Leporello Contemporary
Opera
Nr. 16
Newsletter January 2013
World Première Performances In January 2013, four new operas will be performed. Richard Gill is Victorian Opera’s Founding Music Director in Melbourne. Since Einstein on the Beach in 1976, Philip Glass has composed about 20 operas. Doubt is Douglas J. Cuomo’s third opera, after Atomic Opera in 1991 and Arjuna’s Dilemma in 2006. Lin Wang has already composed an opera, Die Quelle for the 2010 Munich Biennale. Two of these operas are for children.
Richard Gill : Sleeping Beauty Magical Musical Fairy-Tale (60 minutes) Libretto : after Charles Perrault. Melbourne, Her Majesty’s Theatre (Victorian Opera) January 17, 2013
with Suzanne Johnston, Jonathan Bode, Olivia Cranwell, James Payne, Dility Shepherd. Conducted by the composer. Directed by Derek Taylor. The traditional story of the Princess Aurora cursed to sleep for a hundred years is transformed into a brand new pantomime with Ticketty-Boo the Fairy Godmother, Darcy the Jester and the Jollys. The opera is suitable for children aged 6 and up.
Philip Glass : The Perfect American Opera in two acts Libretto : Rudy Wurlitzer, after Peter Stephan Jungk’s Der König von Amerika.. Madrid, Teatro Real January 22, 2013
with Christopher Purves, David Pittsinger, Donald Kaasch, Janis Kelly, Marie McLaughlin. Conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. Directed by Phelim McDermott. The opera imagines the final years of Walt Disney’s life, including mythical imaginings of Abraham Lincoln and Andy Warhol.
more on p. 2
DVD György Ligeti : Le Grand Macabre, ArtHaus Musik, 101 643. with Chris Merritt, Inès Moraleda, Ana Puche, Werner van Mechelen, Frode Olsen. The basic plot is around the sudden appearance of Nekrotzar in a fictional Breughelland and his announcement of the end of the world. The main features of the opera are false prophets, corrupt government and incompetent intelligence service. Recorded in Barcelona in November 2011. Conducted by Michael Boder. Directed by Alex Ollé. more on p. 3
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World Première Performances Douglas J. Cuomo : Doubt
Lin Wang : Oh, wie schön ist Panama
Opera in two acts (120 minutes) Libretto : John Patrick Shanley. St. Paul, Ordway Theatre (Minnesota Opera) January 26, 2013
Children opera (60 minutes) Libretto : Dorothea Hartmann, after Janosch’s picture book, in German. Berlin, Deutsche Oper (Tischlerei) January 26, 2013
with Matthew Worth, Christine Brewer, Adriana Zabala and Denyce Graves. Conducted by Christopher Franklin. Directed by Kevin Newbury. The orchestra includes 7 woodwinds, 3 brass, 2 percussion, harp and strings. The opera is set in a Catholic school in the Bronx in autumn of 1964, shortly after Vatican II. Suspicion ignites a battle of wills. Sister Aloysius embarks on a personal crusade to ruin Father Flynn, whom she accuses of abusing their school's only black student.
with Jörg Schörner, Bastiaan Everink, Bini Lee, Rachel Hauge, Tobias Kehrer. Conducetd by Kevin McCutcheon and directed by Daniel Pfluger. 5 singers. Orchestra : 4 woodwinds, percussion, piano, guitar, cello Tiger and Bear were always satisfied with their lives until the day Bear fished a crate out of the river with the delicious scent of bananas, stamped with the word “Panama”. Now Tiger and Bear have only one aim in life: to travel to Panama, the land of their dreams !
In my collection Below are listed parts of my collection. There will be more in the next issues.
1) Program books : - Hans-Jürgen von Bose : Verkehr mit Gespenstern, Vienna, December 5, 2012 - Stefano Gervasoni : Limbus-Limbo, Paris, December 4, 2012 - Andres Reukauf : Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse, Hagen, November 25, 2012 - Frank Schwemmer : Die Schatzinsel, Zürich, November 17, 2012
2) Libretti : - Mark Adamo, Little Women, New York : G. Schirmer, 1998, 106 p. - Mikko Heiniö / Juha Siltanen, Eerik XIV, n.l. : n.n., [2008], 53 p. - György Ligeti / Michael Meschke, Le Grand Macabre, Mainz : Schott, 1990, 61 p. - Peter Maxwell Davies / David Pountney, The Doctor of Myddfai, London : Boosey & Hawkes, 1996, 54 p. - Aulis Sallinen / Irene Dische and Hans Magnus Enzensberger, The Palace, London : Novello, 1993, 53 p.
3) Full score : - Carlisle Floyd, Susannah, New York : Boosey & Hawkes, 1997, 427 p.
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4) DVD : Mieczysław Weinberg : The Passenger, Neos, 51006 with Michelle Breedt, Roberto Saccà, Elena Kelessidi, Artur Rucinski. Lisa and her husband Walter are aboard an ocean liner crossing to America when Lisa encounters another passenger whom she believes to have been a prisoner at Auschwitz where she (Lisa) had been an SS guard. Recorded in Bregenz in July 2010. Conducted by Teodor Currentzis. Staged by David Pountney.
5) Books : - Pierre Michel and Bernard Banoun (ed.), Musique, arts et literature dans l’œuvre de Michèle Reverdy, Paris : L’Harmattan, 2005, 210 p. - Alexandre Tansman, Une voie lyrique dans un siècle bouleversé, Paris : L’Harmattan, 2005, 466 p.
6) CD : John Adams : I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky, Nonesuch, 79473-2 with Darius de Haas, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Michael McElroy Inspired by a quote from a survivor of the 1994 California earthquake, this Song Play was first performed in Berkeley on May 13, 1995. Recorded in Helsinki in November 1996. Conducted by John Adams. Thomas Adès : Power Her Face, EMI Classics, 5 56649 2 with Jill Gomez, Valdine Anderson, Niall Morris and Roger Bryson Premiered in Cheltenham on July 1, 1995, it is based on the life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, and her sexual exploits. Recorded in London in December 1995. Conducted by the composer. Dominick Argento : A Water Bird Talk and Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, Koch, 3-7388-2 with John Shirley-Quirk and Linda Mabbs. Two short operas with one singer, composed in 1976 and 1981. Recorded in August 1996 in Owings Mills (MD). Conducted by Sara Watkins. Peter Bengtson : The Maids, Phono Suecia, PSCD 96 with Anna Eklund-Tarantino, Eva Pilat and Gunilla Söderström First performed in Stockholm on March 31, 1994, this chamber opera is based on Jean Genet’s play, about two sisters’ dangerous night game. Studio recording made in Stockholm in 1996. Conducted by Niklas Willén. Erik Bergman : The Singing Tree, Ondine, ODE 794-2D with Peter Lindroos, Charlotte Hellekant, Haisa Hannula, Petteri Salomaa. First performed in Helsinki in 1995, it is based on an ancient Swedish folk tale concerning a virgin princess who is forbidden to see her lover in the light. Recorded in Helsinki in May 1992. Conducted by Ulf Söderblom. Harrison Birtwistle : The Mask of Orpheus, NMC, D050 with Jon Garrison, Peter Bonder, Jean Rigby, Anne-Marie Owens, Alan Opie. First performed in London on May 21, 1986. The opera explores the Orpheus myth in a number of directions at once, examining its various contradictions. Recorded in London in April 1996. Conducted by Andrew Davis and Martyn Brabbins. Gion Antoni Derungs : Il semiader, MGB, CD 6140 with Claudio Danuser, Jean-Jacques Knutti, Judith Graf, Lucretia Lendi First performed in Chur on June 13, 1996. The libretto, in Rumantsch-Grischun, focuses on the owner of an art gallery, unjustly accused of murder. Live recording of the first performance. Conducted by Sylvia Caduff. Ahmed Essyad : L’exercice de l’Amour, Musique Française d’Aujourd’hui, MFA 216010 with Elisabeth Laurence, Sylvie Sullé, Gordon Christie, Stephen Richardson. First performed in Paris on November 25, 1995, it aspires to be the silent, interior journey of a man seeking, beyond language, absolute Love of the absolute Other. Recording of the first performance.
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Giorgio Gaslini : Mister O, Soul Note, 121300-2 with Arturo Testa, Paula Lorenzi, Bernardo Lanzetti, Maurizio Sciuto, Laura Conti. First performed in Verona on June 26, 1996. It is a jazz opera composed adapted from William Shakespeare’s Othello. Studio recording from July 1996. Conducted by the composer. Hans Werner Henze : Gogo no Eiko, Orfeo, C 794 092 I with Mari Midorikawa, Jun Takahashi, Tsuyoshi Mihara, Teruhiko Komori First performed in Tokyo on October 15, 2003. A extended new version of Das verratene Meer, sung in Japanese, after Yukio Mishima. Recorded in Salzburg on August 26, 2006. Conducted by Gerd Albrecht. André Laporte : Das Schloß, Koch Discover, DICD 920375-6 with Bjørn Waag, Georg-Emil Crasnaru, Mario Taghadossi, Christoph Homberger First performed in Brussels on February 16, 1986. Based on Kafka’s novel, this opera constitutes an ironical retrospect on the history of music-theatre. Recorded in Brussels in October 1995. Conducted by Alexander Rahbari. Peter Maxwell Davies : The Doctor of Myddfai, Collins Classics, 70462 with Paul Whelan, Lisa Tyrrell, Gwynne Howell, Elizabeth Vaughan First performed in Llandudno on July 10, 1996. The legend of the Lady of the Lake is used as a starting point for a story taking place in the near future. Recorded in Cardiff in October 1996. Conducted by Richard Armstrong. Peter Maxwell Davies : Taverner, NMC, D157 with Martyn Hill, David Wilson-Johnson, Stephen Richardson, Fiona Kimm First performed in London on July 12, 1972. The opera is based on episodes from the life and legend of one of the outstanding English composers of the early Tudor period. Recorded in London in December 1996. Conducted by Oliver Knussen. Tobias Picker : Emmeline, Albany, Troy 284-85 with Patricia Racette, Anne-Marie Owens, Curt Peterson, Victor Ledbetter First performed in Santa Fe on July 27, 1996. Based on a true story, Emmeline, after marrying unknowingly her own son is excommunicated and left alone. Recorded in Santa Fe in 1996. Conducted by George Manahan. Jean Prodromidès : Goya, MFA, 216019/20 with René Massis, Alain Vernhes, Marie-Stéphane Bernard, Cécile Éloir, Franck Bard. First performed in Montpellier on May 31, 1996. The painter struggles against academicism and defends his audacity against retrograde rulers of Spain. Recorded in Montpellier in June 1996. Conducted by Claude Schnitzler. Aribert Reimann : Das Schloß, Wergo, WER 6614-2 with Richard Salter, Harry Dworchak, Isoldé Elchlepp, Rüdiger Trebes, Ralk Lukas. First performed in Berlin on September 2, 1992. Based on Kafka’s novel, it relates K.’s struggles to gain access to the authorities of a castle who govern his village. Recorded in Munich in November 1996. Conducted by Michael Boder. Stewart Wallace : Harvey Milk, Teldec, 0630-15856-2 with Robert Orth, Elizabeth Bishop, Juliana Gondek, Jill Grove, James Maddalena First performed in Houston on January 21, 1995. The life and death of San Francisco’s first openly gay elected public official, assassinated in 1978. Recorded in San Francisco in November 1996. Conducted by Donald Runnicles.
COWARC holds a collection of more than 6,500 documents published by opera companies since 1989 with information about more than 142,000 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 : Leporello21@orange.fr © COWARC, 2013
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