Orlando (Neuwirth)
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| Title: | Orlando |
| Shape: | “A fictional musical biography” in nineteen pictures |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Olga Neuwirth |
| Libretto : | Olga Neuwirth, Catherine Filloux |
| Literary source: | Virginia Woolf : Orlando |
| Premiere: | December 8, 2019 |
| Place of premiere: | Vienna State Opera |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | 1598 to 2019 |
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(three sopranos , three mezzo- sopranos , a countertenor , three baritones , three basses , three actors )
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Orlando is an opera (original name: "a fictional musical biography") in nineteen pictures by Olga Neuwirth . The composer wrote the libretto for the commissioned work by the Vienna State Opera together with Catherine Filloux based on Virginia Woolf 's novel of the same name from 1928. The world premiere took place on December 8, 2019.
action
At the center of the plot is the fictional biography of the fictional character Orlando. The poet nobleman from Elizabethan times wakes up unexpectedly as a woman after a long slumber and after this sex change he lives until the 20th century - unchanged in character, as the book states, and without significantly aging. Woolf's novel goes back to 1928, the year the book was published; Neuwirths Orlando will continue the piece until 2019. The writer Orlando falls in love with a woman during the hippie era. B. became acquainted with the new right wing movements .
layout
The focus of the composition is the paraphrase , a recourse to historical or historically inspired material from which Neuwirth creates something new. Renaissance madrigals are flooded with swirls of glissando , out of tune harpsichords lie crossed with noise tools from the car brake to the thunder sheet . There are always intense orchestral interludes.
orchestra
The orchestral line-up includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes , two oboes , three clarinets , alto saxophone , two bassoons
- Brass : three horns , three trumpets , two trombones , tuba
- Percussion (three players)
- Strings : twelve violins 1, twelve violins 2, eight violas , six cellos , four double basses
- Elect. Video
- Incidental music : four musicians
Work history
The work was premiered on December 8, 2019 at the Vienna State Opera, directed by Polly Graham and under the musical direction of Matthias Pintscher . The stage formed from a few more props LED - panels , suggested the new spaces. During the performance, pictures and videos by Will Duke (* 1973) were recorded. In the program for the premiere, Olga Neuwirth wrote: “Orlando is a fictional musical biography”, and her goal is to create “a hybrid 'grand opera' as a fusion of music, fashion, literature, space and videos” […] to shake up this venerable opera house a little with different people from different genres. "
The most important singer roles in the premiere were Kate Lindsey as Orlando, rich in coloratura, Justin Vivian Bond as the voice of the uncertain gender, and countertenor Eric Jurenas as the guardian angel. Anna Clementi took over the speaking role of the narrator. For this production, the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera was supplemented by an electric guitar and two synthesizers , and from time to time instrumentalists play from the auditorium. The State Opera Choir and several children's choirs sang. Sounds were often used in such a way that they could not be located. The fashion label Comme des Garçons created the costumes and masks .
Her work, announced as “ opus summum ”, received mixed reviews.
In January 2020 it became known that the further use of the hymn Thank you for this good morning was prohibited by the community of heirs of the German church musician Martin Gotthard Schneider and the Gustav-Bosse-Verlag . They distanced themselves from the caricaturing use of the sacred song from 1961 in the piece. For the series of premieres in December 2019, the responsible publisher Ricordi had received a score with cleared rights, emphasized the directorate of the Vienna State Opera. Ricordi had now announced that the thank you song will be removed from the score for future performances.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b information on the work from Ricordi, accessed on December 18, 2019.
- ↑ Schedule details for the Vienna State Opera from December 8, 2019 , accessed on December 18, 2019.
- ↑ Bayerischer Rundfunk: Review - “Orlando” at the Vienna State Opera: Mercilessly well meant | BR classic. December 10, 2019, accessed December 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Markus Schramek: "Orlando" in the Vienna State Opera: The colorful journey into the Olga-Ich. December 10, 2019, accessed December 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Michael Stallknecht: Calendar verses in the opera. In: SZ.de. December 9, 2019, accessed December 17, 2019 .
- ^ Criticism in "Merker" , Vienna. (accessed April 25, 2020).
- ^ Further criticism in "Merker" , Vienna. (accessed April 25, 2020)
- ↑ Neuwirth Opera from now on without “Thank you for this good morning”. Retrieved January 8, 2020 .