Synopsis 

The Silver Tassie, Turnage’s second acknowledged opera, is on a much larger scale than his first, 

Greek. Based on the play by Sean O’Casey written in 1927, it is set at the time of the Great War 

(World War I) and its title, referring to a footballing trophy, comes from a Scottish song text by 

Robert Burns ‘Go fetch to me a pint o’ wine, an’ fill it in a silver tassie; that I may drink before I 

go, a service to my bonnie lassie’. 

Harry Heegan (23) is a local hero - a soldier on leave from the Great War, and a renowned footballer. 

An only child, he lives with his parents (both in their 60s), having grown up close to the 

girl next door, Susie. In the flat above is a volatile young couple, Mrs Foran and her husband 

Teddy. The other main roles are Harry’s glamorous girlfriend, Jessie, and his best friend, Barney. 

Triumphant after a footballing success and winning the cup (‘The Silver Tassie’) for his team, 

he leaves for the front. The second act, a darkly expressionist vision of war, is cast for male 

voices (boys and men) only. In the second half of the opera, Harry is in a wheelchair, Teddy is 

blind and Jessie has deserted Harry for Barney. The final act, in which dance music plays almost 

continuously, brings the tragi-comedy to a poignant and moving conclusion, as Harry and Teddy 

set off to face the future. 

The Silver Tassie 

01.04.2000 English National Opera 

“Conceived specifically for the resources of a metropolitan company such as ENO – big orchestra, 

men’s and boy’s choruses and no fewer than 12 named solo parts – The Siver Tassie is in that 

sense Turnage’s ‘Peter Grimes’, and the rapturous acclaim which greeted the composer and his 

librettist at their curtain-call on the opening night suggested that their opera might well have the 

kind of future as a repertory piece that Britten’s has enjoyed in the last 30 years or so. 

In tackling Sean O’Casey’s dark, pessimistic anti-war play, Turnage and Holden have chosen a 

drama with Brittenesque resonances, and although Turnage’s music sounds nothing like Britten, he 

has learned from the older British composer’s sense of dramatic pacing, his ‘symphonic’ use of the 

orchestra and a vocal style which is basically lyrical, singable, grateful to its performers.” 

(Opera, April 2000) 

111


Gilgamesh 

Opera in three parts 

Text by Volker David Kirchner after a treatment by Imad Atwani 

Origin: 1996-1998 


2000 

Cast: Gilgamesh, King of Uruk · baritone – La’abash, the Thinker (Hierophant) · low bass – 

Aruru · alto – Enkidu, Man from the Wood and Friend of Gilgamesh · bass baritone – Nin-Sun, 

Goddess of Wisdom, Mother of Gilgamesh · soprano – Bara / Ischtar, Goddess of Venus · mezzo 

soprano – Nimrod, the Hunter · bass – Chumbaba · bass – Utnapischtim · counter tenor – 2 

Guards of the Scorpion · tenor, bass – Sidura · lyric soprano – 6 Eldermen · tenors and basses – 

Young Priest · tenor – Voices of the Oracle · 4 sopranos (amplified) – People of Uruk, male and 

female Priests, Echo Voices, Voice of Shamash · mixed chorus – female dancers 

Orchestra: 4 (2. und 3. auch Picc., 3. auch Okarina oder Panfl., 4. auch Picc. und Altfl.) · 3 (3. 

auch Engl. Hr.) · 3 (2. auch in Es, 3. auch Bassklar.) · 3 (3. auch Kfg.) – 6 (5. und 6. auch hinter 

der Szene) · 3 · 3 · Bar. · 1 · Kbtb. – P. S. (Trgl. · ant. Zimb. · 4 Crot. · 2 Beck. [montiert] · 4 

Beck. [h.|m.|t.|t.] · Beck. [freihäng.] · Hihat · 4 Tamt. [h.|m.|t.|t.] · 5 kl. Buckelgongs · Gong · 

Röhrengl. · Plattengl. · 4 Bong. · gr. Schellentr. ohne Schellen · Schellentr. · 4 Tomt. · 2 Rührtr. 

[m.|t.] · 7 Congas [1 von Gilgamesh gespielt] · 2 kl. Tr. · Timbales · O-Daiko · 2 gr. Tr. · Guiro · 

Kast. · 4 Holzbl. · 4 Tempelbl. · Peitsche · Weingl. · Gläsersp. · Sistr. · Glspl. · Xylorimba · Zimbal 

[Hackbrett] · Snaredrum [mit Besen] · Bassdrum [von 1 Jazzmusiker zu spielen]) (6 Spieler) – 2 

Hfn. · Cel. · Klav. · Org. – Str. (mind. 14 · 12 · 10 · 8 · 6) 

Hinter der Bühne: 4 Soli (2 S, 2 A) · kleiner Chor · Frauenchor · Männerchor · 1 Tamt. · 6 Congas 

· 3 Tumbas – Live-Elektronik und Zuspielbänder 




20.05.2000 Niedersächsische Staatsoper Hannover · EXPO 2000 (WP) 

Stefan Sanderling · Hans-Peter Lehmann · Ekkehard Grübler 

112

Synopsis 

Gilgameh, king of Uruk, has enslaved his people. The high priest La’abash and the elders ask 

Aruru, the mother of god, to create a substitute king. Aruru creates Enkidu, the “man of the 

good earth”. When Gilgamesh wants to marry the goddess Ischtar (Venus) Enkidu won’t allow 

it and challenges Gilgamesh to a fight. Neither man wins, but the clinch of the struggle turns 

into an embrace between friends. 

Gilgamesh sets out to kill the monster Chumbaba and Enkidu accompanies him. Meanwhile 

La’abash and his family wish to avenge the insult done to Ischtar. They forge a celestial bull to 

kill the hated Enkidu. Gilgamesh beats Chumbaba and the people praise the returning heroes. 

Ischtar sends out the bull after Enkidu. During the fight Enkidu is mortally wounded and dies in 

Gilgamesh’s arms. 

Gilgameh sets off on his travels to find the secret of eternal life. After much wandering he 

reaches the entrance to the underworld. He dreams of Itnapischtim, the only survivor of the 

Flood: forgotten by the gods he has to endure the penalty of immortality. Gilgamesh now 

acknowledges the curse of eternal life: the meaning of life is life itself. With the help of the 

‘alewife’ Siduri he re-turns as a reformed sovereign to Uruk. 

Gilgamesch 

20.05.2000 Niedersächsische Staatsoper Hannover 

Kirchner proceeds on a profound, mythological travel through philosophy and the world’s destiny. 

Heavy brass sets the tone for the sound: tones which remind you of Rheingold and Siegfried. Orff, 

Stravinsky and Strauss also send their regards. Nevertheless Kirchner has not merely mixed his references, 

but has created an independent, forceful composition out of his historical and traditional 

sources. His music seems to be modern but also mythological-archaic. 

(Orpheus Oper International 07/2000) 

113


Der Geigenseppel 

(Seppel the Fiddle Player) 

A melodrama for string puppets after Wilhelm Busch 

Text compilation and concept by Elisabet Woska 

Origin: 1989 | 1999 (revised version) 


Cast: Narrator · speaker (actor) – Geigenseppel · singing actor (tenor voice) 

2000 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc.) · 0 · 1 · 1 – 0 · 0 · 0 · 0 – S. (Trgl. · Zimb. · hohes Beck. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · 

kl. Bongo · 3 Rototoms · 1 Paar Messinglöffel · Metallratsche · Woodblock · Metall-Guiro · Xyl. · 

Kuhglockenspiel) (1 Spieler) – Cel. (auch präp. Klav. und Spielzeugklav.) · Zither – Solovioline – 

Str. (6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 1) 


Performance material on hire · Recording CD Deutsche Grammophon 463 907 

Remarks: Wilfried Hiller wrote the revised version as “melodrama for string puppets” commissioned 

by the World Exposition EXPO 2000. Conventional scenic performances of the work are 

possible. 


09.12.1989 Herkulessaal der Residenz München (WP) 

Jaroslav Opela · Orchesterverein Wilde Gungl 

04.06.2000 Deutscher Pavillon, EXPO Hannover (WP of the revised version) · Düsseldorfer 

Marionetten-Theater 

Michael Helmrath · Anton Bachleitner · Walter Frömel · Monika Seibold 

114

Synopsis 

Wilhelm Busch, the German caricaturist, painter and poet wrote his satirical short story Geigenseppel 

around 1860 in Munich. At the country fair, the the playful and inebriated Geigenseppel 

indulges in a drunken reverie: he is a famous violinist, and his accompanist is none other than 

Franz Liszt. He plays with great success in front of the society ladies, and he is not only rewarded 

with pure gold but has a rendezvous with a society belle. 

When he awakes the next morning, his beautiful illusion turns into a nightmare: instead of his 

violin, he holds a horse’s hoof and a dead cat in his hands. Even worse: his beautiful date turns 

out to be a very old woman, who proceeds to remind him of his lover’s oath. The Geigenseppel 

opts for a fast getaway. 

Der Geigenseppel 

04.06.2000 Deutscher Pavillon, EXPO Hannover 

This opera is a fabulous burlesque, larded with motives of the literary Romantic period, coloured 

with Busch’s unmistakable picaresque tone, complete with a final philosophizing addressed to the 

whole of mankind. [...]: Where there is such a god-pleasing tradition, you aren’t allowed to break 

in like a rude exponent of the New Music. Well, you didn’t exactly expect this of the Bavarian 

composer Wilfried Hiller. His music is entertaining, sometimes ironic and fanciful. 

(Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 05.06.2000) 

115


Trilogie der Sommerfrische 

(Trilogy of Vacation) 

Opera in three acts after “Trilogia della villeggiatura” by Carlo Goldoni 

Libretto by Francesco Micieli 

Origin: 1998-2000 


2000 

Cast: Brigida, Lady’s Maid serving Giacinta · soprano – Giacinta, Daughter of Filippo · soprano – 

Vittoria, Sister of Leonardo · mezzo soprano – Guglielmo, in love with Giacinta · tenor – Leonardo, 

in love with Giacinta · baritone – Carlo Goldoni · baritone – Filippo · bass – Fulgenzio, old 

friend of Filippo · bass 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 1 · Engl. Hr. · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) – 2 · 2 · 0 · 1 – 

S. (2 Kuhgl. · Hihat · Beck. [h.] · Tamt. · Steeldrum · 3 Tomt. · kl. Tr. (ohne Schnarrs.) · gr. Tr. · 

Woodbl. · Peitsche · Agogo · Stimmpfeife · Vibr.) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Akk. (Kombimodell) · 

Reißnagel-Klav. (auch 4 hd.) – Str. 




01.07.2000 EXPO 2000 Hannover (WP) · Theater Trier 

István Dénes | Cosima Osthoff · Heinz Lukas-Kindermann · Susanne Thaler 

116

Synopsis 

Ingomar Grünauer · Photo: Peter Andersen 

After a stay in Paris, Carlo Goldoni is spending his last evening before his departure for Venice. 

Suddenly the protagonists of his Trilogia della Villeggiatura (Trilogy of Vacation) come to him as 

real people. 

Giacinta is in love with Guglielmo, but her father Filippo prefers Leonardo who is supposed to 

be wealthy. There is an exchange of words between Giacinta and Leonardo. Vittoria, Leonardo’s 

sister, bursts onto the scene; the women exchange compliments. Goldoni, who is observing 

the whole scene, has to listen to Vittoria’s reproaches, 

because she is no longer his favourite 

girl. 

After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, the little 

company embarks. It becomes increasingly 

clear that both Giacinta and Vittoria are in love 

with Guglielmo. Giacinta professes her love 

for Guglielmo but in the same breath she tells 

him that she will marry Leonardo, because she 

wants to keep her word to her father. Guglielmo 

goes off with Vittoria. 

The characters distance themselves more 

and more from their creator Goldoni. It also 

becomes obvious that Leonardo is deeply in 

debt and that the marriage between Leonardo 

and Giacinta is a sham. But the people on 

this summer holiday don’t have the power to 

change anything. What remains is alienation 

and disillusionment. 

Grünauer and librettist Micieli have developed a play which is intricate and well thought-through 

on every level, although they have taken some of the comedy out of the text. But as Hans Magnus 

Enzensberger already recognised, Goldoni’s work ‘Trilogie der Sommerfrische’ isn’t really a comedy. 

Grünauer’s opera reduces the story to its tragic and desperate elements, setting it in the context 

of the author’s historical period while drawing parallels with the present. 

(Saarbrücker Zeitung, 04.07.2000) 

117

Aribert Reimann 

Bernarda Albas Haus 

(The House of Bernarda Alba) 


Text by Federico García Lorca 

German translation by Enrique Beck, arranged and supplemented by the composer 

Origin: 1998-2000 


2000 

Cast: Bernarda Alba (60 years) · dramatic alto – María Josefa (Bernarda’s Mother, 80 years) · 

actress – Bernarda’s Daughters: Angustias (39 years) · mezzo soprano; Magdalena (30 years) · 

soprano; Amelia (27 years) · soprano; Martirio (24 years) · dramatic coloratura soprano; Adela 

(20 years) · high lyric soprano – La Poncia, Servant (60 years) · dark dramatic soprano – Servant 

(50 years) · mezzo soprano – male chorus (TB; off-stage) – Mourning Women · supernumeraries 

Orchestra: 1 Picc. · 1 · 1 Afl. · 1 Bfl. · 0 · 1 Es-Klar., 1· 1 Bassetthorn in F · 1 Bassklar. · 1 Kb- 

Klar.· 0 – 0 · 3 (1. und 2. in C, 3. in B) · 3 · 1 – 4 Klav. (z. B. Steinway B oder Yamaha C6) – 12 Vc. 


Study score ED 9876 · Libretto BN 3683 · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: The four Grand Pianos in the orchestra are played conventionally as well as prepared. 

The 12 cello parts are concertante. 



Zubin Mehta · Harry Kupfer · Frank Philipp Schlößmann · Klaus Bruns 

24.06.2001 Komische Oper Berlin 

Friedemann Layer · Harry Kupfer · Frank Philipp Schlößmann · Klaus Bruns 

21.07.2001 Festival Castell de Peralada 2001 

Winfried Müller · Harry Kupfer · Frank Philipp Schlößmann · Klaus Bruns 

09.11.2002 Stadttheater Bern 

Daniel Klajner · Eike Gramss · Eberhard Matthies · Renate Schmitzer 

118

Synopsis 

The opera opens with the maid La Poncia complaining about her tyrannical mistress, Bernarda, 

who is returning with her five daughters from the funeral of her second husband. She orders eight 

years of sorrow, during which her daughters have to live isolated from society. A young man, 

Pepe, wants to marry Angustias, Bernarda’s daughter from her first marriage. However, 

La Poncia has observed that Pepe not only visits his bride Angustias at her window but also 

Adela, the youngest of the five sisters. When Angustias realises that the picture of Pepe which she 

had kept under her pillow is missing, Bernarda orders a thorough search and the picture is finally 

found in Martirio’s room. The atmosphere in the house is unbearably tense. Martirio confesses 

that she is also in love with Pepe; she betrays Adela to Bernarda. Bernarda drives Pepe out of the 

barn, where he was waiting for Adela, with a rifle shot. At Bernarda’s command everybody in the 

house remains silent for ever. 

Bernarda Albas Haus 


Aribert Reimann has fully succeeded in realising Lorca’s disturbing play as powerful music theatre, 

with a superlative score of unremitting clarity and force. This piece leaves no member of its 

audience unmoved. (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 01.11.2000) 

119

Benjamin Schweitzer 

Jakob von Gunten 

Chamber opera after Robert Walser 


Origin: 1996–1998 | 2000 


2000 

Cast: Jakob von Gunten · high baritone – Mr Benjamenta (Director of the Institute Benjamenta) · 

deep baritone – Ms Lisa Benjamenta, his Daughter · mezzo soprano – Kraus · bass baritone – 

Johann von Gunten · tenor – a Speaker (actor) – Chorus (the Pupils): Heinrich · mezzo soprano – 

Schacht · alto – Schilinski, Peter · 2 tenors – Hans, Fuchs, Tremala · 2 basses, 1 bass baritone – 

the Girl · silent role 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc. und Altfl.) · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 · Basskl. · Tenorsax. · 1 (auch Kfg.) – 1 · 

1 · 1 · 0 – S. (3 P. · hg. Beck. · 2 Zimbelpaare · Tamt. · Tamb. · 3 Tomt. · 2 Bong. · 2 Cong. · 

Schlitztr. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Kast. · 3 Woodbl. · 3 Tempelbl. · 2 Paar Clav. · Shell-chimes · Bambusrassel 

· Mar. · Guiro · Donnerblech · Xyl. · Vibr. · Marimba) (3 bis 4 Spieler) – Hfe. – Str. (1 · 1 · 

1 · 1 · 1) 




09.10.2000 Theater Meißen (WP) · Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik 

15.12.2000 Forum der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg 

Titus Engel · Andreas Baumann · Michael Köhler · Susann Helen Fischer 

14.09.2002 · Theater Biel 

Franco Trinca · Rainer Holzapfel · Franziska Kaiser 

120

Synopsis 

Jakob von Gunten, a boy of unknown origin, arrives at the Benjamenta Institute, a school for 

servants presided over by the brother and sister Benjamenta. At the same time, the pupils introduce 

themselves. From the beginning Jakob claims certain privileges. The school days would 

be very boring, if Mr. Benjamenta himself didn’t offer Jakob his friendly affection. But can he 

trust him Lisa, Mr. Benjamenta’s sister, is obviously fond of Jakob, and sings about freedom: 

freedom to decide – she wants Jakob to respond to her love. Rivalry develops: Benjamenta and 

Lisa alternately try to win over Jakob. Meanwhile, one by one the other pupils leave the institute. 

Lisa, thwarted and exhausted, dies and with her ends the whole institution. Benjamenta 

forces Jakob to decide about his life. 

Jakob von Gunten 

09.10.2000 Theater Meißen 

This is not sleek music, [...] but rough music, with strings and wind playing a percussive score 

which comments on the Kafkaesque emptiness with a great economy of means [...]. In its subliminal 

aggression the atmosphere reminds us of Beckett, or of Berg’s Wozzeck. [...] This opera promises 

an engaged, modern (but not experimental) evening, and its rebellious alienation is appealing 

to young audiences. (Der Bund, 16.09.2002) 

121


Ahasver 

oder Die Besichtigung eines Zeitalters (Ahasver or The Visitation of an Era) 

Scenic oratorio 


Origin: 1998-2000 


2001 

Cast: Ahasver · bass – Jesus · baritone – a Boy’s Voice · soprano – Simon Petrus · bass – the 

Grand Inquisitor · bass – 1. Man · tenor – 2. Man · bass – 3. Man · bass – old Man · bass – 

Monk · actor – Gutenberg · baritone – Folk · large chorus (SATB) – solo parts from the chorus 

(SSA) – male chorus – Flagellants · chorus (TB) 

Orchestra: 3 (2. u. 3. Picc.) · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 3 (3. auch Basskl.) · 3 (3. auch Kfg.) – 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 · 

Kbtb. – S. (P. · Trgl. · antike Zimb. · Almgl. · Röhrengl. · Plattengl. · Rin · Becken [h./m./t.] · 

Tamt. [t.] · Rührtr. [basso] · gr. Tamb. [o. Schnarrs.] · Conga · 4 Tomt. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Tumba · 

Holzbl. · Lithophon · Sandbl. · Tubaphon [2] · Dose [mittelgr., mit Nägeln u. Schrauben gefüllt] · 

Glspl. · Xyl. · Vibr.) – Hfe. · Klav. (auch Cel.) – Streicher – Tonband [von den Ausführenden zu 

erstellen] 




09.05.2001 Theater Bielefeld (WP) 

Dirk Kaftan · Andrej Woron · Andrej Woron 

122

Synopsis 

Pontius Pilate’s doorkeeper Ahasver refused to allow Jesus, as he bore the cross, to rest on 

his threshold. As a punishment Ahasvar is condemned to wander the world without home or 

purpose until the Day of Judgement. The story of the wanderer became a central and recurrent 

myth, most famously in Goethe and Heine, and of course in Wagner. 

Whereas the romantic idea of redemption is in the foreground in Wagner, in Kirchner the 

theme is political. Ahasver’s wanderings lead him through each period of European history and 

offer a view of so-called historical progress stripped of illusions. In nine scenes and one epilogue, 

interrupted by eight extensive monologues (“night watches”), the composer describes the 

incessant search for home, identity and spiritual fulfilment in broad historical pictorial scenes. 

Ahasver encounters a series of historical figures – Johannes Gutenberg, Martin Luther – each of 

whom confirms an insuperable wall of xenophobia and ideological blindness. 

In the epilogue Ahasver suffers the fate of today’s refugees. Merely a number, completely deprived 

of his individuality, he joins the anonymous mass of human fellow-sufferers. 

Ahasver 

09.05.2001 Theater Bielefeld 

Kichner’s “scenic oratorio” […] describes the way nothing changes: Inquisition, wars, revolutions, 

ghettos – different times but always the same human suffering […] Ahasver, the eternal time-traveller, 

becomes a man of sorrows and holy fool who, like Christ, is abandoned by God and mocked 

by his people. […] Kirchner draws an intellectually historical conclusion and the music does not 

merely provide a background, it’s more than that, it seizes us with its dramatic force. 

(Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 07/2001) 

123

John Casken 

God‘s Liar 

An opera after Tolstoy 

Libretto by Emma Warner and John Casken 

Origin: 1999-2000 


2001 

Cast: Prince Stepan Kasatsky / Father Sergius · bass baritone – Stephen · tenor – Countess Marie 

Korotkova (19th century), Fiancée of Kasatsky · soprano – Mary (20th century), Stephen’s Literary 

Agent · soprano – Makovkina (19th century), a wealthy Widow · soprano – Film Star (20th 

century) · soprano – Mary (19th century), Daughter of a Merchant · soprano – Pasha (19th 

century), a Farmer’s Wife · Soprano – the Woman (20th century) · soprano 

Chorus (6 singers): High Society Woman 1 / Woman 1 / Farmer’s Wife 1 / female Beggar 1 / 

female Voice off-stage / female Pilgrim 1 · mezzo soprano – High Society Woman 2 / 

Woman 2 / Farmer’s Wife 2 / female Beggar 2 / female Pilgrim 2 · mezzo soprano – Officer 1 / 

Monk 1 / Farmer 1 / Beggar 1 / Salesman 1 / Pilgrim 3 / Young Man 1 · tenor – Officer 2 / 

Monk 2 / Farmer 2 / Beggar 2 / Salesman 2 / Pilgrim 4 / Young Man 2 · tenor – Officer 3 / 

Monk 3 / Cynic / Pilgrim 5 / Young Man 3 · baritone – Officer 4 / Monk 4 / Farmer 3 / 

Pilgrim 6 / Man · baritone 

Orchestra: fl (afl, pic) · ob (ca) · 2Bbcl (1:ssax, bcl; 2:asax, Ebcl, bcl).bn (cbn) - hn · tpt · tbn - 

perc. (b.d, tam-tam, gng, tub.bells (G# & B), bell plate, 4 tom-toms, 3 c.bells (large, medium., 

small ) 3 t.bl., field dr., bass pedal dr., sus.cym., sizz.cym., chinese cym., b.tree (horizontal), clash 

cym., vibra., sleigh bells, maraca., vibraslap, guiro, glass wind-chimes) - hp. - 3vn · 2va · 2vc · db. 



Remarks: All seven soprano parts should be sung by one singer. The chorus singers play different 

roles in all scenes. 


06.07.2001 King‘s Cross, London (WP) 

06.10.2001 Theatre de la Monnaie, Brüssel (NEA) 

Ronald Zollman · Keith Warner · John Lloyd Davies 

02.08.2004 Akademie der Bildenden Künste · KlangBogen Wien 2004 

Walter Kobéra · Stephan Bruckmeier · Klaus Baumeister · Dorothea Wimmer 

124

Synopsis 

Father Sergius, Tolstoy’s short story on which God’s Liar is based, follows Sergius’ long journey 

through life. We first see him as a young man fully in command with a bright future. Betrayed 

by his fiancée, his vanity leads him to seek an escape from his present world, a decision that 

finally results in poverty and vagrancy. 

This haunting and disturbing tale speaks forcefully to us in any age. However, the synopsis has 

been developed to include our own time, casting the even-numbered scenes in the present, 

whilst following the basic line of Tolstoy’s original story. After the opening scene set in the 19th 

century, we then find Stephen, a young academic of today whose research is based on the discovery 

and transcription of the diaries of a 19th century Russian hermit, and who is persuaded 

to sell the fruits of his research to the film industry. 

Stephen, shocked by what Hollywood has done with his work, becomes obsessed with finding 

out the truth behind Sergius’ actions. As the opera progresses, the two centuries begin to 

merge and, in the final scene, the story thrusts Sergius/Stepan, now an old beggar, onto a modern 

street where he is taunted by a crowd. Stephen recognises him, rescues him and is joined 

by a woman from the crowd, a figure who seems to be the woman from his own past and also 

to represent all those in Stepan’s life. The search for truth which has occupied both Stepan and 

Stephen has provided no answers, only darkness and silence: perhaps this is the final lie. The 

thread that runs throughout the opera returns with the woman’s final lines: “one good deed... 

worth more than all the lies...” 

Cod‘s Liar 

02.08.2004 KlangBogen Wien 

John Casken’s new opera, God’s Liar, is everything a new opera ought to be. It is not shy of facing 

big issues – God (or lack of), faith (or loss of), truth, reality, illusion. It is admirably concentrated 

in its treatment of such matters – slightly more than 90 minutes of music divided into two acts. 

The score is almost traditionally “operatic”, mainly lyrical, demands to be listened to, and is plainly 

rewarding to its performers. (The Times 9.7.2001) 

125

Christian Jost 

Death Knocks 

One act opera based on the play of the same name by Woody Allen 

for mezzo soprano, baritone and chamber ensemble 

German translation by Esther Ferrier 

Origin: 2001 


Cast: Death in person · Mezzosopran – Nat Ackerman, a dress manufacturer · Bariton 

2001 

Ensemble: Klar. · Fag. · Trp. · Pos. · Viol. · Kb. · Vibraphon · Drumset 




29.09.2001 Hannover (WP, concert performance) 

Linos Ensemble 

06.05.2005 Theater Erfurt (WP, scenic production) 

Karl Prokopetz · Eszter Szabó · Benita Roth 

10.09.2005 YMCA Concert Hall Jerusalem · Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival 

(concert performance) 

Christian Jost · Jerusalem Festival Ensemble 

16.01.2008 Kronhuset Göteborg · MusikTeaterVerket Göteborg 

Jerker Johansson · Mattias Ermedahl 

01.12.2008 Komische Oper Berlin, Foyer (concert performance) 

Christian Jost · Ensemble UnitedBerlin 

02.07.2009 Opera Stabile · Hamburgische Staatsoper 

Alexander Soddy · Petra Müller · Aida Guardia 

126

Synopsis 

New York, somewhere in Manhattan. The city is pulsating in the heat as Nat Ackermann, a 

successful garment manufacturer, makes himself comfortable for the evening. While he reads 

the paper suddenly an attractive but quite confused woman falls right through his window into 

his living room. Of course he doesn’t believe her when she tells him that she is the personification 

of Death. He is feeling fit as a fiddle, has just completed a merger with a famous company 

and isn’t ready to leave. The lady starts to doubt whether she did everything right. Maybe she 

mixed up addresses, because this is her first commission Nat, who is realising the seriousness 

of the situation, tries to engage the personification of Death in conversation to try to trick the 

lady by using a little cunning. He persuades her to play Gin Rummy. 

Death, stressed out and tired of Nat’s resistance, agrees: if Death wins, Nat will follow her. If 

Nat wins, he will get one more day to live. Night sets in and with it the game between life and 

Death starts. While the personification of Death is concentrating on her cards, Nat tries to find 

out more about dying and the hereafter. He constantly digs deeper and asks a lot of questions 

so that Death gets nervous and is thoroughly beaten. This failure in her first job saps her selfconfidence. 

Certain of his victory, Nat throws Death out of his home and suspects that he will 

cope with Death more easily in the future. (Christian Jost) 

Death Knocks 

06.06.2005 Theater Erfurt 

It was good to find that in this opera the soloists have the opportunity to develop their 

voices without singing big arias or scenes. [...] Jost proves himself an experienced composer 

who knows how to deal with sounds and structures. (Thüringer Allgemeine, 9.5.2005) 

127

Detlev Müller-Siemens 

Bing 

on a text by Samuel Beckett 

German translation by Elmar Tophoven 

Origin: 1998-2000 


Cast: 2 speakers - 2 sopranos 

2001 

Orchestra: 2 (beide auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (1. auch Es-Klar., 2. auch Bassklar.) · 

2 (beide auch Kfg.) – 2 · 2 · 0 · 0 – S. (I: Röhrengl. · 3 hg. Beck. · ant. Zimb. · kl. Tr. · Clav. · Tempelbl. 

· Metallplatte · Xyl.; 3 hg. Beck. · Tamt. · Tomt. · Glspl. · Xylorimba · Vibr.) (2 Spieler) – 

2 Klav. (eines 1/4-Ton herabgestimmt) – Str. (2 · 0 · 2 · 2 · 2 [mit H-Saite]) 




13.12.2001 Forum der Bundeskunsthalle Bonn (WP) · Theater Bonn 

Wolfgang Ott · Bettina Erasmy | Michael Simon · Michael Simon 

128

Synopsis 

The title Bing refers to Beckett’s eponymous play of 1966. The play presents us with a single, 

surreal setting: a naked man standing in a white cube. The script consists of several speech 

fragments, brought together into a circuit of new, composite phrases. Only two words manage 

to cut through the ceaseless circling: BING, often connected to the quest for nature, meaning, 

images, a fellow human being and the way out; and HOP, often followed by the word “elsewhere”, 

perhaps referring to a change of place and scenery. “I had a completely frozen music 

theatre in mind”, explains Detlev Müller-Siemens; a music theatre “consisting of three levels: 

firstly the main character, who – because of his isolation – hears him/herself speaking with a 

stranger’s voice, and is thus impersonated by two vocal parts; secondly the two speakers, who 

classify the action with permanent comments from the outside; and thirdly the chamber orchestra, 

functioning as a sterile environment – just like the cube with its white walls – where ‘signs 

without meaning’ appear, filling the space with ‘whispered gibberish’. [...] In spite of this frozen 

constellation, I think that Bing’s adaptation into an ‘Opera’ allows fundamentally human topics 

such as loneliness, love and death to shine through. (Source: Theater Bonn 2001) 

Bing 

13.12.2001 Oper Bonn 

Beckett’s text of 1966 – the ultimate year of surreal theatre and happenings – is about an 

excruciating wait and is the product of a tormented mind. It is made up of thoughts that circle 

around and force their way to the subconscious. [...] There are well-chosen words, whose peculiar 

musicality startles us. Beyond every seemingly meaningless semantic surface there are many deep 

references to the original human state: [...] the language gropes its way to meaning. Only when 

you listen carefully does it begin to make sense. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15.12.2001) 

129

Gavin Bryars 

G 

Being the Confession and Last Testament of Johannes Gensfleisch, also known as Gutenberg, 

Master Printer, formerly of Strasbourg and Mainz 

Opera in two acts with prologue and epilogue 

Libretto by Blake Morrison 

Origin: 2001 – 2002 

Language: English | German translation by Stephan Kopf, Zelma Millard and Michael Millard 

2002 

Cast: Ennelina zur Yserin Tür, G’s Fiancée · soprano – Christina Fust, Johann Fust’s Daughter, 

Peter Schoeffer’s Fiancée · soprano – Ellewibel zur Yserin Tür, Ennelina’s Mother · coloratura 

mezzo soprano – Frau Lotte Beildeck, Servant to G · low mezzo soprano – Peter Schoeffer, Apprentice 

to G and Lodger at Johann Fust’s · counter tenor – Johann Fust, Merchant and Investor / 

Evil Angel · tenor – Berthold Rüppel, Printer, Member of G’s workshop · tenor – Andreas 

Dritzehn, Member of G’s workshop · baritone – Claus Dritzehn, Brother to Andreas and Jörg, 

Member to G’s workshop · baritone – Jörg Dritzehn, Brother to Andreas and Claus, Member of 

G’s workshop · baritone – Matthias Heilmann, Member to G’s workshop · baritone – 

G, Johannes Gensfleisch, also known as Gutenberg, Goldsmith and Inventor · bass baritone – 

Amanuensis (present in prologue only), or G2 · bass baritone – Judge · bass baritone – Nicholas 

of Cusa, Papal Diplomat, later Cardinal / Good Angel · bass – Monks, Pilgrims, Writers, Women, 

Soldiers, Creditors, Workmen, Jesters, Advocates · mixed chorus (SATBarB) 

Orchestra: 2 (beide auch Picc.) · 3 Engl. Hr. (2. auch Ob., 3. auch Ob. d‘am.) · 1 (auch Es-Klar.) · 

1 Bassklar. · 2 · 1 Kfg. – 5 (2., 3. auch Wagnertb., 4. und 5. auch Bass-Wagnertb.) · 0 · 2 (beide 

auch Altpos.) · 1 – P. S. (Röhrengl. · hg. Beck. · Beckenpaar · Crot. · Tamt · 2 kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · 

Glsp. · Vibr. · Marimba) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cemb. (auch Cel.) – Str. (14 · 11 · 8 · 7 · 5) 



Remarks: The role of Good Angel should be taken by Nicholas of Cusa, the role of Evil Angel by 

Johann Fust. 


23.02.2002 Staatstheater Mainz (WP) 

Gernot Sahler · Georges Delnon · Rosalie 

130

Synopsis 

Strasbourg in the 1440s. While celebrating the profits he has made from manufacturing mirrors 

for pilgrims, the materialistic G (whose worldly values are echoed by an Evil Angel) tells his 

colleagues that he has a more ambitious project in mind. As he discloses to Nicholas of Cusa, 

he has begun an experiment in printing books - Nicholas approves of this and suggests he print 

the Bible. Enter Ennelina, his fiancée, who asks if she and G can now be married - he fobs her 

off, confessing, after she has left, that his work matters more to him. Alone G excitedly reflects 

on the possibility of freeing the word of God from the hands of priests. But his reverie is rudely 

interrupted by trouble on all fronts: Ennelina returns with her mother, who angrily accuses him 

of breaking a marriage promise. G is also besieged by creditors, to whom he owes money; by 

soldiers, conscripting men for war against the Armagnacs; by scribes, who feel threatened by his 

invention; and by women siding with the distressed Ennelina. As he reaches crisis-point, three 

spectral figures appear - Johann Fust, his daughter Christina and G’s assistant Peter Schoeffer - 

and G dreams of returning to his home town of Mainz. 

Mainz in the 1450s. G’s work on the Bible is now in full swing, and in a busy printshop he lectures 

his men on the importance of keeping their great work secret. G is now a changed man, 

devoted to God and to aesthetic beauty. When Fust, his backer, turns up to monitor progress, 

G, irritated, defends the painstaking slowness of the work. Fust is angry and impatient. So is 

his daughter Christina, who can’t marry Peter until the Bible is finished. The imminent crisis 

erupts when Christina shows her father proof that G is using his loan for other purposes. Fust 

– as he reveals to a tortured Peter – decides to take G to court. Among the witnesses called 

is Peter, who effectively betrays G. The case is awarded to Fust. In the Epilogue, a benign G 

muses on his achievement and asks, now that the print era he inaugurated is over, to be left in 

peace. 

G 

23.02.2002 Staatstheater Mainz 

When Gutenberg’s journeyman betrays his master, you can hear strings as a distant echo playing 

Bach’s Johannes-Passion from within the fabric of Bryars’ music. For long stretches of time you 

are overpowered by G’s persuasiveness. [...] With G, Bryars has developed the musicality of the 

subconscious. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 25.02.2002) 

131


Das Salome-Prinzip 

(The Salome Principle) 

Chamber opera after Oscar Wilde 

Text by Enjott Schneider, translated after the French original version of the play 

Origin: 1983 


2002 

Cast: Salome · mezzo soprano – Herodias · soprano – Herodes · baritone – the Young Syrian · 

alto – the Page · tenor – the Soldier · bass – Jochanaan · speaking role (actor) 

Orchestra: 1 · 1 (auch Ob. d’amore) · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · 0 – 1 · 0 · 0 · 0 – 2 S. – Str. (möglichst 

chorisch 0 · 0 · 12 · 3 · 2 oder auch solistisch: 0 · 0 · 3 · 1 · 1) 




03.03.2002 Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen (WP) 

10.04.2002 Theatre National du Luxembourg 

Kai Tietje · Caroly Sittig · Jean Flammang 

132

Synopsis 

Das Salome-Prinzip is a new take on the biblical subject already famously treated by Massenet 

and Strauss. Schneider’s piece distinguishes itself from these works both in its smaller scale as 

a chamber opera and in its mode of address with regards to the content. It describes, explains 

Schneider, how ‘the mechanism of how party decadence, materialism and lack of genuine human 

exchange, warp and pervert the smallest attempt at being honest and idealistic in the face 

of a narcissistic society. Salome who, in the first half of the opera, finds in Jochanaan a positive 

role model among all the vanity and stupidity, becomes, in the second half, a monster herself 

when her urge to communicate is frustrated: “If you had looked at me, you would have loved 

me!”’ 

Das Salome-Prinzip 

03.03.2002. Musiktheater im Revier 

Schneider’s music follows theatrically sensuous gestures. The score for eleven instruments resonates 

tenderly and quietly, by turns red-blooded and brittle as if spun from glass. The sounds 

follow the trace Berg and Schönberg once left. This piece is a real alternative to the sumptuous 

version by Strauss. (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 05.03.2002) 

133


Heloïse and Abelard 

Opera in three acts, a prologue and an epilogue 

Libretto by Frank Corsaro 

Origin: 2001-2002 


2002 

Cast: Heloïse Hersind, Fulbert’s Niece · soprano – Peter Abelard, Parisian scholar · baritone – 

Fulbert, Canon, Uncle of Heloise · tenor – William of Champeaux, Archdeacon and friend of 

Fulbert · bass baritone – Berthe, Nun at the Covent Le Paraclete · mezzo soprano – the Abbess 

of the Convent Le Paraclete · non-singing – Denise, Abelard’s Sister and Astrolabe’s Foster 

Mother · mezzo soprano – Jolivet, Priest · tenor – Astrolabe, Son of Heloïse and Abelard · baritone 

– Fool · tenor – Man · tenor – Male servant · tenor – Female Servant · mezzo soprano – Dr. 

Salavados · non-speaking role – Four masked men · non-speaking roles – chorus of monks and 

nuns · SATB, minimum of 8 female and 10 male voices 

Orchestra: 2.2.2.2-2.32(btbn)0-timp.2perc.2aux-pno.hp-str(min: 8.7.6.4.3) 




24.04.2002 The Juilliard Theater at The Juilliard School, New York, NY (WP) 

Miguel Harth-Bedoya · Frank Corsaro · Franco Colavecchia · Christianne Meyers 

134

Synopsis 

A poignant setting of the tragic love story between renowned 12th-century scholar Peter 

Abelard and his young student Heloïse. These lovers faced timeless issues: passionate love, 

jealousy, religious infighting, the institution of marriage, and the role of women in society. 

Heloise and Abelard 

24.04.2002 The Juilliard Theater at the Juilliard School / Nan Melville 

Heloïse and Abelard is an astutely crafted, musically absorbing, and theatrically affecting work, 

one that deserves a future and many more productions. (Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine) 

Paulus‘ declamatory vocal style and harmonically consistent tonal vocabulary evoke the period 

subtly and skillfully...the couple Heloïse and Abelard rank high among the most compelling pairs of 

lovers in contemporary American opera. (Joshua Rosenblum, Opera America) 

The new work is real opera: memorable, even heart-rending ensembles, characters nicely drawn, 

scenes shaped with a dramatist‘s hand and not a moment too long, vocal lines the work of a composer 

who knows the voice and what it can do. I came home from New York with this work out 

front in my memory. (Alan Rich, L.A.Weekly) 

135

Jörg Widmann 

K(l)eine Morgenstern-Szene 

(Small | no Morgenstern scene) 

Short opera for soprano, actor, Russian Cimbalom and percussion 

Text after the theatre scene “Egon und Emilie” (“Egon and Emily”) 

by Christian Morgenstern 

Origin: 1997 


2002 

Cast: the Woman · soprano – the Man · actor 

Schlagzeug (1 Spieler): (Crot. [auch mit Kontrabass-Bogen gestrichen] · 4 hg. Beck. [auch mit 

Kontrabass-Bogen gestrichen] · Vibr. [auch mit Kontrabass-Bogen gestrichen] · tiefes Tamt. 

[auch mit Kontrabass-Bogen gestrichen] · tiefer Gong · Crash-Beck. · gr. Tr. · Glsp. · Marimba. · 

Lotosfl. · Flex. · 2 Mar. · Peitsche · Röhrengl. · Clav. · 2 Bong. [auch mit Hot Rods geschlagen] · 

2 Cong. [auch mit Hot Rods geschlagen] · Cow-Bell [auch mit Hot Rods geschlagen] · 4 Holzbl. · 

4 Tomt. · kl. Tr. · gestimmtes Weinglas (d‘‘) · Guiro · Trillerpf. · Tempelbl. · 2 Kast. [befestigt, mit 

harten Schlägeln] · Metal Chimes · Trgl.) 




09.05.2002 Prinzregententheater München (WP) · Münchener Biennale 2002 

Ulrich Nicolai · Florentine Klepper · Chalune Seiberth 

24.05.2002 Zeisehallen Hamburg 

Mark Rohde · Hans-Jörg Kapp · Marcel Weinand · Tanja Bolduan 

10.09.2004 Komische Oper Berlin, Studiobühne 

Björn Johannsen | Erik Kross · Nurkan Erpulat · Florent Marin 

05.10.2005 Mousonturm Frankfurt · Werkschau der „Akademie Musiktheater heute“ 

Anna Shefelbine · Hendrik Müller · Mira Voigt 

12.06.2005 Oper Köln, Dachterrasse 

Jens Bingert · Aldona Farrugia · Susanne Adler 

136

Synopsis 

The opera takes its subject from Christian Morgenstern’s ‘Egon and Emilie’ of 1907, which 

depicts the theatre as a distorting mirror of life: Emilie needs a person to talk to, but because 

she does not find one she has ‘to leave this stage and go into the nameless nothingness, having 

neither played nor lived’. The void of a failed artistic existence is revealed behind the theatre’s 

comedy. 

Ninety years on, Widmann’s K(l)eine Morgenstern-Szene (1997) brilliantly translates the play’s 

anguish into operatic terms. The lead soprano feels unable to find her onstage identity as 

Emilie: she needs the person facing her to utter a word, just one word. It doesn’t even have to 

be the word ‘love’—any word breaking the silence would do. In order for this to happen, the 

trained singer uses every possible technique she ever learnt and exploits her repertoire with 

enormous creativity: “operetta-like”, “uptight”, “whining”, “oriental”, “ugly”, “in an official 

tone”, “in dialect”: she sings, roars, talks and whispers. The musicians accompany her by exploring 

a wide range of different ways of playing. As the tension builds, more and more percussion 

enter the fray. But all of this is to no avail: Emilie can’t find her role and the performance turns 

into a rehearsal for which no resolution is possible. 

K(l)eine Morgenstern-Szene 

05.10.2005 Mousonturm, Frankfurt 

Widmann works with all the methods of the musical past, stepping across the boundaries of 

different genres, including pop and the operatic gestures of a prima donna [...]. In this remarkably 

successful monologue Widmann gives anybody worried about the future of music theatre a wink 

and a wave. (Olaf A. Schmitt, Frankfurt 2005) 

137


Le Balcon 

Opera in ten scenes 

Libretto by Françoise Morvan in collaboration with Peter Eötvös and André Markowicz 

after “Le Balcon” by Jean Genet (© Éditions Gallimard) 

Origin: 2002 / revised version 2004 

Language: French 

2002 

Cast: Irma · low mezzo soprano, heavy voice – Carmen · lyric soprano – la femme (the Woman) / 

la voleuse (the Thief) / la fille (the Girl) / Chantal · mezzo soprano, extended up to the soprano 

register – Chef de la Police (Chief of Police) · bass or bass baritone – l’éveque (the Bishop) · 

bass buffo – le juge (the Judge) · high tenor, character tenor – le general (the General) · lyric 

baritone, aged between 40-50 years – Roger · young lyric baritone – Arthur / le bourreau (the 

Hangman) · low bass – l’envoyé (the Ambassador) · character baritone – Speaking roles: 3 Revolutionists 

/ 3 Photographers · 3 young actors 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc. u. Altfl.) · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 (auch Es-Klar.) · Sopransax. (auch Altsax. 

u. Baritonsax.) · Bassklar. · 1 – 1 · 2 · 1 · 1 – S. (Trgl. · Röhrengl. · Schell. · Crot. · Schellenbaum · 

Kuhgl. · Beckenpaar · Nietenbck. · Gong · Tamt. · 3 Bong. · Schellentr. · Drum Set · Kast. · Cabaza 

· Guiro · Waschbrett · Holzbl. · 2 Kokosnüsse auf Holzbrett · Metal-Chimes · Glsp. · Xyl. · 

Vibr. · Marimba) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Hammondorg. · Keyb.-Sampler * – Vl. · Va. · Vc. · Kb. – 

8-Spur-Diskette – Geräusch-Sampler (wird von Schlagzeug 2 ausgeführt | Keyboard-control) 

* Sound files are provided by the Eötvös Composition Studio; please see www.eotvospeter.com 

for details. 

On the stage (players from the ensemble): Kontrabassklar. – Hr. · Tr. – Vl. (Strohviol-Trichtergeige) 




05.07.2002 Théâtre de l‘Archevêché (WP) · Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence 

05.06.2003 Het Muziektheater Amsterdam 

21.01.2004 Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse 

Peter Eötvös · Stanislas Nordey · Emmanuel Clolus · Raoul Fernandez 

26.04.2003 Theater Freiburg 

Kwamé Ryan · Gerd Heinz · Stefanie Seitz 

03.04.2005 Festival Theatre Budapest · Budapest Spring Festival 

Peter Eötvös · Róbert Alföldi · Kentaur 

138

Synopsis 

Revolution is raging in the streets of Paris and the Palais-Royal is blown up. Meanwhile the customers 

of the brothel ‘Le Balcon’ dress up with the props and costumes of the most important 

social positions. They want to become bishops, judges or generals, although they know that 

each new role will last for hardly more than half an hour. The girls look on as Madame collects 

the money for these disturbing revels. The play is filled with constantly sparkling role-play, 

theatre within theatre. ‘The most important thing for me was that Genet’s wonderfully suggestive 

language remained comprehensible. I use lots of grotesque and comedic elements from 

cabaret-music, and sometimes my music draws on the French Chansons: Fréhel, Jaques Brel, 

Yves Montand and Leo Ferré were all models for me.’ 

(Peter Eötvös, Source: Theater Freiburg 2003) 

Le Balcon 

19.10.2005 Neue Oper Wien 

“Quote and collage could be said to be the province of postmodernism. Where these principles are 

used with such intelligence and immanent wit [...], the result has its own vital originality.” 

(Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 08.07.2002) 

139


Diana – Cry for Love 

Song opera for soloists, chorus, ballet and orchestra 

Libretto by Wolfgang Rögner 

Origin: 2001-2002 

Language: German | English translation by Dean Wilmington 

2002 

Cast: Diana · soprano – Debbie, Waiting Maid · soprano – Dodi al Fayed · tenor – René, Butler 

with Dodi al Fayed · baritone – Henri Paul, Deputy Security Director at the Ritz Hotel · baritone – 

Luigi, Captain · bass – Repossi, Jeweller · bass – Christiano, Chef cook · tenor – Trevor, Body 

Guard with Dodi al Fayed · bass – mixed chorus – ballet – supernumeraries 

Orchestra: 2 (auch Picc.) · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 2 (auch Bassklar. und Altsax.) · 0 – 3 · 2 · 2 · 1 – 

S. (Marimba · Vibr. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · Tamt. · Tomt.) · Drumset – Klav. (auch Cel.) · Keybd. (Samplingkeybd.) 

· Git. (E-Git.) · E-Bass – Str. (12 · 10 · 8 · 6 · 4) – Pre-recorded orchestra ad lib. 




12.10.2002 Theater Görlitz (WP) 

09.03.2003 Theater Bautzen 

Wolfgang Rögner · Valentina Simeonova · Iris Jedamski 

140

Synopsis 

The events leading to Diana’s death are retraced through the eyes of Dodi Al-Fayed’s butler, 

René. As Diana’s relationship with Dodi develops, Diana’s close friend Debbie falls in love 

with René. Diana and Dodi are disturbed by the attention of the paparazzi, who intrude into 

their lives and deprive them of intimacy. Diana recollects how she has always felt unwelcome 

throughout her life, and longs for a ‘normal’ life. When the interest and intrusions of press and 

media explodes, Dodi decides to escape to a secret place with Diana. Together with René and 

Henri, the Paris Hotel Ritz’s security manager, he plans a secret departure, but the paparazzi 

find him. The hunt starts... 

Diana - Cry for Love 

12.10.2002 Theater Görlitz 

Songs and scenes run into each other as music and film subliminally draw the audience in. With 

‘Life is my dream, love my purpose’ a truly successful song has been created, which has all the 

makings of a real hit. (Musicals 12/2002) 

141

Jörg Widmann 

Das Gesicht im Spiegel 

(The Face in the Mirror) 

Music theatre in 16 scenes 

Libretto by Roland Schimmelpfennig 

Origin: 2002-2003 


2003 

Cast: Patrizia, CEO of a trust · high soprano – Justine, Patrizia’s clone · soprano – Bruno, 

Patrizia’s Husband and Business partner · baritone – Milton, Bio Engineer and Supervisor of 

Justine · baritone – Children’s chorus 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 0 · 2 (1. auch Bassklar. · 2. auch Kb.-Klar.) · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) – 2 · 1 

(auch hohe Trp.) · 1 (auch Muschel) · 0 – S. (P. · 2 Trgl. · Crot. · Kuhgl. · 2 Buckelgongs · Peking- 

Oper-Gong · 2 Tamt. · 8 Röhrengl. · 4 chin. Beck. · Steeldr. · 4 Bong. · 4 Tamburims · 5 Tomt. · 

Rototoms · 2 kl. Tr. · 2 gr. Tr. · Holzbl. · Lotosfl. · Peitsche · Guiro · Mar. · Flex. · Ratsche · Trillerpf. 

· Clav. · Watergong · Spieluhr · Glsp. · Xyl. · 2 Xylorimb. · Vibr.) (2 Spieler) – Klav. (auch Cel.) · 

Git. (auch Mand., Bandurria u. Banjo) · Akk. – 4 Vl. · 3 Vc. · Kb. 

Duration: ca. 145‘ 


Remarks: The children’s chorus may be replaced by a women’s chorus. 


17.07.2003 Cuvilliéstheater München (WP) · Bayerische Staatsoper 

Peter Rundel · Falk Richter · Katrin Hoffmann · Martin Krämer 

29.01.2005 Theater Krefeld 

13.05.2005 Theater Mönchengladbach 

Kenneth Duryea · Andreas Baesler · Harald Thor · Viola Schütze 

142

Synopsis 

Patrizia and Bruno are a couple of bio-technicians who, thanks to the collaboration of their 

brilliant colleague Milton, have succeeded in creating a living clone of a human being, which 

they are trying to bring to market. The unique selling point of their product is that it can feel 

pain, but is able to recover immediately after any injury. The clone, named Justine, is a copy of 

Patrizia. Justine must never look into a mirror, because she isn’t allowed to learn that she is only 

Patrizia’s copy. Milton teaches Justine how to speak and communicate, and as she becomes 

more and more a rounded human being, both Bruno and Milton fall in love with her. 

Bruno wants to start a new life with Justine and escapes with Milton’s production plans, so that 

he may reproduce Justine anywhere. However, this sparks a series of consequences that will 

increasingly spiral out of hand. 

Das Gesicht im Spiegel 

17.07.2003 Bayerische Staatsoper 

Widmann works his way through tradition to find his own dramatic, quietly interconnected and 

complex sounds [...] A hugely talented theatrical composer has written his first great opera. Hats 

off! (Die Welt, 19.07.2003) 

143


Bahnwärter Thiel 

(Thiel the Lineman) 

Opera in eight scenes 

Text by Julia Cloot and Enjott Schneider after the novelistic study of the same name 

by Gerhart Hauptmann 

Origin: 2002-2003 


2004 

Cast: Thiel · high baritone – Lene · dramatic soprano – Minna · lyric Soprano – Tobias · child 

(speaking role with little singing) – Priest · bass – 1. Woman · alto – 2. Woman · mezzo soprano – 

1. Man · tenor – 2. Man · baritone – Village people, Police Constables, Asylum Wardens · chorus 

(min. 20 singers) 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 · 2 · 2 – 4 · 3 · 3 · 0 – S. (2 Sp.) – Hfe. – Str. 





Eckehard Stier · Aron Stiehl · Karen Hilde Fries 

144

Synopsis 

When his beloved wife Minna dies, Thiel, a lone signalman on the Berlin-Breslau railway line, 

needs someone to take care of his child Tobias. To this purpose, he marries the farm girl Lene. 

But as soon as his new wife has given birth to their child, she starts to abuse Tobias. Thiel is 

unable to stand up to her. Desperate and lonely in his little signalman’s hut, he sinks into his 

own dream-world. As Thiel’s perception of reality starts to slip inexorably, tension builds up to 

a final, horrifying climax. 

Bahnwärter Thiel 

28.02.2004 Theater Görlitz 

Like the experienced composer that he is, Schneider knows how to accompany scenic events instrumentally, 

how to create atmosphere and how to use instrumental characteristics effectively. 

[...] (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 03.03.2004) 

145


Wolkenstein 

A ballad of life 

Libretto by Felix Mitterer 

Origin: 2003 


2004 

Cast: Oswald von Wolkenstein · baritone – Oswald as a young boy · soprano – Oswald as a 

young man · lyric tenor – Anna Hausmann, Oswald’s beloved / Salige [a wood spirit] · mezzo 

soprano – Michael von Wolkenstein, Oswald’s older Brother · actor – Margarethe von Schwangau, 

Oswald’s Wife (also playing Oswald’s Mother) · soprano – Katharina von Wolkenstein, 

Michael’s Wife · actress – Duke Friedrich IV from Habsburg, Duke of Tyrol · actor – King Sigismund 

from Luxembourg Dynasty · actor – Martin Jäger von Tisens, Country Nobleman · actor – 

Ulrich I, Prince-bishop at Brixen · senior actor – Schöberlin, Servant with Oswald · actor – 

Pope Johannes · tenor – Pope Benedict · baritone – Pope Gregor · bass – Jan Hus, known as 

“The Heretic” · tenor – Voice of the Wild Woman · vocal ensemble: ATTBarBarBB – a Goldsmith, 

Festivity Guests at the Bishop’s Court, 4 Whores in a bath, Knights, Bailiffs, Lansquenets · actors 

or supernumeraries – Servants with Oswald · 2 tenors, 2 baritones, 2 basses 

Orchestra: 3 (alle auch Picc. · 3. auch Altfl.) · 0 · 3 (1. auch Es–Klar., 3. auch Bassklar.) · 0 – 4 · 

3 · 3 · 1 – P.S. (Glsp. · Crot. · Verrophon · Röhrengl. · 3 Trgl. · 3 Beck. · Nieten–Beck. · Schellenbaum 

· javan. Buckelgongs · Dobacis · Amboss · Kotsuzumi u. Otsuzumi [jap. Sanduhrtr.] · 

Rahmentr. · Bong. · kl. Tr. · 6 Tomt. · 2 Rührtr. · Drumset · Woodbl. · afrik. Holztr. · gr. Tr. · 6 

Rototoms · afrik. Schlitztr. · Woodblocks · Temple-Block · Guiro · Claves · Kast. · Ratsche · 

Hyoshigi · Mark–Tree · Stabpandereta · Peitsche · Windmasch. ) (3 Spieler) – Hfe. · 2 Klav. (Flügel, 

1. auch Cel.) – Str. 

Oswald’s chamber ensemble (on stage or aside of the pit but visible): Fl. (auch Picc.) – S. 

(Zimbeln · Fingerzimb. · Trgl. · Schellentamb. · 2 Rahmentr. · Waldteufel · Claves) (1 Spieler) – 

Diskant–Zither · Hfe. · Hackbrett – 2 Vl. (2. auch Va.) · Kb. 




06.03.2004 Theater Nürnberg (WP) 

15.04.2004 Nuovo Teatro Communale Bolzano 

Fabrizio Ventura · Percy Adlon · Hartmut Schörghofer · Renate Stoiber 

146

Synopsis 

The life of the South Tyrolean knight, politician, poet and composer Oswald von Wolkenstein 

(ca. 1377-1445) has fascinated Wilfried Hiller for a long time. Wolkenstein is a flamboyant 

figure: sophisticated and urbane, much-travelled in the service of the German emperor and 

having worked on diplomatic assignment for the consul of Konstanz, he was a man of the late 

Middle Ages yet informed by the thinking and feeling of the early stirrings of modern times. 

In cooperation with the popular Tyrolean poet Felix Mitterer, Hiller creates with Wolkenstein 

an exciting spectrum of a time and a man, who lives his life to the fullest without regard to 

conventions and without any respect for authorities. The songs composed by Wolkenstein, 

handed down through the centuries in different writings, are an important source of musical 

inspiration for Hiller; he combines these medieval sounds with elements of other musical means 

of expression including the music of the Nô-theatre. 

Wolkenstein 

06.03.2004 Theater Nürnberg 

Oswald, who travelled widely, was an early kind of world musician and his songs reflect the many 

kinds of music he heard. This gives Hiller the opportunity to create a world-musical polystyle, 

where Japanese elements of the Nô-theatre are heared next to sounds of swing or musical. With it 

there are moments of remarkable forcefulness and music-theatrical intensity. 

(Opernwelt 05/2004) 

147

Toshio Hosokawa 

Hanjo 


Libretto by Toshio Hosokawa after the Nô play of the same name by Yukio Mishima 

English text version by Donald Keene 

Origin: 2003-2004 


Cast: Hanako · soprano – Jitsuko · mezzo soprano – Yoshio · baritone 

2004 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Picc. und Bassfl.) · 1 (auch Eng. Hr.) · 1 (auch Bassklar.) · 1 (auch Kontrafag.) – 

1 · 1 · 1 · 0 – S. (Basstr. · 4 Tom-toms · 4 Bongos · Vibr. · Marimb. · Cym. ant. · Röhrengl. · Tamt. · 

4 Trgl. · 4 japan. Wind-Gl.) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cel. – Str. 




08.07.2004 Théâtre du Jeu de Paume (WP) · Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence 

07.09.2004 Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Bruxelles 

Kazushi Ono | Georges-Elie Octors · Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker · Jan Joris Lamers · Tim 

van Steenbergen 

16.12.2005 Auditório Culturgest Lisboa 

João Paulo Santos · Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker · Jan Joris Lamers · Tim van Steenbergen 

06.08.2005 Kampnagel Hamburg (concert performance) · Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival 

Kazushi Ono · Ensemble musikFabrik 


Kevin John Edusei · Patrick Schimanski · Colin Walker 

05.03.2008 Opéra National de Lyon · Biennale Musique en Scène 

Johannes Debus · Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker · Jan Joris Lamers · Tim Van Steenbergen 

148

Synopsis 

Hanjo is the name of the emperor’s mistress who lived at the time of the early Han dynasty in 

ancient China and was in the emperor’s favour. However, he gradually forgot her and finally 

abandoned her. She wrote a poem, reflecting on her situation through the metaphor of a fan 

used in summer and thrown away in autumn. From this episode, Hanjo became a catch-word, 

describing any woman who has been abandoned by a man. 

Hanako, a geisha girl, was plighted to Yoshio some years ago. When they had to part, they exchanged 

fans and promised to return to each other, but Yoshio has not been back since. Jitsuko, 

a spinster, buys Hanako from the geisha house and keeps her in her own house. Hanako—the 

woman with a fan—waits day after day for Yoshio at the train station. A newspaper gossips 

about her strange behaviour. Jitsuko reads it and is afraid that Yoshio might read the article 

and come to see Hanako again—she doesn’t want Hanako to leave her house. Soon after, 

Yoshio arrives at Jitsuko’s house with a fan. Although Jitsuko tries to get in the way, he finally 

sees Hanako again. However, Hanako now says the man before her is not Yoshio. Does she not 

recognise him Or is she afraid to leave her life of ceaseless waiting 

Hanjo 


Love, beauty and death intertwine in a tangle rich of allusions, meanings and psychoanalytical 

layers. In addition, Toshio Hosokawa has composed sounds which shimmer in a huge range of instrumental 

colours [...]: Arioso, Sprechgesang and melodrama alternate between Western and Far 

Eastern means of expression. (Opernwelt, 09/2004) 

149


Informationen über Bartleby 

(Information on Bartleby) 

Short opera in 11 parts 

Libretto by the composer and Norbert Lange after Herman Melville’s story Bartleby, the 

Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street 

Origin: 2003 

Language: German, English 

2004 

Cast: mezzo soprano · baritone · alto or bass (bass baritone) – Speaking role (actor or actress) 

Orchestra: 0 · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 (auch Klar. in A und Bassklar.) · 0 – 0 · 0 · Tenor-Basspos. · 

0 – S. (2 Tempelbl. · Schlitztr. · 2 Holztoms · gr. Tr. · 2 hohle Ziegelsteine · 4 Pappkartons untersch. 

Größe · Metallrohr [vierkant, Länge ca. 1 Meter mit Halteseil und Ständer] · Wassereimer 

· chin. Beck. · türk. Beck. [kl.] · Tamb. · 2 Cowbells · Vibra-Slap · Kast. · 2 Mar. · Bambusrassel 

· Bassxyl. bzw. Boo-Bam-Spiel) (1 Spieler) – Akk. – Vc. · Kb. 




30.09.2004 Festspielhaus Hellerau (WP) · Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik 2004 

Titus Engel · Rainer Holzapfel · Lisa Brzonkalla · Katia Diegmann 

27.09.2006 Hebbel am Ufer HAU1, Berlin 

Yordan Kamdzhalov · Mareike Mikat · Maike Storf 

150

Synopsis 

‘I would prefer not to’: With this polite but irrefutable phrase the ‘scrivener’ Bartleby, in Herman 

Melville’s novella of 1853, reacts to any pleading, instruction or command, accepting even 

death as a final consequence of his gentle resistance to the demands of life. ‘I would prefer 

not to’ has become perhaps one of the most famous and enigmatic phrases in English literature. 

For Benjamin Schweitzer the story’s action is irrelevant. The basis of the libretto is the scene of 

the first performance of ‘Bartleby’s formula’. This central moment, this one phrase builds with 

repeated convergences, constant variations and alienating, layered textures, creating a compressed 

circle of time. 

Informationen über Bartleby 

30.09.2004 Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik 

Schweitzer uses an extremely condensed text: only one sentence! Thus the 11 sections in the piece 

consist of variations and repetitions of the original material. The four actors on the stage talk and 

sing in English and German, sometimes alone, both disordered and synchronous, intelligible and 

incomprehensible. (Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten, 04.10.2004) 

151


Angels in America 

Opera in two parts 

Text by Mari Mezei after the same named play by Tony Kushner 

Origin: 2003-2004 / 2005 (revised version) 


2004 

Cast (8 singers, amplified): The Angel · soprano – Harper Pitt, Joe´s wife · soprano (with wide 

range) – Hannah Pitt, Joe´s mother · mezzo soprano (with wide range) – Joseph Pitt, Harper´s 

husband · baritone – Prior Walter, Louis´s boyfriend · lyric baritone – Louis Ironson, Prior´s boyfriend 

· tenor – Belize, black nurse · counter tenor (mezzo) – Roy Cohn, lawyer · bass baritone 

Other characters: Rabbi Chemelwitz, an orthodox Jewish rabbi, played by Hannah – Mr Lies, a 

travel agent, played by Belize – Henry, Roy´s doctor, played by Hannah – Woman, in the South 

Bronx, played by Belize – Ghost 1, a ghost of a dead Prior Walter from the 13th century, played 

by Roy – Ghost 2, a ghost of a dead Prior Walter from the 18th century, played by Joe – Ethel 

Rosenberg played by Harper – Voice played by the Angel – Angel Antarctica played by Harper – 

Angel Asiatica played by Hannah – Angel Africanii played by Belize – Angel Oceania played by 

Louis – Angel Europe played by Joe – Angel Australia played by Roy 

Orchestra: 3 Vokalisten (S., Mezzo, Bar.) · 2 Tonmeister (1 im Graben, 1 im Saal) – 1 (auch Altfl. 

und Picc.) · 0 · 1 (auch Bassklar. und Kontrabassklar.) · 2 Sax. (I: S-A-T; II: A-T-Bar.) · 0 – 0 · 1 · 

1 · 0 – 2 S. – 2 Git. (I: akustisch, Bottle-Neck, verstärkt.; II: elektrisch) – 2 Keyb.* – Str. (alle mit 

Chorus-Effect) (6 · 0 · 4 · 3 · 2) 

* Sound files are provided by the Eötvös Composition Studio; see www.eotvospeter.com for details. 




23.11.2004 Théâtre du Châtelet Paris (WP) 

Peter Eötvös · Philippe Calvario · Richard Peduzzi · Jan Morrell 

23.06.2005 Hamburgische Staatsoper 

15.06.2006 Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Amsterdam · Holland Festival 2006 

Cornelius Meister · Benedikt von Peter · Saskia Zschoch 

16.06.2006 Boston Center for the Arts · Boston Opera 

Gil Rose · Steven Maler · Clint Ramos 

21.03.2009 Oper Frankfurt 

Erik Nielsen · Johannes Erath · Stefanie Pasterkamp 

26.03.2010 Barbican Hall, London (semi-staged performance) 

David Robertson · BBC Symphony Orchestra 

152

Synopsis 

The angels are singing now. More than a decade after Tony Kushner completed his immense 

play‚ Angels in America, the Hungarian composer-conductor Peter Eötvös has produced from it a 

slippery and musically delightful combination of opera and musical. 

Mari Mezei’s version keeps the original chronology while focusing on the human drama of the 

central characters: the interweaving of anger, hopelessness and irony in Prior Walter, dying of 

AIDS; the love that evolves between his former boyfriend, Louis, and Joe, who is breaking away 

from a drained marriage to the confused and desperate Harper; and, as a grotesque sideshow, 

the death of the morally blind Roy Cohn. 

There would be material here for a musical drama that, in a traditional manner, took hold of 

these characters and made them sing. But that is not what Eötvös has in mind, and his intuition 

is certainly right. In opera, the distinctions between realistic and non-realistic characters are 

erased. In opera, everyone is an angel. 

Popular song is often just beneath the surface, and that, together with the obvious amplification, 

places the characters in the disturbing middle ground between opera and musical. In 

a way that suits this drama, the characters are forced to shift for themselves in a wasteland 

beyond normal genres. Prior shouts at the angels in heaven that God has gone and would not 

be welcomed back. Similarly, consistency has gone from this piece. The rhythms remain those 

of American English – it was partly the sound of the language that attracted Mr. Eotvos to the 

play – but the characters have to adapt to the buffeting of variable musical weather. They do 

not drive the opera: they are driven by it. (New York Times, 28.04.2004) 

Angels in America 

23.11.2004 Théàtre du Châtelet Paris 

Beyond all that, the accompanying score suggests that Mr. Eötvös has touched this text, at times 

shaken it, and listened to the vibrations. (New York Times, 28.04.2004) 

153


Vipern 

(Vipers) 

A murderous avidity in four acts 

Text by Tim Coleman and Christian Jost after motifs from the play The Changeling by 

Thomas Middleton and William Rowley 

German text version by Rainer G. Schmidt 

Origin: 2004 


2005 

Cast: Vermandero, a wealthy Nobleman · bass – Beatrice-Joanna, his Daughter · dramatic 

soprano – De Flores, a Servant · heroic baritone – Alsemero, in love with Beatrice · baritone – 

Antonio, Servant with Vermandero · high lyric baritone – Jasperino, Servant with Alsemero · 

tenor – Diaphanta, Lady’s Maid with Beatrice · high soprano – Alonzo de Piracquo, Beatrice’s 

Fiancé · tenor – Tomazo de Piracquo, his Brother · baritone – Alibio, Director of the asylum · 

tenor – Isabella, his much younger Wife · lyric soprano – Maria, Warden at the asylum · alto – 

Three mad female Poets, patients at the asylum · 3 female voices 

Orchestra: 3 (2. auch Picc., 3. auch Altfl.) · 0 · Engl. Hr. · 3 (2. auch Es-Klar., 3. auch Bassklar.) · 

3 (2. und 3. auch Kfg.) – 4 · 3 (2. auch Piccolotrp.) · Basstrp. · 3 · 1 – Str. 

On stage: Altsax. · Vibr. · Drumset (1 Spieler) · E-Bass 




21.01.2005 Opernhaus Düsseldorf · Deutsche Oper am Rhein (WP) 

John Fiore · Eike Gramss · Gottfried Pilz 


Hans Drewanz · Eike Gramss · Gottfried Pilz 

154

Synopsis 

Beatrice, the daughter of the nobleman Vermandero, falls passionately in love with Alsemero 

who returns her love. She gives her servant De Flores the task of eliminating her unloved bridegroom 

Alonzo de Piracquo. But after the murder De Flores doesn’t want money, as planned, 

but desires his beautiful client for himself and rapes her. Beatrice abandons herself to her unexpected 

desire and realises her suppressed sexual appetite. 

Meanwhile Antonio, Vermandero’s servant, disposes of Alonzo’s dead body. Frightened for 

his life he flees to the madhouse, which is situated in the cellars underneath the palace. The 

head of the madhouse is Alibio, who hides his young wife Isabelle here. Antonio succeeds in 

finding Isabella and seduces her. After Alonzo’s death there is nothing to prevent Beatrice from 

marrying Alsemero. But the wedding night presents a problem for Beatrice: she is no longer a 

virgin. To keep this secret from Alsemero, she is represented by her untouched lady-in-waiting, 

Diaphanta. She fails to see that Diaphanta is also in love with Alsemero and longs to satiate her 

desire for him. When she realises this, Beatrice orders the murder of Diaphanta. 

In the meantime, the madhouse patients are taking over the Vermandero palace. Beatrice 

confesses that she is dependent on De Flores, whom she stabs to death in front of everyone. 

But she realises that she still has not freed herself from him. At the end Beatrice is forced to 

acknowledge Isabelle’s insight: ‘Now we are all in hell.’ 

Vipern 


Vipern is a very archaic piece, about suppressed love and desire which might explode at any 

moment. [...] I see the material like a wild animal, which – kept in captivity – paces to and fro, 

sometimes threateningly quiet and sometimes spitting, while the observer is scared as to whether 

the animal can be kept in the cage. (Christian Jost) 

155


Augustinus 

A sounding mosaic. Church opera in seven musical pictures 

Text by Winfried Böhm 

Origin: 2004 

Language: German, Latin 

Cast: Monnica · soprano – Stella · soprano – Adeodatus · boy soprano – Voces · 2 tenors, 2 

baritones, 2 basses – chorus 

2005 

Orchestra: Fl. (auch Afl.) · Viol. · Diskant-Zither · Hfe. · 4 P. S. (auf der Empore: Roto-Toms · 

2 Tomt. · gr. Tr. · 60 Weingläser – im Kirchenraum: Schellenbaum · 3 Beck. · mittelalterliches 

Glspl. · 4 Trgl. · afrikanische Schlitztr. · 2 Holzzungen-Rührtr. · Ratsche · Guiro · Reco-Reco · 3 

Tomt. · Zimbelspiel · Glspl. · 4 gr. Tr. · Buckelgong · Holzblock · Muschelpl. · Chimes · Röhrengl. · 

Claves · Verrophon · Glashfe. · hg. Glasstäbe · Dobaci in e’ [von Stella gespielt]) (4 Spieler) (ggf. 

Co-Dirigent erforderlich) 



Remarks: The title figure Augustinus does not appear on stage in person but is reflected in the 

dialogues of Monnica, Stella, Adeodatus and the Voces. 


19.03.2005 St. Lukas-Kirche München (WP, concert performance) 

Gerd Kötter · Lukas-Chor München, Die Singphoniker · Arnold Mehl 

27.05.2006 Augustinerkirche Würzburg (scenic WP) 

Christian Kabitz · Bachchor Würzburg, Cäcilienchor Frankfurt|Main · Christian Kabitz 

156

Synopsis 

Augustinus von Hippo, Source: Württembergische Landesbibliothek 

As in Wolkenstein, the centre of the church opera Augustinus is also a historical figure who 

lived and was influential in a time of upheaval 

and radical social and political changes. Augustinus, 

philosopher, church teacher and bishop, was 

born in the year 354 in Tagaste (Numidia, North 

Africa) and died Hippo Regius in 430. 

In seven tessellated scenes this opera follows 

selected stages of this eminent scholar’s life. 

He helped shape the world view of both the 

ancient world and the beginning of the middle 

ages with his writings. The opera starts with 

scenes of Augustinus’ youth and his first work as 

a professor of rethoric in Milan and concentrates 

on the psychological development that led to 

his spiritual awakening. The last scene ends with 

a text from the famous Confessiones: ‘he who 

is searching for God, will find him, and he who 

finds him, will confess him’. The libretto was 

written in collaboration with Augustinus’ specialist 

Winfried Böhm. 

Winfried Böhm has written an intelligent, well organised libretto, interlaced with quotes from 

Augustinus, which keeps the balance between philosophical thoughts and dramatic elements. [...] 

Wilfried Hiller has thought deeply about the mysteries that inform our thoughts and beliefs. Augustinus 

was an impressive achievement of concentrated ascetic richness. 

(Süddeutsche Zeitung, 21.03.2005) 

157

Tobias Picker 

An American Tragedy 


Libretto by Gene Scheer, based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser 

Origin: 2005 


2005 

Cast: Roberta Alden · soprano – Sondra Finchley · mezzo soprano – Clyde Griffiths · baritone – 

Elvira Griffiths · mezzo soprano – Elizabeth Griffiths · mezzo soprano – Samuel Griffiths · tenor – 

Gilbert Griffiths · tenor – Orville Mason · baritone – Hortense · soprano – chorus · boy’s choir – 

3 additional children voices 

Orchestra: 2(pic)2(ca)2(bcl)2-4.2.2.1-timp.1perc(xyl, ratchet, whip, high tam-t, h.h, cym, tub 

bells, high gong, low gong, b.d)-pno·hp-org(in pit)small portable onstage organ-str 


Libretto ED 30001 · Performance material on hire 


02.12.2005 Metropolitan Opera New York (WP) 

James Conlon · Francesca Zambello · Adrianne Lobel · Dunya Ramicova 

158

Synopsis 

A progressive drama of temptation, responsibility, and faith. Clyde Griffiths, Midwestern missionary’s 

son, is a young man working as a flirtatious bellhop in Chicago. He relocates to New 

York upon being offered a position in his Uncle Samuel’s shirt factory. Wasting no time he 

pursues one of the workers there, Roberta Alden, after being warned not to by fellow workers. 

Clyde quickly moves on to a new love interest in Sondra Finchley. Before long, Clyde is juggling 

Roberta and Sondra, only to soon discover that Roberta is pregnant. It becomes clear that 

Sondra is Clyde’s true love and Roberta is nothing more than a burden. Clyde schemes to rid 

himself of the burden of an unwanted lover with a child on the way. 

‘Based on a true story, Theodore Dreiser‘s novel An American Tragedy addresses one of American 

literature‘s great, universal subjects. The central character Clyde Griffiths is everyman, and 

his dilemma is at the heart of the American experience, a dilemma as timely today as it was 

when the work was written.’ (Tobias Picker) 

An American Tragedy 

02.12.2005 Metropolitan Opera New York 

Many composers...could learn from Mr. Picker‘s know-how about the theater. An American 

Tragedy [...] works as an opera. The cast seemed to relish singing Mr. Picker‘s opera [...] and whole 

stretches of Mr. Picker‘s score would not be out of place in a Broadway theater. Critics and opera 

buffs who want the Met to do its part to make opera a living art form have to be heartened that it 

presented this work, and that an audience on Friday gave a prolonged ovation to a living composer. 

(Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times) 

Picker‘s harmony flirts with traditional tonality without falling prey to cliché, his orchestration 

achieves both transparency and power, and his crowd scenes skilfully set solo voices against a 

booming chorus and a churning orchestra. It‘s a pleasure to listen to him put one idea in front of 

another; a twelve-tone composer in his youth, he retains the serialist‘s habit of working obsessively 

with a tight array of notes...The score is full of such careful touches [...] it‘s a serious, substantial 

piece. (Alex Ross, The New Yorker) 

159


Angst 

Five gates of a journey into the centre of angst 

Text by Christian Jost after Friedrich Hölderlin and others 

Origin: 2005 

Language: German, English 

Cast: large mixed chorus – choir soloists · 3 sopranos, 3 altos 

2006 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Afl.) · 0 · 1 · 0 – 0 · 1 · 0 · 0 – Vibr. · Klav. – 4 Vc. · E-Bass 



Remarks: The work can be performed as a scenic oratorio (with or without video projection) or 

in a concert. 

The part “Pforte II – Hölderlin” has been published separately in a version for female chorus a 

cappella (SSSAAA) under the title An die Parzen (SKR 20052). 


28.01.2006 Sophiensäle Berlin (WP) 

Simon Halsey · Gottfried Pilz · Rundfunkchor Berlin 

09.01.2009 Komische Oper Berlin 

Simon Halsey · Jasmina Hadziahmetovic · Rundfunkchor Berlin 

160

Synopsis 

This is music theatre composed solely for choir, soloists and orchestra. It deals with the basic 

human experience of fear on various levels: angst. Where does it come from What are the 

reasons for it The choir embodies ’singing mind games’: psychodynamics. Individual thoughts 

emerge from the whole and fade back into it. Specially made films can be shown, extending 

the sphere of angst to the visual realm. A real tragedy triggers a ‘singing mind game’: an 

experienced mountain climber cuts the rope that ties him to his injured friend, so that he can 

save himself. In five epi-sodes with the speaking titles ‘Fallen’, ‘Hölderlin’, ‘Kalt’, ‘Amok’ and 

‘Ab’ the piece circles around the innumerable facets of an emotion which torments victim and 

abuser, and cuts through to the innermost motives of our feelings. 

Angst 

28.01.2006 Rundfunkchor Berlin 

Jost dissects his piece with scientific precision, extracts individual voices like single nerve cords, 

uses groups of voices like hormones, brings texts to the surface which spout under the pressure of 

hidden angst: here a poem of Hölderlin (sung by 6 female voices - the most beautiful part of this 

piece), there a prose text about torture. This piece functions like a metaphorical mobile, where different 

elements such as panic, trust, confidence and longing get their own means of representation. 

(Süddeutsche Zeitung, 31.01.2006) 

161

Tobias Picker 

Thérèse Raquin 


Libretto by Gene Scheer, based on the novel by Emile Zola 

Origin: 1999 – 2000 | 2006 (reduced version) 


2006 

Cast: Madame Lisette Raquin · soprano – Thérèse Raquin · mezzo soprano – Camille Raquin · 

tenor – Laurent · baritone – Suzanne Michaud · soprano – Olivier Michaud · tenor – Monsieur 

Grivet · bass 

Orchestra: 2(1. afl, 2. pic).2(2. ca).2(2. bcl).2(2. cbn)-4.2.2.1-timp.2perc (sn dm., bd., tam-tam., 

dm., susp.cym., gong., tpl.bl., xyl., mar., vib)hp.pno-str(10.9.6.8.4) 

Orchestra (reduced version): 1(pic) . 1(ca) . 1(bcl) . 1(cbn) - 2 . 0 . 1(btb) . 0 - perc(timp) . hp . 

pno - str(2.1.2.2.1) 


Recording CD CHANDES 9659 (first version) · Performance material on hire 


30.11.2001 Dallas Opera (WP) 

Graeme Jenkins · Francesca Zambello · Marie Jeanne Lecca 

14.03.2006 Royal Opera House London (WP of the reduced version) 

Timothy Redmond · Lee Blakeley · Emma Wee 

16.02.2007 Dicapo Opera Theatre, New York 

Mark Flint · Michael Capasso · John Farrell · Angela Huff 

162

Synopsis 

Married Parisian couple Thérèse and Camille Raquin are reunited with an old friend, Laurent. It 

soon becomes clear that Thérèse and Laurent are more than old friends as heated confessions 

of undying love abound between the two. The two conspire to murder the sickly Camille and 

succeed in dumping him into the Seine to make possible the consecration of their love. The 

guilty couple soon become the object of torment by both their own guilty consciences and the 

ghost of Camille. 

Thérèse Raquin 

14.03.2006 Royal Opera House London 

Thérèse Raquin was a thrill-ride from the start. Picker‘s music ricocheted between daunting dissonance 

and yearning tonality. (Chris Shull, Opera Now Magazine) 

Picker is among the most accomplished American opera composers of his generation. It was a coup 

for Dallas to produce Picker‘s latest work, and he stretched the audience with complex dissonances 

amid the high-flying arias and ensembles. (John Flemming, St. Petersburg Times) 

An appropriate darkness emanates from Mr. Picker’s adroit music, of a sinister tonality. The vocal 

writing is sympathetic, particularly in the effective ensembles, while beneath it the orchestra 

outlines the unspoken tension in taut layerings of figures, turning the emotional screws to echo the 

increasingly dissonant plot. (The New York Times) 

An inspired work… a worthwhile contemporary American opera. The music of Thérèse Raquin [...] 

has real merit, with its Parisian undertones and its fascinating Benjamin Britten-like interwoven 

ensembles standing out in a score that reveals intriguingly complex dissonance amid hints of atonality. 

(The New York Post) 

163


Dafne 

Tragi-comedy in one act 

Libretto by the composer after Martin Opitz (1597-1639) 

(Included in the libretto is a setting of a poem by Arno Holz (1863-1929)) 

Origin: 2005 


2006 

Cast: Dafne · soprano or mezzo soprano – Cupido · soprano – Venus · soprano – Apollo · high 

baritone – Ovid · speaking role (actor) – chorus · double quartet (SSAATTBB) 

Orchestra: Fl. (auch Picc. und Bassfl.) · 0 · Bassklar. (auch Tenorsax. oder Altsax.) · 0 – 0 · Zink 

(oder Trompete) · 1 · 0 – S. (Pk. · Schellentr. · Rührtr. · 5 Tempelbl. · 5 Woodbl. · Guero · 5 

Gläser · Flasche · 3 Tongefäße · Maultr. · Laub · Xyl.) (1 Spieler) – Theorbe (Chitarrone [oder 

Harfe]) – Str. (1 · 0 · 1 · 1 · 1) 




03.04.2006 Elisabethkirche Berlin (UA, konzertant) 

Titus Engel · Vocalconsort Berlin · Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin 

164

Synopsis 

Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Apollo e Dafne (1622-25) · Museo e Galleria Borghese, Rome 

The tragic outcome of Apollo’s mad infatuation with the nymph Daphne is the subject of the 

famous Dafne libretto by the German baroque poet Martin Opitz, written in 1627. The text can 

be interpreted in several ways. We have a text from an era during which music theatre originated, 

and was therefore rather more experimental than in the following centuries. Then there 

is the language, which requires a historical dictionary to be understood, but whose power, 

opulence and originality is immediately fascinating: double meanings that loom beneath a superficially 

frugal story and its characters. A constant veering between comedic elements and the 

sense of imminent tragedy; a choir that adds clumsy comments to the events, pointing out their 

deeper meaning. And if we think about the historical circumstances – the situation in Germany 

during the first decade of the Thirty Years’ War – we cannot avoid the dark side of this strange 

play of gods and shepherds, written to entertain a feudal wedding party: the pervading sense of 

foreboding points simultaneously at Dafne’s fate 

and at the tragedy of war. 

This new version embraces the ironical treatment 

of the comical keynote of the dialogues 

and the eruption of terror: the tempestuous love 

for Dafne that captures Apollo, driving him crazy 

and killing Dafne in the end, and the ominous 

‘wild beast’, that Opitz uses metaphorically for 

the war that lurks everywhere. The dramatic 

structure follows this idea of doubling: the whole 

story is in effect told twice, once close to the 

original libretto and in a tone that suggests that 

all this could as well be just play-acting; but then 

– with Dafne’s death – an instrumental interlude 

entitled ‘Verwandlungsmusik’ (Transformation 

music), ushers in the second part which, though 

based on the same storyline, is anything but 

comedy. The pivotal scene is the core dialogue 

between Dafne and Apollo that appears almost 

identically in both parts – once accompanied 

with strings, then arranged for winds, in which 

only subtle differences in the vocal and instrumental 

parts mark the border between ‘acted’ 

and ‘real’. 

(based on Benjamin Schweitzer’s programme notes) 

Without doubt Benjamin Schweitzer’s Dafne [...] was the most interesting piece of the evening. 

A wide range of different ways of tonal articulation is laid out. Behind this fluctuation there is 

a process which leads from the incoherent impulses and the declamatory style of the beginning 

to more sustained sounds and vocal lines. The impression given is of a music that leads from the 

scherzo to the Passion, without resorting to conventional gestures. (Berliner Zeitung, 05.04.2006) 

165


Fürst Pückler – Ich bin ein Kind der Phantasie 

(Fürst Pückler – I am a Child of Imagination) 


Libretto by Bernd Matzkowski, Enjott Schneider and Michael Walter 

Origin: 2005 


2006 

Cast: Fürst Pückler · heroic baritone – 3 Women (Woman 1: Hermine, the childish Woman · 

lyric soprano – Woman 2: Lucie, the motherly Woman · dramatic soprano – Woman 3: Adelheid, 

the intellectual Woman · mezzo soprano) – Machbuba · lyric soprano – Goethe, Colonel 

Caron, Mehemed Ali, Dr. Liersch, the Bell Man 1 · tenor – 3 Men (Man 1: 1. Servant, 1. Farm 

worker, 1. Slave, Geheimrat Brenzlow, Dr. Richter, the Bell Man 2 · tenor – Man 2: 2. Servant, 

2. Farm worker, 2. Slave, Dr. Malin · baritone – Man 3: Church Warden, 3. Servant, 3. Farm 

worker, Colonel Kurssel, Dr. Freund, Dr. Rabenhorst · Bass) – Solicitor · speaking role – Hang 

Man · Pantomime – Joladour, a negro · Pantomime – Billy Masser · Pantomime – mixed chorus 

(Guests, Farm Workers, Village people, Slaves, Egyptian Sailors, Arabian Household, Servants 

at the Castle, Citizens of Muskau, Folk from Branitz, Peasants, People working at the Cottbuss 

fortifications) – ballet ad lib. 

Orchestra: 2 (2. auch Picc.) · 2 (2. auch E. H.) · 2 (2. auch Bassklar.) · 2 (2. auch Kfg.) – 4 · 0 · 3 · 

1 – S. (Trgl. · Bell tree · Metallchimes · 4 hg. Beck. · Tamt. · 3 gr. Klangschalen · Schellentr. · kl. 

Tr. · gr. Tr. · Clav. · Tempelbl. · Woodbl. · Sandpapierbl. · 2 Wassergläser · Flex. · Peitsche · Crot. · 

Glsp. · Xyl.) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav. – Str. (12 · 10 · 8 · 6 · 4) 





Miloš Krejcí · Aron Stiehl · Karen Hilde Fries 

166

Synopsis 

The opera re-enacts the extravagant life and ideas of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, the 

nineteenth century visionary designer of landscape gardens and travel writer. 

‘After visiting his Branitzer Park, Bernd Matzkowski and I realised that, analogous to Pückler’s 

division between a garden of life (Arkadia) and a garden of death (Elysium), our opera had to 

have two contrasting parts as well. In the first part you can listen to life being lived to the full: 

big ensemble acts and dancing rhythms dominate – waltzes, carrousel music, a Sorbian dance 

from the Lausitzer region – of course 

everything in an updated and modern 

style. In the second part we experience, 

after a change of gear via some oriental 

magic (Pückler, ever the flamboyant bird 

of paradise, spent some time in Africa and 

Arabia with his own harem), the gradual 

descent into pensiveness and the loneliness 

of parting. His friends and wives 

die and he broods over the meaning of 

human existence. Then silence. Exactly at 

this point, the grotesque, absurd, poetical 

life-affirming mood of the outset acquires 

the flair of “grand opera”: shadow turns 

into light and the thought of death 

becomes lifeaffirming. Pückler’s curious 

instructions for his own funeral bring 

about the grotesque spectacle that ends 

the opera: his dead body is chemically 

dissolved, and carried to the grave in a 

strange funeral procession (with military 

pomp, negros and dwarves).’ 

(Enjott Schneider) 

Fürst Pückler 

Poster of the World Première, Theater Görlitz 

Pückler as the first “environmental thinker”, Pückler and society, Pückler and women [...] 

Schneider’s music sparkles in as many ways as the life it narrates. Twelve-note music, folk song, 

operetta, can-can, polka, grotesque, gothic romantic – the composer finds the right tone for every 

situation. Of course what has been created is not an avant-garde ‘sound-room-theatre’, but an 

entertaining opera. Enjoy! (Opernwelt, 06/2006) 

167

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Chaya Czernowin 

Zaïde · Adama 

Fragments 

Origin: 1779 | 2004-2005 

Language: German, Hebrew, Arabic 

2006 

Cast: 

Zaïde (Mozart): Zaïde · soprano – Gomatz · tenor – Allazim · bass – Sultan Soliman · tenor – 

Osmin · bass – 4 Slaves · 4 tenors – Zaram, Commander of the Life Guard · speaking role (actor) 

– Life Guard · tenors, basses 

Adama (Czernowin): The Woman · low alto – The Man · baritone – The Father · bass – 5 mixed 

male voices 

Orchestra: 

Zaïde (Mozart): 2 · 2 · 0 · 2 – 2 · 2 · 0 · 0 – P. – Str. 

Adama (Czernowin): 1 (auch Picc. und Bassfl.) · 0 · 2 (beide auch Bassklar.) · 0 – 0 · 0 · 1 · 0 – 

S. (gr. Shaker · Sandpapierbl. · Rain stick · gr. Eimer · Holzbl. · Tempelbl. · gr. Tr. · Notenständer 

mit Sperrholz · Crot. · Marimba · Ratsche · Kamm · Superball · Tomt. · 2 kl. Tr. · Donnerblech · 

Holzkiste · gr. Militärtr. · Conga · 2 Plastikfl. · 2 Guiros · 2 Maracas · hg. Beck. · Ocean dr. · 

Almgl. · Bongos) (2 Spieler) – Str. (1 · 0 · 1 · 2 · 2) 


Recording: DVD Deutsche Grammophon 0734252 · Performance material on hire 

Remarks: A second conductor is required for the orchestra of Adama. 


17.08.2006 Landestheater Salzburg (WP) ∙ Salzburger Festspiele 

Dirigent: Ivor Bolton | Johannes Kalitzke · Claus Guth · Christian Schmidt 

17.12.2006 Theater Basel 

15.04.2007 Opéra Comédie · Opéra National de Montpellier 

Friedemann Layer | Johannes Kalitzke · Claus Guth · Christian Schmidt 

25.05.2008 Theater Bremen 

21.07.2008 Nationaltheater Mannheim 

Daniel Montané · Andrea Moses · Monika Gora 

168

Synopsis 

As early as the year 1779 Mozart’s Zaïde posed questions about the possibility of a dialogue 

between the Occident and the Orient. Zaïde was never completed and exists only as a fragment: 

the overture, the dialogues and the finale are all missing and the outcome of the story 

remains unclear. The Israeli composer Chaya Czernowin responds to Mozart’s incomplete work 

with Adama. In Adama (Hebrew: adama = earth, adam = man, dam = blood) she has composed 

an independent musical sound space and has regarded the operatic subject from a contemporary 

perspective. Whereas Zaïde describes the conflict between civilisations using the story of a 

European couple who are in love and held in slavery in a foreign Oriental country, the situation 

described by Chaya Czernowin touches on the question of freedom and imprisonment from a 

different dimension. The lovers themselves speak two different languages and encounter each 

other as foreigners, as a man from Palestine and an Israeli woman. Adama is therefore not the 

completion of a Mozart fragment and the overall project Zaïde / Adama is not a closed entity: 

rather, it tries to find corresponding and contradictory features in an incomplete historical work. 

Thus, the various musical spheres are interwoven and enter a dialogue. This interplay of sound 

opens up the possibility of hearing each different musical cosmos with purified ears, and of 

discovering unforeseen common features. 

Zaïde · Adama 

17.08.2006 Salzburger Festspiele 

Czernowin doesn’t enter into competition with Mozart as a composer, but creates a new space of 

sounds and noises which is very suggestive, and seems to find its way into the psyche of any listener 

[...] You are able to listen to the music of Mozart’s Zaïde in a totally new way and discover 

a timeless truth behind Mozart’s beautiful musical sound-scape. Zaïde – Adama was without a 

doubt the most important performance during the Mozart Cycle in Salzburg (Salzburger Mozart 

Zyklus) in the year 2006. (Opernwelt 11/2006) 

169

Gavin Bryars 

The Paper Nautilus 

Text by Jackie Kay and Etel Adnan 

Origin: 2006 

Language: English, French, Latin 

Soloists: soprano, mezzo soprano 

2006 

Ensemble: 6perc(glsp, vib, crot, 2mar, bass mar, steel drum, tub bells, 2tri, 4sus cym, 2sizz 

cym, ride cym, 7gongs [plus water tank], 2tam-t, 2bell tree, 3mark tree, cabaça, chocolo, 2b.d, 

4timp, maracs)-2pno 




02.11.2006 The Tramway Theatre Glasgow (WP) 

17.11.2006 Lawrence Batley Theatre · Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 

Garry Walker · Cathie Boyd · Pippa Nissen 

170

Synopsis 

The deep sea makes up 80% of our planet whilst land only equates to 0/5% and yet the deep 

sea is the least known part of the world. More people have travelled into space than into the 

depths of the sea. The Paper Nautilus is the result of a collaboration between Gavin Bryars and 

the visionary theatre director Cathie Boyd and her Theatre Cryptic. The work is based on an 

earlier cantata, Effarine (1984), which grew out of a collaboration with another visionary of the 

theatre, Robert Wilson, and which draws on material related either to the sea, or to the sense 

of scientific wonder. The television series Blue Planet was an inspiration to further research, 

and in order to take the work beyond the three extant sections of the cantata Theatre Cryptic 

commissioned new poems from Jackie Kay, taking ideas from these resources. The composer 

also added short Biblical texts in Latin and English. 

The instrumentation of the work comes from that of the original cantata, which was itself 

conditioned by the fact that it was to be a companion piece for Antheil’s Ballet Mécanique, but 

with two instead of four pianos. The two voices sing alternate sections, though often coming 

together to form duets or with one accompanying the other. At the end they sing quietly in 

unison as the instrumental ensemble moves through the coda, ending with the very literal use 

of the water gong in the last bars. (based on the composer’s note for the world première) 

The Paper Nautilus 

02.11.2006 The Tramway Theatre 

“…it must rate as some kind of triumph if you emerge from a lengthy specimen feeling emptyheaded 

but rested, as though from an hour-long bath. And that aqueous feeling isn’t accidental: 

Gavin Bryars’s dramatic cantata The Paper Nautilus is entirely concerned with the sea’s depths, its 

mysteries and science, the bioluminescent life forms, the cold and gloom… Water equally filled the 

music – washed in the gentle plops and shivers of bells, vibraphones, gongs, the tuned percussion 

world that Bryars has always relished. Moods and speeds also followed the Bryars template: slow, 

undulating, sometimes beautiful, often soporific.” (Geoff Brown, The Times, 6 November 2006) 

171


Cantor – Die Vermessung des Unendlichen 

(Cantor – Measuring the Infinite) 



Origin: 2004 


2006 

Cast: Cantor · speaking role, counter tenor, violinist (one person) – Vally, his Wife · soprano – 

Else, his Daughter · mezzo soprano – Dr. Mekus · tenor – Schwarz, School Day Friend · bass – 

Kronecker · baritone – three Mathematicians: M 1, the Idealist · tenor – M 2, the Mocker · 

Bariton – M 3, the Ascetic · bass – 6 Voices, Assistants to Cantor (off stage) · 2 high sopranos, 

2 sopranos, alto, tenor – A Voice / A Guest · high speaking voice – 4 Women, called ‘Alephs’ · 

silent roles – chamber Choir (off stage) 

Orchestra: 4 (3. und 4. auch Picc.) · 3 · Engl. Hr. · 4 (4. auch Bassklar.) · 3 · Kfg. – 4 · 4 · 4 · 1 – 

S. (Beck. · Hihat · Tamt. · 4 Almgl. · 3 Tomt. · Röhrenholztr. · kl. Tr. · gr. Tr. · 4 Tempelbl. · Sandbl. 

· Holzbl. · Ratsche · Nagelchimes · Crot. · Stimmpf. · Vibr.) (3 Spieler) – Hfe. · Reißnagelklav. · 

Akk. – Str. 

Kammerorchester hinter der Bühne: S. – Flügel · Keyboard – Str. (6 · 0 · 2 · 2 · 2) 

Im Zuschauerraum: 4 Vl. · 1 Va. · 1 Vc. 




10.11.2006 · Opernhaus Halle (WP) 

Roger Epple · Gert-Hagen Seebach · Hartmut Schörghofer · Ragna Heiny 

172

Synopsis 

What is Infinity How do you portray it How do you calculate it How do you measure it All 

these questions determined the life and work of the great mathematician Georg Cantor (1845 

– 1918). ‘My opera is an artistic drama’, Ingomar Grünauer wrote. ‘I wasn’t very interested in 

portraying mathematical laws, rather I was interested in the existential conflict of this outsider, 

who disregards concrete knowledge and thus encounters resistance from his colleagues, 

because of his revolutionary but unprovable statements about infinity. But what tempted me 

most was the extreme tension that characterized Cantor‘s life: his vacillation between absolute 

euphoria in his vision and his descents into deep depression.’ (Source: Opernhaus Halle 2006) 

Cantor – Die Vermessung des Unendlichen 

10.11.2006 Opernhaus Halle 

To have Georg Cantor as the protagonist of a newly commissioned work has the potential to attract 

much wider audiences than the core group of aficionados. [...] But the fact that we can talk about 

this piece as a bestseller (the second performance is already sold out and advance sales are going 

strong) is truly surprising even for the managerial staff of the Halle Opernnhaus. 

(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14.11.2006) 

173


Die arabische Nacht 

(The Arabian Night) 

Opera based on the play of the same name by Roland Schimmelpfennig 

Origin: 2006-2007 

Language: German | English translation by Melanie Dreyer and Minou Arjomand 

2008 

Cast: Hans Lomeier · baritone – Fatima Mansur · mezzo soprano – Franziska Dehke · soprano – 

Kalil · tenor – Peter Karpati · tenor – Katja Hartinger · soprano – Narbenfrau (scarface) / Helga / 

Frau Hinrichs · alto – Marion Richter · soprano 

Orchestra: 1 (auch Altfl.) · 1 · 1 · Bassklar. · 0 – 1 · Flügelhr. · 0 · 0 · 0 – S. (Vibr. · Marimba) – 

Cel. · Klav. (Flügel) – Str. (2 Vl. · 2 Va. · 2 Vc. · 2 Kb.) 




26.04.2008 Grillo Theater, Essen (WP) 

Stefan Soltesz · Anselm Weber · Jörg Kiefel 

174

Synopsis 

On a hot Friday in a block of flats on the outskirts of a German city, there is a problem with 

the water supply. During his inspection the caretaker Lohmeier meets Franziska Dehke and her 

Arabian flatmate Fatima Mansur. Fatima is visited by her boyfriend Kalil every evening, while 

on the sofa Franziska dreams of the Orient. Peter Kaparti, the neighbour, is irresistibly drawn to 

their flat. A problem with the lifts causes the five characters’ destinies to merge. The temporal 

levels and boundaries between dream and reality become blurred. The desert wind of the 

Arabian night blows through the apartment block, but all of a sudden this magical scenario 

collapses. 

Die arabische Nacht 

26.04.2008 Grillo Theater, Essen 

‘For me, Roland Schimmelpfennig’s original play is a somnambulistic masterpiece. Seemingly light 

and surreal, in it we experience the dreams and nightmares of five lonely amorous city dwellers 

who, brought together in an apartment block and confused by the continuous sound of rushing 

water, give free reign to their longings. Out of this I had to compose a polyphonic yet swinging 

ensemble piece that, once started, makes everything flow, blossom and fade away in order to take 

shape anew. The five dramatis personae, who each have a great deal of possibilities for characterisation, 

have been interwoven in such a way that they can indulge in their own dreams or 

nightmares in a continuous flow of musical events. In order to hint at “the enchanted in the ordinary” 

in musical terms, I elected for a divided orchestra of 18 musicians. Thus a kind of “sound 

arena” is created (which I had already deployed for my odyssey for clarinet and orchestra Heart of 

Darkness)’. (Christian Jost) 

175

Lee Hoiby 

This Is the Rill Speaking 


Libretto by Mark Shulgasser, adapted from the play by Lanford Wilson 

Origin: 1991 


2008 

Cast (1 soprano, 2 mezzo sopranos, 1 tenor, 2 baritones, singing various roles): Judy · soprano – 

Mother / Alison · mezzo soprano 1 –Maybelle / Peggy · mezzo soprano 2 – Tommy / Manny · 

tenor – Keith / Earl · baritone 1 – Father · baritone 2 

Orchestra: 1.1.1.1-1.0.0.0-hp-str(2.1.1.1) 




26.04.2008 Purchase College Conservatory of Music, Recital Hall, Purchase, NY (WP) 

American Opera Projects in association with Purchase College Opera 

Benton Hess · Ned Canty · Glenn Reed · Peter West · Anna Kiraly 

176

Synopsis 

This story captures the everyday happenings of rural America in all of its glories and shortcomings. 

Like a rill, a term for a small stream or brook, the opera intermittently visits the lives 

of its rural inhabitants in a non-linear, fluid fashion. Such glimpses of small town life here 

include woman discussing home decoration, schoolboys gossiping about fellow students, 

farmers describing quality hay, and other trivial scenes that add up to provide an overall picture 

of country life. 

This Is the Rill Speaking 

26.04.2008 Purchase College Conservatory of Music 

This Is the Rill Speaking, a setting of a Lanford Wilson play, offers a vision of rural, small-town life 

through snatches of conversation patched together like a comfortable quilt. Mr. Hoiby‘s unfailingly 

gracious music mixes a nostalgic glow with moments of winking mischief and gentle seduction. 

Six singers fill eleven roles, accompanied by a string quartet, double bass, wind quintet and harp. 

(Steve Smith, The New York Times, April 30, 2008) 

Mr. Hoiby‘s opera is a one-acter, and a lovely, finely wrought thing. It is pleasant and endearing, 

but not sweety-sweet. It is playful, jazzy, casual, insouciant, earnest, and warm. It has the melodies 

and modulations typical of Mr. Hoiby. It is very American, though not the least unsophisticated. 

And it is very human. (Jay Nordlinger, The New York Sun, May 1, 2008) 

177

Douglas J. Cuomo 

Arjuna’s Dilemma 

Chamber opera in one act 

Libretto by the composer, after motives from the Bhagavad Gita and poems by Kabir 

Translations by Ramananda Prasad 

Origin: 2008 

Language: English | Sanskrit | Hindi 

Cast: Indian vocalist – Solo tenor – 4 or 8 voice female chorus 

2008 

Orchestra: 1(pic)0.1(bcl)0.tsx-0.0.0.0-2perc.tablas-pno-2vn.va.vc.db 




22.08.2008 PepsiCo Theater, Purchase, NY 

05.11.2008 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Next Wave Festival, Harvey Theater 

Alan Johnson · Robin Guarino · Donald Eastman · Gabriel Berry 

178

Synopsis 

At the battlefield on the eve of the first conflict of a massive civil war, the noble Prince Arjuna 

finds himself in a state of almost paralyzing confusion. He must lead his army against an enemy 

that includes family, friends, and teachers. Unable to justify such violence against his own people, 

he turns for guidance to his advisor and charioteer Krishna. In the ensuing dialogue, Krishna 

reveals himself to be an avatar of Vishnu, the most powerful god in the Hindu pantheon. At 

Arjuna‘s urging he transforms himself into a vision of the true nature of the universe, in all its 

splendor and its horror. At first entranced and then horrified, Arjuna begs Krishna to stop the 

vision and return to his normal form. His horizons newly expanded, Arjuna understands that he 

must not fear death, nor shirk his duty, which is not only the literal battle in front of him but, 

more importantly, the fight for self-knowledge on the battlefield of the mind. 

Arjuna‘s Dilemma 

Pre-production photo, PepsiCo Theater · Photo: Paul Godwin 

Based on the towering Hindu epic, the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna‘s Dilemma utilizes North Indian performance 

styles, melodic structures, odd time signatures and rhythmic patterns alongside western 

instrumentation, harmonies and forms. North Indian vocals co-mingle with a Western tenor and 

four-part choral writing, with references to both modern vocal styles and Byzantine and Gregorian 

chant. Improvisation is common to both musical worlds, with the Indian singer, tabla player and 

jazz saxophonist each using their respective improvisatory traditions to reach for the ecstatic, the 

sublime and the terror that make up the emotional world of this work. (Douglas J. Cuomo) 

179


The Bonesetter’s Daughter 


Libretto by Amy Tan, after her novel of the same name 

Origin: 2008 


2008 

Cast: Ruth Young Kamen · mezzo soprano – Luling Liu Young · mezzo soprano / contralto – 

Precious Auntie · Kunju Singer – Chang the Coffin-maker · bass – Taoist Priest · Rock Singer – 

Art Kamen · baritone – Marty Kamen · high baritone – Arlene Kamen · mezzo soprano – Wang 

Tai-tai · Chinese Opera Singer – Fia and Dory · non-singing – Chang’s Three Wives · soprano, 

2 mezzo sopranos – Chang’s Three Sons · supernumeraries – Twelve Chinese Acrobats · nonsinging 

Orchestra: Picc. · 2 (2. auch Altfl.) · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 3 (2. auch Es-Klar., 3. auch Bassklar.) · Bassklar. 

(auch Kontrabassklar.) · 2 · Kontrafag. – 4 · 3 (1. auch Picc.tromp.) · 3 · Basspos. · 1 – P. S. 

(Glspl. · Chimes · Vibr. · Marimb. · kl. Tr. m. Schnarrseiten · 4 Tomt. · Floortomt. · gr. Tr. · Trgl. · 

Crash Cymb. · Tamt. · Amboss · Brake drum (Bremstrommel) (3 Spieler) – Cel. · Hfe. – Str. 

Chinesische Instrumente auf der Bühne: 2 Suonas · chinesisches Schlagzeug (Dan Pi · Ban · Da 

Luo · Di Hu · Nao Bo · Chuan Bo · Qiu Jiang Bo · Xiao Luo · Diyin Xiao Luo · Peng Zheng · Xiao 

Tang Gu · Da Tang Gu · taoistische Handttr.) (4 Spieler) 




13.09.2008 War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, CA (WP) 

Steven Sloane · Chen Shi-Zheng · Walt Spangler · Han Feng 

180

Synopsis 

The Bonesetter‘s Daughter is a multi-generational family epic that explores one family‘s history 

through three generations of mothers and daughters. The opera is set in China during the years 

before the Communist revolution, framed by the memories and forgotten history of an elderly 

Chinese mother in present-day San Francisco. The story sweeps from fable-like past to factual 

present, from Chinese village to urban America. Shifting times and locales are linked by a recurring 

quartet of women: a girl, a young woman, a mother and an ageless, ghost-spirit known as 

Precious Auntie. They are the bones of this family throughout time and become the mothers 

and daughters in each generation. 

The Bonesetter‘s Daughter 

Pre-production photo by the San Francisco Opera 

I’m often asked, “Isn’t this a Chinese Opera” My stated objective, before I wrote a note of music, 

was to write this opera, an American opera with roots in China, in my own language and voice, 

but make it feel like China. The opening came when I met Beijing Opera master percussionist Li 

Zhonghua on my first trip to China. His imagination, musicianship and curiosity made me not just 

want to make the opera feel like China, but to engage directly with Chinese artists. After meeting 

Zhonghua, I knew I could not just “import” the Chinese percussion instruments as he had showed me 

not only the vastness of his technique but the oneness of his vision: for him, there was no separation 

between music, narrative, action and stage picture. Working together over the last four years, we 

have developed a percussion language that is neither Chinese nor American, but a meeting of our 

minds and an expression of our friendship. (Stewart Wallace) 

181

Howard Shore 

The Fly 


Libretto by David Henry Hwang, after the novel by George Langelaan 

Origin: 2007-2008 


2008 

Cast: Veronica Quaife · mezzo soprano – Female Officer | Lab Doctor | Cheevers · mezzo soprano 

– Tawny · soprano – Marky · tenor – Stathis Borans · tenor – Seth Brundle · baritone – 8 

Scientists · 1 soprano, 2 mezzo sopranos, 1 tenor, 3 baritones, 1 bass – chorus 

Orchestra: 3 (3. auch Picc.) · 3 (3. auch Engl. Hr. ) · 3 (3. auch Bassklar.) · 2 – 4 · 3 · 4 (3. und 4. 

auch Basspos.) · 0 – P.S. – Hfe · Cel. – Str. 


Distributed by Schott Music. Performance material on hire 


02.07.2008 Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris (WP) 

07.09.2008 Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 

Plácido Domingo · David Cronenberg · Dante Ferretti · Denise Cronenberg 

182

Synopsis 

Based on the 1957 George Langelaan short story and the 1986 David Cronenberg horror film, 

The Fly is an engrossing exploration of the physical and psychological transformation in which 

a brilliant scientist begins to mutate into a hybrid of man and fly after one of his experiments 

goes horribly wrong. Researcher Seth Brundle makes a stunning breakthrough in the field of 

matter transportation when he successfully teleports a living creature. Frustrated in his budding 

romance with a scientific journalist, and in need of a human subject, he recklessly attempts to 

teleport himself. An unseen fly enters the transmission booth as well, however, and Brundle 

soon realizes that his experiment has had ‘mixed’ results. 

The Fly 

02.07.2008 Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris 

I always believed The Fly to be a classic opera story. It’s a tale of love and death, true love surviving 

in the face of physical decay and ultimate sacrifice. To bring this work to the opera stage has 

been a longtime dream. (Howard Shore) 

183


Love and Other Demons 

Opera in two parts 

Libretto by Kornél Hamvai, after Gabriel García Marquez’s novel “Del amor y otros 

demonios” (“Of Love and Other Demons”) 

Origin: 2007 

Language: English, Latin, Spanish, Yoruba 

2008 

Cast: Sierva Maria · coloratura soprano – Don Ygnacio, a Marquis, her Father · tenor – Dominga, a 

black Servant Woman · alto – Abrenuncio, a Doctor · tenor – Don Toribio, Bishop · bass – Father 

Cayetano Delaura · baritone – Josefa Miranda, Abbess at the Convent of St Clare · mezzo soprano 

– Martina Laborde, an insane Woman · alto – 5 African Slaves in Ygnacio’s House · low, strong 

speaking voices – choir (Nuns at the Convent of St Clare, Slaves, Dreamvoices) · 4 sopranos, 2 

mezzo sopranos, 2 altos with „voix blanche“ 

Orchestra: 2 (beide auch Picc., 2. auch Altfl.) · 2 · 2 · Bassklar. · Sax. (Sopran, Alt, Bariton) · 2 

(2. auch Kfg.) – 4 · 2 · 2 · 1 – S. (I: P. [t.] · Glsp. · Crot. · Marimba · Röhrengl. · 3 Gongs · Kuhgl. · 

Trgl. · Beck. [m./t.] · Sizzle-Beck. · Schellen [h. u. laut, 3-4 exotische Sorten, farbiger Klang] · 

Tamt. [t.] · Amboss · Tamb. · gr. Tr. · Holzbl. · afrik. Bohnenrassel; II: P. [t.] · Crot. · Vibr. · Röhrengl. 

· 4 Gongs · 2 Cencerros · Trgl. · Beck. [m./t.] · Sizzle-Beck. · Schellen [h. u. laut, 3-4 exotische 

Sorten, farbiger Klang] · Tamb. · gr. Tr. · Mar. ) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Cel. – Str. (12 · 0 · 8 · 

6 · 4 [2 mit 5. Saite H]) 

Percussion and string sections are divided into two groups and positioned in the pit (left side / 

right side) with bass clarinet, trombone, harp and celesta between the two groups. Eight 

loudspeakers are positioned backstage; a sound engineer is required for balancing the sound. 




10.08.2008 Glyndebourne Festival (WP) 

29.04.2010 Oper Köln 

Vladimir Jurowski · Silviu Purcarete · Helmut Stürmer 

07.11.2008 Vilnius, Lithuanian National Opera 

Alejo Perez · Silviu Purcarete 

31.01.2009 Oper Chemnitz 

Frank Beermann · Dietrich Hilsdorf · Dieter Richter · Renate Schmitzer 

184 

01.04.2010 Hungarian National Opera Budapest · Budapest Spring Festival 

tba.

Synopsis 

Peter Eötvös’ opera Love and Other Demons is a story about forbidden love. It plays in the tropical 

and magical world of 18th-century Colombia, adapted from the novella Del amor y otros 

demonios from Nobel prizewinner, Gabriel García Márquez. 

One Sunday in the slave market in the port of Cartagena de Indias, a young girl is bitten by a 

dog. The girl is Sierva Maria of All the Angels, daughter of the Marquis, and the dog is rabid. 

Although Sierva herself seems unhurt, this is a town where reason and superstition are at war, 

and soon the talk is not of rabies, but of possession. 

Sierva finds herself imprisoned in the Convent of St Clare, where Cayetauno Delaura, the bishop’s 

exorcist, comes to drive out her demons. But soon it is Delaura himself who is possessed, 

consumed by love, ‘the most terrible demon of all’. As the lovers’ obsession grows, so too does 

the desire of the authorities to purge this sickness from their midst. 

The libretto was written by the famous Hungarian author Kornél Hamvai. One of the main 

features of Love and Other Demons is the consistent use of multilingualism. Peter Eötvös and 

Kornél Hamvai have given the different levels of narration and action in the story their own 

characteristic language: English is the everyday life language of the noblemen, Latin is the language 

of the church rites, Spanish is used by Delaura whenever he is talking with Sierva about 

his emotions and Yoruba is the secret language of the slaves. 

Love and Other Demons 

31.01.2009 Oper Chemnitz 

What we have is the framework of a play infused with music. Eötvös sets his text as heightened 

speech, the better to convey the words, which are ritualised, carried on an instrumental current 

that behaves like underscoring, recalling Eötvös‘s early days as a composer of incidental theatre 

music. But here his music is organic and superbly accomplished, upper and lower frequencies set in 

thrilling opposition to suggest the opposing forces that eventually tear our heroine apart. 

(The Independent, 14.08.08) 

185

Ludger Vollmer 

Gegen die Wand 

(Hitting the Wall) 

Oper after the Film by Fatih Akın 


Translation of the Turkish Texts by Gönül Kaya 

Origin: 2005-2008 

Language: German, Turkish 

2008 

Cast: Cahit · baritone – Sibel · mezzo soprano – Yunus Güner, Sibel’s Father · bass – Dr. Schiller, 

Psychiatrist · bass – Birsen Güner, Sibel’s Mother · alto – Yilmaz Güner, Cahit’s Brother · tenor 

– Niko, Barkeeper in Hamburg · tenor – Hüseyin, Barkeeper in Istanbul · tenor – Selma, Sibel’s 

Cousin · soprano – Seref, Cahit’s Friend, Troubadour · actor (bilingual, German and Turkish 

[street–slang]) – Lukas, Sibel’s Lover · dancer – Maren, Cahit’s Lover · dancer – mixed chorus, 

ballet (optional), supernumeraries – The soloists are also singing the chorus parts. 

Orchestra: 1(auch Picc. und Sopranblfl.) · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 (A-Klar. und Bassklar.) · 1 (auch 

Kfg.) - 2 · 1· 1 · 1 - P. S. (Drumset · Glsp. · Xyl. · Vibr. · Marimba · Röhrengl. · Trgl. · Crot. · 

Schellenkranz · chin. Beck. · Crash-Beck. · Nietenbeck. · Beckenpaar · Kuhgl. · Eisenschiene · 

Tamt. · Metal Chimes · Wood Wind Chimes · Glass Chimes · Schellentr. · Bong. · Cong. · kl. Tr. · 

gr. Tr. · Clav. · Kast. · Tempelbl. · Holzbl. · Guiro · Cuica · Agogo · Ratsche · Peitsche · Trillerpf. · 

Eisenfass mit 2 Sicheln · Regen- und Windmasch. · (ad lib. elektronisch) (3 Spieler) - Klav. (auch 

Cemb. und Keyboard) · Cymbalon - Str. (1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 (auch E-Bass) 

Turkish instruments: Kaval · Saz · Zurna / Mey – percussion (ad lib. played by a percussionist 

from the orchestra): Tokmak · Davul · Darbukka · Nagara · Tef · Kasik · Schellenkranz – Tape: 

Traffic and motor sounds, spoken texts – String instruments, cembalo and the Turkish instruments 

Saz, Kaval und Mey may be amplified if necessary. 




28.11.2008 Theater Bremen, Neues Schauspielhaus Bremen (WP) 

Tarmo Vaask · Michael Sturm · Monika Gora 

186

Synopsis 

The opera Gegen die Wand is based on the award-winning film of the same name by Fatih 

Akin which had been a great success in the European cinema in 2004 and had sparked lively 

controversy. 

The opera tells the story of the young German Turks Sibel and Cahit. Sibel enters into a sham 

marriage with Cahit to escape the narrow morality of her family. Her appetite for life and love 

plunges her into numerous affairs. But Cahit becomes aware that he has actually fallen in love 

with his sham wife. In the heat of the moment, he kills one of her ex-lovers. Sibel, for her part, 

realizes that she too has fallen in love with Cahit and promises to wait for him while he is in 

prison. But she fails to keep her promise and starts a new life in Istanbul. 

The music written by the composer Ludger Vollmer for this story is energetic and emotional, its 

specific feature being that it uses not only classical orchestral instruments but also traditional 

Turkish instruments which give the music a foreign, yet characteristic sound that is appropriate 

to the subject. 

Gegen die Wand 

28.11.2008 Neues Schauspielhaus Bremen 

Ludger Vollmer has […] created a mixture made of serious and entertaining musical elements, 

devoted to its traditional European roots as well as to the oriental Turkish sound world - a highly 

effective melange reflecting perfectly the mixture of cultures. (Opernwelt, 1/2009) 

The music becomes the moving spirit of a stirring opera evening. The Bremen Philharmonic 

Orchestra conducted by Tarmo Vaask and supported by guest musicians playing traditional 

Turkish instruments like Saz, Cimbalon, Mey, Zurna and Kava, plays at top form. The ensemble too 

performed convincingly – in all, a perfect World Première, honoured by the audience with 

thunderous applause. (Bremer Anzeiger, 30.11.08) 

187

Huw Watkins 

Crime Fiction 

Oper in zwei Akten 

Chamber opera in one act 

Libretto by David Harsent 

Origin: 2008/9 


Cast: Woman · alto – Man · baritone – Author · tenor 

2009 

Orchestra: flute, clarinet in Bb, trumpet in Bb, trombone, violin, cello, double bass 



Remarks: 8 loudspeakers backstage and a Sound engineer are required 


28.03.2009 Millennium Centre, Cardiff 

03.04.2009 Galeri Caernafon 

Arlene Rolph · Gwion Thomas · Richard Egar Wilson · Michael Rafferty 

188

Synopsis 

This is an opera with no story, but one that explores the critical moment within a story – a 

crime story – and turns the spotlight on the person who creates this moment: the Author. 

The primary ingredients of crime fiction are darkness, violence and damaged people plus, of 

course, plot: the mechanics of the piece. Dark desires have to be played out, motive has to be 

revealed, lines of investigation have to be followed and a resolution of some sort arrived at. But 

for the writer, what’s really interesting about crime fiction is not joining the dots, but the dots 

themselves: the set-pieces, the heightened moments of chaos and bloodshed. 

In Crime Fiction, the Author is engaged in a struggle with himself to preserve unadorned the 

moment he’s created, but his characters, the Woman and the Man, are starting to interfere. 

Crime Fiction 

28.03.2009 Millennium Centre Cardiff 

Clive Barda / Arenapal 

Crime Fiction comprises 12 miniature scenes in which an Author, imagining a Man about to 

garrotte a Woman but withdrawing, meditates on the process of devising character and motive. 

The Man and Woman come and go. In the end, the Author himself dangles the garrotting rope 

above the supine Woman, and this cryptic, quasi-Beckettian, quasi-Pinterian little drama ends… 

Watkins’s score opens with a gently pulsing violin figure, and from this the whole structure arises. 

The fit between the music and the words is as intimate as the action displayed, though not in a 

sadomasochistic way. Indeed, Watkins, in his first operatic essay, has contrived a textbook equilibrium 

between those warring elements, the words always clearly projected, the music always 

interesting but never carried away with itself. I wouldn’t have minded if occasionally it had been, 

but I was gripped by the tautness, dark colouring, effortless climaxes and subtle close of what was 

on offer. (Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 5 April 2009) 

189

INDEX 

Composers 

and their works 

(works are listed alphabetically) 

Banter, Harald (* 1930) 

Der blaue Vogel ........................................ 100 

Beaser, Robert (* 1954) 

The Food of Love ........................................ 94 

Bryars, Gavin (* 1943) 

Doctor Ox’s Experiment .............................. 84 

G (being the Confession and Last Testament 

of Johannes Gensfleisch…) .................. 128 

The Paper Nautilus.................................... 168 

Casken, John (* 1949) 

God’s Liar ................................................. 122 

Cuomo, Douglas J. (* 1958) 

Arjuna’s Dilemma ..................................... 176 

Czernowin, Chaya (* 1957) 

Pnima … ins Innere .................................. 106 

Zaïde – Adama .......................................... 166 

Eben, Petr (1929–2007) 

Jeremias ...................................................... 78 

Eötvös, Peter (* 1944) 

Angels in America ..................................... 150 

Le Balcon .................................................. 136 

Love and Other Demons ........................... 182 

Radames ..................................................... 76 

Goehr, Alexander (* 1932) 

Arianna ....................................................... 50 

Kantan and Damask Drum ........................ 102 

Grünauer, Ingomar (* 1938) 

Cantor – Die Vermessung des 

Unendlichen........................................ 170 

Die Rache einer russischen Waise ............... 26 

König für einen Tag ....................................... 8 

Trilogie der Sommerfrische ....................... 114 

Winterreise ................................................. 34 

Henze, Hans Werner (* 1926) 

Das Ende einer Welt ................................... 62 

Das verratene Meer / Gogo no Eiko .............. 6 

Der Prinz von Homburg .............................. 20 

Ein Landarzt ................................................ 60 

Il Re Teodoro in Venezia ............................. 18 

Knastgesänge .............................................. 52 

The Bassarids .............................................. 52 

Venus und Adonis ....................................... 64 

Hiller, Wilfried (* 1941) 

Augustinus ................................................ 154 

Der Geigenseppel ..................................... 112 

Der Rattenfänger ........................................ 28 

Der Schimmelreiter ..................................... 86 

Eduard auf dem Seil .................................. 104 

Wolkenstein ............................................. 144 

Hoiby, Lee (* 1926) 

This is the Rill Speaking ............................ 174 

Holliger, Heinz (* 1939) 

Schneewittchen .......................................... 88 

Hosokawa, Toshio (* 1955) 

Hanjo ....................................................... 146 

Vision of Lear.............................................. 80 

Jost, Christian (* 1963) 

Angst ........................................................ 158 

Death Knocks ........................................... 124 

Die arabische Nacht .................................. 172 

Vipern ...................................................... 152 

190 

Index

Kirchner, Volker David (*1942) 

Ahasver .................................................... 120 

Erinys ......................................................... 10 

Gilgamesh ................................................. 110 

Inferno d’amore (Shakespearion I) .............. 38 

Labyrinthos (Shakespearion II) .................... 74 

Ligeti, György (1923–2006) 

Le Grand Macabre ...................................... 72 

Monteverdi, Claudio (1567–1643) 

Arianna ....................................................... 50 

Müller-Siemens, Detlev (* 1957) 

Bing .......................................................... 126 

Die Menschen ............................................ 12 

Paisiello, Giovanni (1740–1816) 


Paulus, Stephen (* 1949) 

Heloise and Abelard.................................. 132 

Summer ...................................................... 98 

The Woman at Otowi Crossing ................... 48 

Penderecki, Krzysztof (* 1933) 

Ubu Rex ..................................................... 16 

Picker, Tobias (* 1954) 

An American Tragedy ................................ 156 

Emmeline ................................................... 58 

Fantastic Mr. Fox ........................................ 90 

Thérèse Raquin ......................................... 160 

Rands, Bernard (* 1934) 

Belladonna ................................................. 96 

Reimann, Aribert (* 1936) 

Bernarda Albas Haus ................................. 116 

Das Schloss ................................................. 24 

Schnebel, Dieter (* 1930) 

Majakowskis Tod – Totentanz ..................... 82 

St. Jago ....................................................... 14 

Schneider, Enjott (* 1950) 

Albert - Warum ......................................... 92 

Bahnwärter Thiel ...................................... 142 

Das Salome-Prinzip ................................... 130 

Diana – Cry for Love ................................. 138 

Fürst Pückler – Ich bin ein Kind 

der Phantasie ...................................... 164 

Schulhoff, Erwin (1894–1942) 

Flammen .................................................... 42 

Schweitzer, Benjamin (* 1973) 

Dafne ....................................................... 162 

Informationen über Bartleby ..................... 148 

Jakob von Gunten ..................................... 118 

Shchedrin, Rodion (* 1932) 

Lolita .......................................................... 36 

Shore, Howard (* 1946) 

The Fly...................................................... 180 

Turnage, Mark-Anthony (* 1960) 

The Silver Tassie ........................................ 108 

Twice Through the Heart ............................. 68 

Ullmann, Viktor (1898–1944) 

Der Sturz des Antichrist .............................. 40 

Der zerbrochene Krug ................................. 56 

Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des 

Cornets Christoph Rilke ......................... 46 

Vollmer, Ludger (*1961) 

Gegen die Wand ....................................... 184 

Wallace, Stewart (* 1960) 

The Bonesetter’s Daughter ........................ 178 

Harvey Milk ................................................ 44 

Hopper‘s Wife ............................................ 70 

Watkins, Huw (*1976) 

Crime Fiction ............................................ 186 

Weill, Kurt (1900–1950) 

Der Kuhhandel ........................................... 32 

191 

Index

Weiss, Harald (* 1949) 

Amandas Traum .......................................... 22 

Das Gespenst .............................................. 66 

Widmann, Jörg (* 1973) 

Das Gesicht im Spiegel .............................. 140 

K(l)eine Morgenstern-Szene ...................... 134 

Knastgesänge .............................................. 52 

Willi, Herbert (* 1956) 

Schlafes Bruder ........................................... 54 

Der Prinz von Homburg............................... 20 

Der Rattenfänger......................................... 28 

Der Schimmelreiter..................................... 86 

Der Sturz des Antichrist............................... 40 

Der zerbrochene Krug................................. 56 

Diana – Cry for Love.................................. 138 

Die arabische Nacht.................................. 172 

Die Menschen............................................. 12 



Cornets Christoph Rilke......................... 46 

Doctor Ox’s Experiment.............................. 84 

192 

Work Titles 

Albert - Warum......................................... 92 

Ahasver..................................................... 120 

An American Tragedy................................ 156 

Angels in America..................................... 150 

Angst........................................................ 158 

Arianna....................................................... 50 

Arjuna’s Dilemma...................................... 176 

Augustinus................................................ 154 

Bahnwärter Thiel....................................... 142 

Belladonna.................................................. 96 

Bernarda Albas Haus................................. 116 

Bing.......................................................... 126 


Unendlichen........................................ 170 

Crime Fiction............................................. 186 

Dafne........................................................ 162 

Das Ende einer Welt.................................... 62 

Das Gesicht im Spiegel.............................. 140 

Das Gespenst.............................................. 66 

Das Salome-Prinzip................................... 130 

Das Schloss................................................. 24 

Das verratene Meer / Gogo no Eiko............... 6 

Death Knocks ........................................... 124 

Der blaue Vogel........................................ 100 

Der Geigenseppel...................................... 112 

Der Kuhhandel............................................ 32 

Index 

Eduard auf dem Seil.................................. 104 

Ein Landarzt................................................ 60 

Emmeline.................................................... 58 

Erinys.......................................................... 10 

Fantastic Mr. Fox......................................... 90 

Flammen..................................................... 42 

Fürst Pückler – Ich bin ein Kind 

der Phantasie............................................ 164 


of Johannes Gensfleisch…)................... 128 

Gegen die Wand....................................... 184 

Gilgamesh................................................. 110 

God’s Liar.................................................. 122 

Hanjo........................................................ 146 

Harvey Milk................................................. 44 


Hopper‘s Wife............................................. 70 

Il Re Teodoro in Venezia.............................. 18 

Il Re Teodoro in Venezia.............................. 18 

Inferno d’amore (Shakespearion I)............... 38 

Informationen über Bartleby...................... 148 

Jakob von Gunten..................................... 118 

Jeremias...................................................... 78 

K(l)eine Morgenstern-Szene...................... 134 

Kantan and Damask Drum......................... 102 

Knastgesänge.............................................. 52


Labyrinthos (Shakespearion II)..................... 74 

Le Balcon.................................................. 136 

Le Grand Macabre....................................... 72 

Lolita........................................................... 36 

Love and Other Demons........................... 182 

Majakowskis Tod – Totentanz...................... 82 

Pnima … ins Innere................................... 106 

Radames..................................................... 76 

Schlafes Bruder............................................ 54 

Schneewittchen........................................... 88 

St. Jago....................................................... 14 

Summer...................................................... 98 

The Bassarids .............................................. 52 

The Bonesetter’s Daughter........................ 178 

The Fly...................................................... 180 

The Food of Love........................................ 94 


The Silver Tassie........................................ 108 

The Woman at Otowi Crossing.................... 48 

Thérèse Raquin......................................... 160 

This is the Rill Speaking............................. 174 

Trilogie der Sommerfrische........................ 114 

Twice Through the Heart............................. 68 

Ubu Rex...................................................... 16 

Venus und Adonis....................................... 64 

Vipern....................................................... 152 

Vision of Lear.............................................. 80 

Winterreise................................................. 34 

Wolkenstein.............................................. 144 

Zaïde – Adama.......................................... 166 

Librettists 

(including authors of the original texts) 

Adnan, Etel (* 1925) ................................. 168 

Aischylos (525 v. Chr.–456 v. Chr.) .............. 10 

Akın, Fatih (* 1973)................................... 184 

Allen, Woody (*1935)............................... 124 

Auden, H.H. (1907-1973)............................ 30 

Atwani, Imad ............................................ 110 

Bachmann, Ingeborg (1926–1973) .............. 20 

Beckett, Samuel (1906–1989) ................... 126 

Beneš, Karel Josef (1896–1969) .................. 42 

Böhm, Winfried (* 1937) .......................... 154 

Boyde, Patrick (* 1934) ............................... 50 

Brik, Lilja Jurjewna (1891–1978) ................. 82 

Brod, Max (1884–1968) ........................ 24, 42 

Busch, Wilhelm (1832–1908) .................... 112 

Calderón, Pedro (1600-1681)........................ 8 

Casken, John (* 1949) ............................... 122 

Casti, Giovanni Battista (1724–1803) .......... 18 

Cloot, Julia (* 1968) .................................. 142 

Coleman, Tim ........................................... 152 

Corsaro, Frank (* 1924) ............................. 132 

Cuomo, Douglas J. (* 1958) ...................... 176 

Dahl, Roald (1916–1990) ............................ 90 

Dreiser, Theodore (1871–1945) ................ 156 

Dunton-Downer, Leslie (* 1961) ................. 96 

Eben, Petr (1929–2007) .............................. 78 

Ende, Michael (1929–1995) ........................ 28 

Eötvös, Peter (* 1944) ......................... 76, 136 

Genet, Jean (1910–1986) .......................... 136 

Ghelderode, Michel de (1898–1962) .......... 72 

Ghislanzoni, Antonio (1824–1893) ............. 76 

Goldoni, Carlo (1707–1793) ..................... 114 

Grünauer, Ingomar (* 1938) .................. 8, 170 

Hamvai, Kornél (* 1969) ........................... 182 

Harsent, David (* 1942)............................. 186 

Hasenclever, Walter (1890–1940) ............... 12 

Index 

193

194 

Hauptmann, Gerhart (1862–1946)............ 142 

Herfurtner, Rudolf (* 1947) ....................... 104 

Hildesheimer, Wolfgang (1916–1991) ......... 62 

Hofmannsthal, Hugo von (1874-1929)........... 8 

Holden, Amanda (* 1948) ......................... 108 

Hölderlin, Friedrich (1770–1843).............. 158 

Holliger, Heinz (* 1939) .............................. 88 

Holz, Arno (1863–1929) ........................... 162 

Hosokawa, Toshio (* 1955) ....................... 146 

Hwang, David Henry (* 1957) ................... 180 

Jarocki, Jerzy (* 1929) ................................. 16 

Jarry, Alfred (1873–1907)............................ 16 

Jeles, András (* 1945) ................................. 74 

Jost, Christian (* 1963)...................... 152, 158 

Kabir (1440–1518) ................................... 164 

Kafka, Franz (1883–1924)..................... 24, 60 

Kallmann, Chester (1921-1975)................... 30 

Kay, Jackie (* 1961) ............................ 68, 168 

Kirchner, Volker David (* 1942) ...................... 

....................................... 10, 38, 110, 120 

Kleist, Heinrich von (1777–1811) ... 14, 20, 56 

Korie, Michael (* 1955) ................ 44, 70, 178 

Kushner, Tony (* 1956) ............................. 150 

Lange, Norbert (* 1978) ............................ 148 

Langelaan, George (1908-1969)................ 180 

Ligeti, György (1923–2006) ........................ 72 

Lorca, Federico García (1898–1936).......... 116 

Majakowski, Wladimir (1893–1930) ........... 82 

Markowicz, André (* 1960) ....................... 136 

Gabriel García Marquez (* 1927) ............... 182 

Matzkowski, Bernd (* 1952) ..................... 164 

McClatchy, J. D. (* 1945) ............................ 58 

McNally, Terrance (* 1939) ......................... 94 

Melville, Herman (1819 – 1891) ............... 148 

Meschke, Michael (* 1931) ......................... 72 

Meyer, Andreas K. W. (* 1958) ................... 86 

Mezei, Mari (* 1952) ................................ 150 

Michelangelo (1475–1564)......................... 38 

Micieli, Francesco (* 1956) ................. 34, 114 

Middleton, Thomas (1580–1627) ............. 152 

Mishima, Yukio (1925–1970)................ 6, 146 

Index 

Mitterer, Felix (* 1948) ............................. 144 

Monteverdi, Claudio (1567–1643) .............. 74 

Morgenstern, Christian (1871–1914) ........ 134 

Morrison, Philip Blake (* 1950) ........... 84, 128 

Morvan, Françoise (* 1958)....................... 136 

Motokiyo, Zeami (1363–1443) ................. 102 

Müller-Siemens, Detlev (* 1957) ................. 12 

Nabokov, Vladimir (1899–1977) ................. 36 

Najmányi, László (* 1946) ........................... 76 

Niehaus, Manfred (* 1933) ......................... 76 

O’Casey, Sean (1880–1964) ...................... 108 

Opitz, Martin (1597–1639) ....................... 162 

Penderecki, Krzysztof (* 1933) .................... 16 

Renckhoff, Dorothea (* 1949) ................... 100 

Reimann, Aribert (* 1936) ................... 24, 116 

Rilke, Rainer Maria (1875–1926) ................ 46 

Rinuccini, Ottavio (1562–1621) .................. 50 

Rödl, Josef (*1949) ..................................... 92 

Rögner, Wolfgang (* 1951) ........................ 138 

Rossner, Judith (1935-2005) ....................... 58 

Rousseau, Henri (1844-1910)...................... 26 

Rowley, William (ca. 1585–1626) ............. 152 

Scheer, Gene (* 1958) ....................... 156, 160 

Schimmelpfennig, Roland (* 1967) .................. 

................................................... 140, 172 

Schnebel, Dieter (* 1930) ........................... 82 

Schneider, Enjott (* 1950) ................. 142, 164 

Schneider, Robert (* 1961) .......................... 54 

Schweitzer, Benjamin (* 1973) ........................ 

........................................... 118, 148, 162 

Shakespeare, William (1564–1616) ................. 

................................................. 38, 74, 80 

Shchedrin, Rodion (* 1932) ......................... 36 

Shulgasser, Mark (* 1947) ......................... 174 

Steffen, Albert (1884–1963) ....................... 40 

Storm, Theodor (1817–1888)...................... 86 

Sturrock, Donald (* 1961) ........................... 90 

Suzuki, Tadashi (* 1939) ............................. 80 

Symonette, Lys (1914–2005) ...................... 32 

Tan, Amy (* 1952) .................................... 178

Thorne, Joan Vail .................................. 48, 98 

Tolstoi, Leo (1828–1910) .......................... 122 

Treichel, Hans-Ulrich (* 1952) ........... 6, 52, 64 

Tyler, Royall (* 1936) ................................. 102 

Ullmann, Viktor (1898–1944) ..................... 56 

Vambery, Robert (1907–1999) .................... 32 

Verne, Jules Gabriel (1828–1905) ............... 84 

Vollmer, Ludger (*1961)............................ 184 

Waley, Arthur David (1889–1966) ............ 102 

Walser, Robert (1878–1956) ............... 88, 118 

Walter, Michael (* 1958) ........................... 164 

Warner, Emma (* 1958) ............................ 122 

Waters, Frank (1902–1995) ........................ 48 

Weiss, Harald (* 1949) .......................... 22, 66 

Wharton, Edith (1862–1937) ...................... 98 

Wilde, Oscar (1854–1900) ........................ 130 

Wilson, Lanford (* 1937) .......................... 174 

Woska, Elisabet (* 1938) ........................... 112 

Zola, Émile (1840–1902) ........................... 160 

Zweig, Stefan (1881–1942) ......................... 78 

Subjects 

Historic Persons and Event 


Augustinus ................................................ 154 


Unendlichen........................................ 170 


Diana – Cry for Love ................................. 138 


Fürst Pückler – Ich bin ein Kind der Phantasie 

........................................................... 164 


of Johannes Gensfleisch…) .................. 128 

Harvey Milk ................................................ 36 


Majakowskis Tod – Totentanz ..................... 72 



Winterreise ................................................. 32 

Wolkenstein ............................................. 144 


Myths, Legends, Fairy Tales 

(including biblical subjects) 

Ahasver .................................................... 130 

Arianna ....................................................... 50 

Arjuna’s Dilemma ..................................... 176 

Dafne ....................................................... 162 

Der blaue Vogel ........................................ 100 


Erinys ......................................................... 10 

Gilgamesh ................................................. 110 

Jeremias ...................................................... 78 



The Bassarids .............................................. 30 


Literature Operas 

(Operas based on novels 

and theatre plays) 

An American Tragedy ................................ 156 


Bahnwärter Thiel ...................................... 142 

Bernarda Albas Haus ................................. 116 

Bing .......................................................... 126 



Das Schloss ................................................. 24 

Das verratene Meer / Gogo no Eiko .............. 6 

Death Knocks ........................................... 124 




Der Schimmelreiter ..................................... 86 


Die Menschen ............................................ 12 


Index 

195

196 



Doctor Ox’s Experiment .............................. 84 

Ein Landarzt ................................................ 60 

Emmeline ................................................... 58 

Erinys ......................................................... 10 

Fantastic Mr. Fox ........................................ 90 

God’s Liar ................................................. 122 

Hanjo ....................................................... 146 



Jakob von Gunten ..................................... 118 





Le Balcon .................................................. 136 

Le Grand Macabre ...................................... 72 

Lolita .......................................................... 36 

Love and Other Demons ........................... 182 

Schlafes Bruder ........................................... 54 




St. Jago ....................................................... 14 

Summer ...................................................... 98 



Ubu Rex ..................................................... 16 

(Un)fair Exchange...................................... 102 

Vipern ...................................................... 152 

Short Operas 

(Duration less than 70‘) 

Angst ........................................................ 158 

Bing .......................................................... 126 

Crime Fiction ............................................ 126 

Dafne ....................................................... 162 

Das Ende einer Welt ................................... 62 

Death Knocks ........................................... 124 



Index 



Ein Landarzt ................................................ 60 





Knastgesänge .............................................. 52 


Radames ..................................................... 76 



Operas without Choir 


Arianna ....................................................... 50 

Belladonna ................................................. 94 

Bing .......................................................... 126 


Crime Fiction ............................................ 186 


Death Knocks ........................................... 124 



Die arabische Nacht .................................. 172 





Hanjo ....................................................... 146 

Hopper‘s Wife ............................................ 70 







Le Balcon .................................................. 136 



Radames ..................................................... 74 

Schneewittchen .......................................... 88

St. Jago ....................................................... 14 

Summer ...................................................... 96 






Winterreise ................................................. 32 

Index 

197

KAT 219-99 · Printed in Germany

Music Theatre since 1990 - Schott Music

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