Wintermärchen is an opera by Philippe Boesmans to a libretto by Luc Bondy and Marie-Louise Bischofberger after Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. It was premiered on 10 December 1999 at La Monnaie in Brussels. The German premiere followed in 2001 at the Staatstheater Braunschweig.
| Wintermärchen | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Philippe Boesmans | |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | German / English |
| Based on | Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale |
| Premiere | 10 December 1999 La Monnaie, Brussels |
History
editPhilippe Boesmans has been composer-in-residence at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, where he successfully showed Reigen in 1993, a literary opera after the play Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler, on a libretto by Luc Bondy. Now assisted by the writer Marie-Louise Bischofberger, Boesmans and Bondy created Wintermärchen after Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale.[1]
The opera is dedicated to Bernard, Annick Foccroulle, and Harry Halbreich.[2] The premiere on 10 December 1999 at La Monnaie was staged by Bondy on a set by Erich Wonder, conducted by Antonio Pappano and choreographed by Lucinda Childs.[2] It was a great success, selling out eleven times.[3] The production was shown in November 2000 at the Festival d’Automne in Paris.[4]
The opera was performed in 2001 in Braunschweig, in 2002 at the Neue Oper Wien and in Nürnberg, and in 2004 at the Liceu in Barcelona.[5][6][7] A recording of the Brussels performance was recorded,[8] and presented on 29 November 2000 on TV (Arte) and in 2015/2016 on internet TV (ARTE Concert).[9]
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 10 December 1999 Conductor: Antonio Pappano[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Leontes, King of Sicily | baritone | Dale Duesing |
| Hermione, his wife | soprano | Susan Chilcott |
| Mamillius, their son | child's voice | |
| Polixenes, King of Bohemia | tenor | Anthony Rolfe Johnson |
| Camillo, confident of Leontes | bass | Franz-Josef Selig |
| Paulina | mezzo-soprano | Cornelia Kallisch |
| Antigonus, her husband | baritone | Juha Kotilainen |
| Green | tenor | Heinz Zednik |
| Perdita | (dancer) | Johanne Saunier |
| Florizel, son of Polixenes | jazz-rock singer | Kris Dane |
| Oracle | bass | Franz-Josef Selig |
| Bohemian soldier | Arthur Debski | |
| Ladies and gentlemen in waiting, Bohemians | choir |
Music
editThe libretto stays close to Shakespeare's play, and is "skilfully abbreviated and adapted", according to one reviewer, but because "neither [Boesmans nor Bondy] could bear to cut Shakespeare's original", they wrote the Sicilian scenes mostly in German, a language in which both librettist and composer were fluent.[3] The scenes on the seacoast of Bohemia, in the third act, are mostly in English, accompanied by jazz-rock music.[3] In the premiere and the first recording this was performed by the Belgian group Aka Moon.[3] They invented the role of Green, who personifies Time and is a Shakespearean jester holding the scenes together.[3]
The music at times alludes to Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg.[1] Claudio Monteverdi is quoted literally.[3] Boesmans writes lyrical and singable parts,[3] and finely detailed orchestration.[1] He uses music described as expressionist to characterize Leontes who is insane with jealousy, causing pain and guilt. The music for Hermione, his wife, is full of passion and warmth.[3] A reviewer summarizes that "the sometimes eclectic melodic and harmonic characteristics of his music [are] accessible yet challenging".[1]
Recordings
edit- Wintermärchen, Dale Duesing (Leontes), Susan Chilcott (Hermione), Cornelia Kallisch (Paulina), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Polixenes), Franz-Joseph Selig (Camillo), Heinz Zednik (Le Temps), Juha Kotilainen (Antigonus), Johanne Saunier (Perdita), with the jazz band Aka Moon, conducted by Antonio Pappano on Deutsche Grammophon.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Christopher, Thomas. "Philippe Boesmans (b. 1936) / Wintermärchen". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ a b c "Philippe Boesmans: Wintermärchen" (work details) (in French and English). IRCAM.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Oliver, Michael. "Boesmans Wintermärchen". Gramophone. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Wintermärchen beim Festival d'Automne". ots.at (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Wintermärchen". operinwien.at (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Boesmans, Philippe". umpgclassical.com. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ Schulz, Reinhard. "Feines Ohr für Klang und Wirkung". neue musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ Wintermärchen Operone
- ^ "Wintermärchen von Philippe Boesmans" (in German). ARTE Concert. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
