The black mask
The black mask is an opera by Krzysztof Penderecki with a German libretto by the composer and the director of the world premiere, Harry Kupfer , based on a piece by Gerhart Hauptmann from 1928.
history
The opera was premiered on August 15, 1986 at the Salzburg Festival under the musical direction of Woldemar Nelsson (set: Hans Schavernoch ). After that, in the following opera season productions were performed at the Vienna State Opera and in Polish translation ( Czarna maska ) at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw. This production - specially re-studied in German - was also presented in the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin on the day of German reunification (October 3, 1990). The work had its US premiere on July 30, 1988 at the Santa Fe Opera with a cast that also included Mark Lundberg.
roll
| role | Voice compartment | Premiere cast |
|---|---|---|
| Silvanus Schuller | tenor | Walter Raffeiner |
| Benigna | soprano | Josephine Barstow |
| Arabella | soprano | Lona Culmer-Schellbach |
| Rosa Sacchi | Mezzo-soprano | Marjana Lipovšek |
| Jedidja Potter | tenor | Martin Finke |
| François Tortebat | bass | Hans Franzen |
| Daga | soprano | Jolanta Radek |
| Löwel Perl | baritone | Günter Reich |
| Robert Dedo | baritone | Huub Claessens |
| Plebanus Wendt | bass | Malcolm Smith |
| Hadank | tenor | Heinz Zednik |
| Count Ebbo hut guard | bass | Rainer Scholze |
| Countess Laura Hüttenwächter | Old | Gertrude Jahn |
| Schedel | tenor | Robert Werner |
| Doctor Knoblochzer | bass | Wolfgang Equiluz |
| Johnson | Speaking role | Charleston Marquis |
| An alto voice | Old | Ingrid Mayr |
action
Bolkenhain in southwest Poland, 1662.
For the Carnival in Bolkenhain 1662, 13 people gather for dinner with the wealthy Mayor Schuller, while the town is ravaged by the plague outside. An unknown guest wearing a black mask appears and remembers the past. Benigna, who is now Schuller's wife, once had a love affair with the slave Johnson in Amsterdam. Her daughter Arabella is now Schuller's maid. Johnson forced his mistress to marry the wealthy slave trader Geldern and blackmailed her until the husband died under mysterious circumstances. It quickly becomes clear that everyone present is a criminal and that Johnson's deadly revenge is hidden behind the mask.