Leporello Contemporary Opera Newsletter Nr. 1 September 2011 World Première Performances In September 2011, 4 new operas are to be presented, in Paris, San Francisco, Strasbourg and Torino. Reinhardt Wagner is a newcomer on the opera stage. The 3 other composers have already composed operas : The Cows of Apollo and The Thirteen Clocks (Theofanidis), Il carro e I canti (Solbiati), 60 e Parallèle , K… and La Frontière (Manoury). Reinhardt Wagner : René l’énervé Christopher Theofanidis : Heart of a Soldier Opéra bouffe et tumultueux Libretto : Jean-Michel Ribes Opera (130’) Paris, Théâtre du Rond-Point Libretto : Donna di Novelli, after James B. Stewart’s September 7, 2011 book and the life stories of Susan Rescorla, Rick Rescorla and Daniel J. Hill San Francisco, War Memorial Opera House September 10, 2011 Large orchestra Orchestra : 5 (keyboards, guitar and percussion, Cast : 12 singers clarinet and baritone saxophone, cello, flute and accordion) With baritone Thomas Hampson, tenor William Burden Cast : 20 actors-singers and soprano Melody Moore In Paris until October 29th, then in Nancy, from Conductor : Patrick Summers March 14 to March 18, 2012 Director : Francesca Zambello « It’s a funny romp that crosses the ever parading « On September 11, 2001, Rick Rescorla, former political Barnum » Vietnam soldier, head of security, led all of the 2700 The text is to be published by Actes Sud Papiers on people under his care to safety, before heading back September 7, 2011 into the burning building. He never emerged. » more on p. 2 DVD (New release) John Adams : Doctor Atomic , Sony, 88697806659 The second production of John Adams’ last opera, first performed in San Francisco on October 1, 2005, and revived in Chicago and Amsterdam. Taped in October 2008 at the Metropolitan Opera. With Gerald Finley, Sasha Cooke, Roger Honeywell, Meredith Arwady. Alan Gilbert conducts and Penny Woolcock directs the birth of the atomic bomb. more on p. 2 Leporello - Nr. 1 - September 2011 page 1 World Première Performances Alessandro Solbiati : Leggenda Philippe Manoury : La Nuit de Gutenberg Opera in 1 act (prologue, 4 scenes and epilogue) Libretto : composer after Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Opera in 1 prologue and 12 scenes Brothers Karamazov Libretto : Jean-Pierre Milovanoff Torino, Teatro Regio (Teatro Carignano) Strasbourg, Opéra (Festival Musica) Festival MITO SettembreMusica September 24, 2011 September 20, 2011 Orchestra and Chorus Cast : 6 singers, including tenor Mark Milhofer, soprano Alda Caiello and baritone Urban Malmberg Orchestra and Chorus Conductor : Gianandrea Noseda Cast : 3 singers and 6 soloists from the chorus, Director : Stefano Poda including bass baritone Marc Cavallier and mezzo Eve-Maud Hubeaux « The challenge was to put on stage and in the music Conductor : Daniel Klajner the three levels of narration used in the chapter The Director : Yoshi Oida Grand Inquisitor : the dialogue between Ivan and Aliocha, the dialogue between the Inquisitor and the « A character appears suddenly and claims to be heretics and the confrontation in the desert between Gutenberg. He enters violently into today’s world of Jesus and the Devil. » communication, ruled by the Internet. » Publisher : Éditions Durand - Universal Music Publishing Group New Releases DVD Michael Daugherty : Jackie O , Dynamic, 33605 Premiered in Houston on March 14, 1997, this opera focuses on the relationship between Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas, also featuring Grace Kelly, Andy Warhol and John F. Kennedy. With Fiona McAndrew, Nora Sourouzian, Simone Alberghini, Paul Carey Jones. Christopher Franklin conducts and Damiano Michieletto directs Mark-Anthony Turnage : Anna Nicole , Opus Arte, OA1054D The world première production of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s last opera, first performed in London (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), on February 17, 2011. With Eva-Maria Westbroek, Alan Oke, Gerald Finley, Susan Bickley. Antonio Pappano conducts and Richard Jones directs this new work inspired by the life of American model, actress and television personality Anna Nicole Smith CD André Previn : Brief Encounter , Deutsche Grammophon, 477 9351 with Elizabeth Futral, Nathan Gunn and Kim Josephson Premiered in Houston on May 1, 2009, this opera relates the passion shared by two married characters, until they have to decide between love and honor. Recording of the first production, conducted by Patrick Summers. Leporello - Nr. 1 - September 2011 page 2 In my collection Below are listed parts of my collection. There will be more in the next issues. 1) Program books : - Georges Aperghis : Les Boulingrin , Paris, May 12, 2010 - Jörn Arnecke : Kryos , Bremen, May 14, 2011 - Oscar Bianchi : Thanks to my Eyes , Aix-en-Provence, July 5, 2011 - Daniel Catan : Il Postino , Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet, June 20, 2011 - Pascal Charpentier : L’Homme qui s’efface , Grand Quevilly, March 29, 2011 - Nuno Côrte-Real : Banksters, Lisbon, March 18, 2011 - Pascal Dusapin : Passion , Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, October 6, 2010 - John Estacio : Lillian Alling , Vancouver, October 16, 2010 - Lorenzo Ferrero : Risorgimento !, Modena, March 25, 2011 - Jonas Forssell : Hemligheter , Malmö, February 12, 2011 - Will Gregory : Piccard in Space , London, March 31, 2011 - Georg Friedrich Haas : Bluthaus , Schwetzingen, April 29, 2011 - Toshio Hosokawa : Matsukaze , Brussels, May 3, 2011 - Pilar Jurado : La página en blanco , Madrid, February 11, 2011 - Volker David Kirchner : Savonarola , Kiel, April 30, 2011 - René Koering : Die Marquise von O , Monte-Carlo, April 22, 2011 - Michael Levinas : La Métamorphose , Lille, March 7, 2011 - Jukka Linkola : Robin Hood , Helsinki, January 14, 2011 - Bruno Mantovani : Akhmatova , Paris, Opéra Bastille, March 28, 2011 - Balduin Sulzer : Kaspar H. , Linz, January 29, 2011 - Bramwell Tovey : The Inventor , Calgary, January 29, 2011 - Mark-Anthony Turnage : Anna Nicole , London, Royal Opera House, February 17, 2011 - Marco Tutino : Senso , Palermo, January 20, 2011 - Judith Weir : Achterbahn , Bregenz, July 21, 2011 2) Libretti : - Don Davis / Kate Gale : Rio de Sangre , Milwaukee, October 22, 2010 - Toshio Hosokawa / Hannah Dübgen : Matsukaze , Brussels, May 3, 2011 - Michael Levinas / Emmanuel Moses and Benoit Meudic : La Métamorphose , Lille, March 7, 2011 3) Full scores : - Georges Aperghis : Avis de Tempête , [Paris] : Georges Aperghis, 2004 - David Farquhar : Enchanted Island , Wellington : Sounz, 2001 - Ralph Middenway : The Tempest , Hobart : Ralph Middenway, 2010 - Mark Richards : Hamlet , [Toronto] : Mark Richards, 2008 - Alan Schmitz : Julius Caesar, New York : Alan Schmitz, 1977 - Bernd Alois Zimmermann : Die Soldaten , Mainz : B. Schott’s Söhne, 1975 4) Vocal scores : - David Amram : Twelfth Night , New York : C. F. Peters Corporation, 1972 - Marcel Delannoy : Puck , [Paris] : André Boll and Marcel Delannoy, 1950 - Georges Hüe : Titania , Paris : Choudens, 1903 - Alfred Loeffler : Love’s Labour’s Lost , Chico : Avera Music Press, 1999 - Stephen Oliver : Timon of Athens , London : Novello, 1992 - Sergei Slonimsky : Hamlet , St. Petersburg : Kompozitor, 1997 - Sergei Slonimsky : King Lear , St. Petersburg : Kompozitor, 2010 5) Books : - Damien Colas, Alessandro Di Profio : D’une scène à l’autre - l’opéra italien en Europe (2 vol.), Wavre : Mardaga, 2009 - Quaintance Eaton : Opera Production - A Handbook (2 vol.), Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1962-1974 - Harry Halbreich : L’Œuvre d’Olivier Messiaen , Paris : Fayard, 2008 - Rebecca Hodell Kornick : Recent American Opera - A Production Guide , New York : Columbia University Press, 1991 - W. Franklin Summers : Operas in One Act - A Production Guide , Lanham : The Scarecrow Press, 1997 Leporello - Nr. 1 - September 2011 page 3 6) DVD : Nicholas Maw : Sophie’s Choice , Opus Arte, OA 1024 D The world première production of Nicholas Maw’s opera, with a libretto based on the novel by William Styron : a young American Southerner befriends the Jewish Nathan Landau and his lover Sophie, a Polish survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. With Angelika Kirchschlager, Gordon Gietz, Rod Gilfry and Dale Duesing. Simon Rattle conducts and Trevor Nunn directs. Einojuhani Rautavaara : Aleksis Kivi , Ondine, ODV 4009 Premiered in Helsinki on September 12, 2009, this opera relates the Finnish poet’s life, mixing it together with excerpts of his works. With Jorma Hynninen, Janne Reinkainen, Riikka Rantanen, Paulina Linnosaari. Mikko Franck conducts and Pekka Milonoff directs. Aribert Reimann : Medea , Arthaus Musik, 101 551 Premiered in Vienna on February 28, 2010, it is a new musical version of the Medea story, with Jason, Creusa and Creon. With Marlis Petersen, Michaele Selinger, Elisabeth Kulman, Michael Roider Michael Boder conducts and Marco Arturo Marelli directs. 7) CD : Kris Defoort : The Woman Who Walked Into Doors , Fuga Libera, FUG709 with Claron McFadden, Jacqueline Blom. Etienne Siebens conducts. Premiered in Antwerp on November 7, 2001. Based on Roddy Doyle’s book, it tells the gripping story of Paula Spencer, a housewife whose life is ruled by alcohol and physical violence. Recorded live in Bruges, on September 23, 2006. Jonathan Dove : Tobias and the Angel , Chandos, CHAN 10606 with Omar Ebrahim, Hyacinth Nicholls, Darren Abrahams and James Laing Premiered in London in 1999, this community opera is based on the Book of Tobit from the Biblical Apocrypha. Recorded during the 2006 revival for the reopening of the Young Vic Theatre. Philip Glass : Kepler , OMM 0071 with Martin