Contemporary Opera Newsletter

Leporello

Nr. 15 December 2012

World Première Performances

In December 2012, three operas will be performed for the first time, inspired by Franz Kafka, Charles Dickens and Pietro Metastasio. Since 1974, Hans-Jürgen von Bose has already composed 8 operas, including Die Leiden des jungen Werthers and Schlachthof V . Cristian Carrara’s first opera, La piccola vendetta lombarda was first performed in Citta’ di Castello in August 2011. Lucia Ronchetti has already composed eight music theatre pieces since 1995.

Hans-Jürgen von Bose : Cristian Carrara : Oliver Twist Verkehr mit Gespenstern Chamber opera in one act Chamber opera Libretto : Cristian Carrara, after Charles Dickens, in Libretto : the composer, after Franz Kafka, in German. Italian. Vienna, Theater an der Wien (in the Wiener Modena, Teatro Comunale ‘Luciano Pavarotti’ Kammeroper) December 16, 2012 December 5, 2012

with Stefano Consolini, Matteo Ferrara, Laura Catrani. Conducted by Flavio Emilio Scogna. Directed by Soo-

Sho. with Tim Severloh and Falko Hönisch. Directed by Peter Pawlik. On the occasion of Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday, This opera is written for accordion, violoncello, the composer has turned his most famous novels into countertenor and baritone. an opera, describing the English society in the 19th century : the poverty, the child labor, the urban crime The young business traveler Gregor Samsa wakes up and the inherent hypocrisy of Victorian culture. one morning transformed into a giant beetle. It symbolizes the fatal isolation of the individual in a society in which oppressive rules are incomprehensible to human. The composer combines fragments of the Metamorphosis and The Trial with Kafka’s letters and diaries.

more on p. 2

DVD

Mikko Heiniö : Eerik XIV , Turku Music Festival Foundation, 6 430015 100886 with Charlotte Hellekant, Helena Juntunen, Jesper Taube, Lennart Forsén. Eerik XIV, the young king of Sweden-Finland, has grand dreams of a civilized Europe. But is this young man prepared to bear the weight of his heavy crown ? Recorded in Turku in November 2011. Conducted by Leif Segrstam. Staged by Erik Söderblom.

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World Première Performances

Lucia Ronchetti : Contrascena

Intermezzo Libretto : Anne Gerber and Lucia Ronchetti, after Pietro Metastasio, in Italian. Dresden, Semperoper December 16, 2012 with Diana Tomsche, Svea Verfürth, Christopher This short 15 minutes a capella piece is conceived as Kaplan, Masashi Mori. an intermezzo for Domenico Sarro’s Dorina e Nibbio , Conducted by Felice Venanzoni and directed by Axel first performed in Naples in 1724 as an intermezzo for Köhler Sarro’s opera La Didone abbandonata .

In my collection

Below are listed parts of my collection. There will be more in the next issues.

1) Program books : - Victoria Bond : Mrs. President , Anchorage, October 5, 2012 - Peter Eötvös : Die Tragödie des Teufels , München, February 22, 2010 - Daron Hagen : Little Nemo in Slumberland , Sarasota, November 10, 2012 - Sagardia : Josefine , Mönchengladbach, October 13, 2012 - Lorenzo Scartazzini : Der Sandmann , Basel, October 20, 2012 - Carl Unander-Scharin : The Elephant Man , Umeå, October 6, 2012 (PDF) - Jörg Widmann : Babylon , München, October 27, 2012

2) Libretti : - Luciano Berio / Italo Clavino, La Vera storia , Paris : Gérard Billaudot, 1985, 75 p. - Luciano Berio / Italo Clavino, Un re in ascolto , Milano : Universal Edition, 1983, 57 p. - Harrison Birtwistle / David Harsent, Gawain , London : Universal Edition, 1991, 88 p. - Harrison Birtwistle / Robin Blaser, The Last Supper , London : Boosey & Hawkes, 2000, 39 p. - Carlisle Floyd, Of Mice and Men , New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1971, 35 p. - Heinz Holliger, Schneewittchen , Mainz : Schott, 1999, 32 p. - Detlev Müller-Siemens, Die Menschen , Mainz : Schott, 1990, 28 p. - Tan Dun / Paul Griffiths, Marco Polo , New York : G. Schirmer, 1998, 28 p. - Michael Tippett, The Midsummer Marriage , Mainz : Schott, 1954, 56 p.

3) Full scores : - Gerard Chiusano, Antony & Cleopatra , n.l. : Gerard Chiusano, 2001, 631 p. (PDF) - Gerard Chiusano, Macbeth , n.l. : Gerard Chiusano, 2001, 500 p. (PDF) - Nancy Van de Vate, Hamlet , n.l. : n.n., [2009], 325+166 p. (PDF)

4) DVD :

Daniel Catán : Il Postino , Sony, 88691919709 with Plácido Domingo, Charles Castronovo, Amanda Soutieri, Vladimir Chernov. In the 1950s, the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda teaches poetry to Mario Ruoppolo, a young postman, so he can win the heart of the beautiful Beatrice Russo. Recorded live in Los Angeles in October 2010. Conducted by Grant Gershon. Staged by Ron Daniels.

Leporello - Nr. 15 - December 2012 page 2 5) CD :

Michael Daugherty : Jackie O , Argo, 455 591-2 with Nicole Heaston, Stephanie Novacek, Eric Owens, Joyce DiDonato First performed in Houston on March 14, 1997, The main subject is the relationship between Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas. Recorded in Houston in March 1997. Conducted by Christopher Larkin. Anthony Davis : Amistad , New World Records, 80627-2 with Thomas Young, Mark Baker, Wilbur Pauley, Florence Quivar, Mark S. Doss. First performed in Chicago on November 29, 1997. The opera relates the overthrowing of the slave ship Amistad and the subsequent trial. Recorded in Chicago in December 1997. Conducted by Dennis Russel Davies. Hugues Dufourt : Dédale , MFA, 216027/28 with Bruno Ranc, Stéphanie Révidat, Stéphanie Moralès, Hjördis Thebault. First performed in Lyon on June 17, 1995. Children opera based on the Greek myth of the Minotaur. Recorded in February 1997. Conducted by Claire Gibault. Pascal Dusapin : To Be Sung , MFA, 2160126 with Sarah Leonard, Susan Narucki, Rosemary Hardy, Geoffrey Carey. First performed in Nanterre on November 17, 1994. Based on Gertrude Stein, the chamber opera deals with the difficulty of collaborating on a work of art. Recorded in Paris in March 1997. Conducted by Olivier Dejours. Sebastian Fagerlund : Döbeln , Bis, SACD-1780 with Anu Komsi, Annika Mylläri, Lasse Penttinen, Sören Lillkung, Robert McLoud. First performed in Kokkola on July 25, 2009. The opera mixes events of the 1808-09 war over Finland with Swedish general von Döbeln’s fantasies and hallucinations. Recorded in October 2009. Conducted by Sakari Oramo. Johannes Kalitzke : Die Besessenen , Neos, 11203 with Rupert Bergmann, Noa Frenkel, Manfred Hemm, Benjamin Hulett, Leigh Melrose. First performed in Vienna on February 19, 2010. Based on the novel by Witold Gombrowicz, the opera centers on a young couple consumed by mutual love-hate. Live recording of the first performance. Conducted by Johannes Kalitzke. György Ligeti : Le Grand macabre , Sony Classical, S2K 62312 with Sibylle Ehlert, Laura Claycomb, Charlotte Hellekant, Jard van Nes Revised version first performed in Salzburg on July 28, 1997. Based on Michel de Ghelderode’s play, it tells the defeat of death in the land of Breughelland. Recorded live in Paris in February 1998. Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Philippe Manoury : 60 e Parallèle , Naxos, 8.554249-50 with Donald Maxwell, Jean-Philippe Courtis, Ian Thompson, Hedwig Fassbender First performed in Paris on March 10, 1997. Set in an airport, the libretto mixes together the stories of a war criminal, a scientist, an old woman, an air hostess. Recorded in Paris in March 1997. Conducted by David Robertson. Olivier Messiaen : Saint François d’Assise , Deutsche Grammophon, 445 176-2 with José van Dam, Dawn Upshaw, Chris Merritt, John Aler, Urban Malmberg. First performed in Paris, on November 28, 1983. The libretto, based on Franciscan sources, focuses on the progress of grace in Francis’s soul after his conversion. Recorded live in Salzburg in August 1998. Conducted by Kent Nagano. Wolfgang Mitterer : Das tapfere Schneiderlein , Col legno, WWE 20801 with Elisabeth Rombach, Theresa Dlouhy, Clemens Kölbl, Gebhard Heegmann. First performed in Vienna on December 8, 2006. A children opera composed after the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale The Valiant Little Tailor . Recorded in Vienna in 2007. Conducted by the composer.

Wolfgang Mitterer : Massacre , Col legno, WWE 20294 with Elizabeth Calleo, Valérie Philippin, Nora Petro čenko, Jean-Paul Bonnevalle. First performed in Vienna on May 18, 2003. Based on Christopher Marlowe’s play, the opera depicts the events of the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Recorded in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines on October 9, 2008. Conducted by Peter Rundel.

Leporello - Nr. 15 - December 2012 page 3 Henry Mollicone : Coyote Tales , Newport Classic, NPD 85629/2 with Brian Steele, Michael Ballam, Karin Dunne Paludan, Chad McAlester First performed in Kansas City on March 7, 1998. The libretto, based on Native American legend, depicts the creation of the world by Coyote. Recorded live in Kansas City in March 1998. Conducted by Russell Patterson.

André Previn : A Streetcar Names Desire , Deutsche Grammophon, 459 366-2 with Renée Fleming, Rodney Gilfry, Elizabeth Futral, Anthony Dean Griffey First performed in San Francisco on September 23, 1998. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams, it evokes the culture clash between two opposite characters. Recorded in San Francisco in September 1998. Conducted by the composer.

Shigeaki Saegusa: Chushingura , Sony, S3K 60233 with Tasuku Naono, Shinobu Sato, Kazuo Kobayashi, Yuko Kamahora First performed in Tokyo in 1997. Adapted from a kabuki story, it tells the revenge and death of forty-seven Samurai. Recorded in Tokyo in May 1997. Conducted by Naoto Otomo. Salvatore Sciarrino : Lohengrin , Col legno, WWE 20264 with Marianne Pousseur. First performed in Milan on January 15, 1983. This ‘invisible action’, inspired by Jules Laforgue, is Elsa’s point of view on the famous Wagnerian story. Recorded in Kufstein on August 18, 2005. Conducted by Tito Ceccherini. Salvatore Sciarrino : Macbeth , Col legno, WWE 20404 with Otto Katzameier, Anna Radziejewska, Richard Zook, Sonia Turchetta. First performed in Schwetzingen on June 6, 2002. The composer wrote his own libretto after William Shakespeare’s play. Recorded in Salzburg in August 2011. Conducted by Evan Christ. Mikis Theodorakis : Electra , Intuition, Int 3312 2 with Galina Dolbonos, Wladimir Feljaer, Emilia Titarenko, Daria Rybakova. First performed in Luxembourg on May 2, 1995. Based on Sophocles. Recorded in St. Petersburg in April 1998. Conducted by the composer.

Hans Thomalla : Fremd , Col legno, WWE 40403 with Annette Seiltgen, Sephan Storck, Julia Spaeth, Carlos Zapien. First performed in Stuttgart on July 2, 2011. The opera dramatizes the conflict of Medea and the Argonauts, and is a reflection on music itself, staging its tragedy itself. Recorded live in Stuttgart in July 2011. Conducted by Johannes Kalitzke. Stefan Weisman : Darkling , Albany, Troy 1315/16 with Maeve Höglund, Hai-Ting Chinn, Jon Garrison, Mark Uhlemann. First performed in New York on February 26, 2006. spans the period between the two World Wars, interweaving the emotional lives of its characters with the events of history. Recorded in New York in October 2010. Conducted by Brian DeMaris.

Gerhard E. Winkler : Heptameron , Col legno, WWE 20232 with Jannie Pranger, Martin Lindsay, Fabrice di Falco. First performed in Munich on May 4, 2002. This work is an interactive opera based on Margaret of Navarre’s Heptameron , with seven stories that can develop into the open. Recorded live in Munich on May 12, 2002.

COWARC holds a collection of more than 6,100 documents published by opera companies since 1989 with information about more than 132,000 performances. A great amount of information has also been gathered on Shakespearean operas from all times and all countries.

Leporello is published by COWARC - Contemporary Opera Worldwide Archive and Research Center 29, rue de la Clef, F-75005 Paris Directeur de la publication : Mathias LEHN - Rédacteur en chef : Mathias LEHN contact : [email protected]

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