Leporello Contemporary
Opera
Nr. 23
Newsletter September 2013
World Première Performances In September 2013, four new operas will be performed in Tallinn, San Francisco, Prague and Warsaw. Tõnu Kõrvits has already composed two chamber operas, in 2005 and 2006. Dolores Claiborne is Picker’s fifth opera, eight years after An American Tragedy, composed for the Met in New York. Toufar is Aleš Březina’s first opera. A Laugh to Cry is Miguel Azguime’s first large scale stage work.
Tõnu Kõrvits: Butterfly Opera in 2 acts Libretto : Maria Lee Liivak and Lauri Kaldoja, after Andrus Kivirähk's novel. Tallinn, Estonian National Opera September 13, 2013
with Kadri Kipper, Helen Lokuta, Oliver Kuusik, Rauno Elp.. Conducted by Vello Pähn. Directed by Peeter Jalakas. Erika is a mysterious bird-woman, who is employed by the theatre by chance and dances like a butterfly. She is fickle, sensitive and unpredictable. Her descent from birds makes her choose between leaving with them on the brink of winter or staying at the theatre, where her heart and her beloved August is.
Tobias Picker: Dolores Claiborne Opera in 2 acts (2 hours) Libretto : Joseph Donald McClatchy, after Stephen King’s novel. San Francisco (CA), War Memorial Opera House September 18, 2013
with Dolora Zajick, Susannah Biller, Elizabeth Futral, Waynes Tigges, Greg Fedderly. Conducted by George Manahan. Directed by James Robinson. Dolores Claiborne is a passionate, desperate, trapped character. She will do anything to save the daughter who despises her. Pushed to the extreme edge of life, she does what she has to, fearless and forsaken.
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DVD Hans Werner Henze : Der junge Lord, Medici Arts, 2072398 with Edith Mathis, Donald Grobe, Barry McDaniel, Loren Driscoll, Vera Little. The parable of the trained ape which, as a young lord, delights typical middle-class society and is exposed following the great dramatic coup when the animal is unmasked. Recorded in Berlin in 1968. Conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. Directed by Gustav Rudolf Sellner.
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World Première Performances Aleš Březina : Toufar
Miguel Azguime : A Laugh to Cry
Documentary chamber opera Libretto : the composer. Prague, Kolowrat Theatre (National Theatre) September 18, 2013
New Op-Era Project Libretto : Miguel Azguime. Warsaw, Centrum Kultury Koneser (Autumn International Contemporary Music Festival) September 27, 2013
with Soňa Červená, Jan Mikušek, Vladimír Javorskyý Conducted by Jiří Štrunc Directed by Petr Zelenka In 1950, the priest Josef Toufar was arrested and tortured by the communist State Security Service. He was accused of forging a miracle at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in the village of Číhošť. The Police immediately made use of this still unexplained phenomenon to launch a campaign against the Church, which represented one of its strongest opponents.
with Frances M. Lynch, Nicholas Isherwood, Marina Pacheco, Ágata Mandillo Conducted by Petter Sundkvist Directed by Miguel Azguime The opera is shaped like a meditation on the hegemonic power of the destruction of memory, the devastation of the Earth and even the collapse of humanity. It evolves in the fringes between dream and reality, between the visible and invisible.
In my collection Below are listed parts of my collection. There will be more in the next issues.
1) Program books : - Mark Adamo : The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, San Francisco, June 19, 2013 - George Benjamin : Written on Skin, Munich, July 23, 2013 - Harrison Birtwistle : Gawain, Salzburg, July 26, 2013 - Douglas J. Cuomo : Doubt, St. Paul (Minnesota Opera), January 26, 2013 - Georg Friedrich Haas : Thomas, Schwetzingen, May 24, 2013 - David Lang : The Whisper Opera, Chicago, May 30, 2013 - Vasco Mendonça : The House Taken Over, Aix-en-Provence, July 6, 2013 (PDF) - André Tchaikowsky : The Merchant of Venice, Bregenz, July 18, 2013
2) Libretti : - Emmanuel Bondeville, Antoine et Cléopâtre, Paris : Éditions Choudens, 1975, 56 p. - Rudolf Kelterborn / David Freeman, Julia, Berlin Wiesbaden : Bote & Bock, 1991, 31 p. - D. J. Sparr / Mark Campbell and Davis Miller, Approaching Ali, Washington : Washington National
Opera, 2013, 12 p. (PDF) - Winfried Zillig, Troilus und Cressida, Wiesbaden : Brucknerverlag, 1950, 40 p.
3) Books : - Anastasia Belina-Johnson, André Tchaikowsky - Die tägliche Mühe ein Mensch zu sein, Hofheim : Wolke, 2013, 285 p. - David Fanning, Mieczysław Weinberg - In Search of Freedom, Hofheim : Wolke, 2010, 220 p.
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4) CD : Leonardo Balada : Cristóbal Colón, Naxos, 8.660237-38 with José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Carlos Chausson, Luis Álavrez First performed in Barcelona on September 24, 1989, this opera relates the travel of Columbus from Palos to the American shores, to celebrate its 5th Centennial. Recorded in Barcelona in September 1989. Conducted by Theo Alcántara. George Benjamin : Written on Skin, Nimbus Records, NI 5885/6 with Christopher Purves, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Rebecca Jo Loeb. Based on an Occitan legend from the 12th century, this opera explores the explosive consequences of self-discovery. Recorded in Aix-en-Provence in July 2012. Conducted by the composer. Hans Werner Henze : The English Cat, Wergo, WER 6204-2 with Richard Berkeley-Steele, Mark Coles, Alan Watt, Ian Platt, Julian Pike First performed in Schwetzingen on June 2, 1983. Inspired by a Balzac novel, this opera contains social criticism toward the addiction to money. Recorded in Berlin in October 1989. Conducted by Markus Stenz. Adriana Hölszky : Bremer Freiheit, Wergo, WER 6511-2 with Nancy Shade, Raymond Wolansky, Paul Mayr, Grace Hoffman, Robert Wörle First performed in Munich on June 4, 1988. The libretto is based on the fifteen murders by poisoning committed by Gesche Gottfried between 1813 and 1827. Recorded in Stuttgart in April 1989. Conducted by Andras Hamary. Willem Jeths : Hôtel de Pékin, Etcetera, KTC 1456 with Monique Krüs, Dennis Wilgenhof, Mark Stone, Angela Kerrison, Iestyn Morris. First performed in November 2008 in Enschede. It describes the final hours and death of Cixi, the so-called monster and last Empress of the Chinese empire. Recorded live in Amsterdam in January 2012. Conducted by Michael Schønwandt. Olli Kortekangas : Grand Hotel, Ondine, ODE 749-2 with Eeva-Liisa Saarinen, Sauli Tiilikainen and Kauko Laurikainen. First performed for Finnish Broadcasting Company on September 12, 1987. It is a chamber television opera about love, death and pluralistic high culture. Recorded in Helsinki in 1990. Conducted by Olli Pohjola and Eric-Olof Söderström. Einojuhani Rautavaara : Vincent, Ondine, ODE 750-2 with Jorma Hynninen, Matti Heinikari, Marko Putkonen, Eeva-Liisa Saarinen. First performed in Helsinki on May 17, 1990. The opera revolves around Vincent’s relationships wirh a prostitute, his fellow painter Gauguin and his brother Theo. Recorded in Helsinki in May 1990. Conducted by Fuat Manchurov. Michael Tippett : The Ice Break, Virgin Classics, VC 7 91448-2 with Heather Harper, David Wilson-Johnson, Sanford Sylvan, Carolann Page. First performed in London on July 7, 1977. The subject of the opera is “whether or not we can be reborn from the stereotypes we live in.” Recorded in London in July 1990. Conducted by David Atherton. Peter-Jan Wagemans : Legende, Etcetera, KTC 1443 with Marieke Steenhoek, Caroline Cartens, Corinne Romijn, Helena Rasker. First performed in Amsterdam in February 2011. This opera is based on the comic book Voyages et Aventures du Dr. Festus by the Swiss cartoonist Rodolphe Töpffer. Recorded in Amstedam in February 2011. Conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw.
COWARC holds a collection of more than 6,800 documents published by opera companies since 1989 with information about more than 151,000 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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