Shell Shock, A Requiem of War

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Opera dates
Title: Shell Shock,
A Requiem of War
Shape: Opera or “dance oratorio” in twelve songs
Original language: English
Music: Nicholas Lens
Libretto : Nick Cave
Premiere: October 24, 2014
Place of premiere: Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt
Playing time: approx. 1 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: First World War
people

Shell Shock, A Requiem of War is an opera or “dance oratorio ” in twelve songs (“Cantos”) by Nicholas Lens (music) with a libretto by Nick Cave . The work was premiered on October 24, 2014 at the Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt .

action

The text allows anonymous victims of the war to have their own say in the twelve chants, including soldiers, deserters, survivors, nurses and relatives. The texts contain neither dialogue nor dramaturgy. There are fifteen sections in total:

I. "Canto of the Colonial Soldier"

Colonial Soldier's Canto (Bass)

In a foreign country, the soldiers have to obey shouted orders that they do not understand.

II. "Canto of the Soldier"

Canto of the soldier (tenor)

The soldier is mortally afraid and dreams of strength and survival. He considers himself a god of war.

III. "Canto of the Nurse"

Canto the nurse (soprano)

The sister shows sympathy for a seriously injured soldier.

IV. "Canto of the Deserter Part 1"

Canto of the deserters I (countertenor)

A deserted soldier sings about shame. His father would have preferred if he had fallen. He himself hopes that the war will be outlawed. It is not the people that are hideous, but the war.

V. "Canto of the Deserter Part 2"

Canto of the Deserters II (choir)

After a brutal attack on civilians, more and more soldiers of the battalion desert.

VI. "Canto of the Deserter Part 3"

Canto of the Deserters III (bass)

There are different lethal penalties for deserters in different armies.

VII. "Canto of the Deserter Part 4"

Canto der Deserteure IV (boy soprano - tenor - countertenor)

A boy gave the wrong age to join the army. Now he realizes his mistake. They had to throw a grenade in a hospital.

VIII. "Canto of the Survivor Part 1"

Canto of the Survivor I (mezzo-soprano - bass)

A wife complains about how much her husband has changed after his return. He has difficulties finding his way back to everyday life and continues to think of himself as the god of war. He thinks his wife wishes he were dead.

IX. "Canto of the Angels Death"

Canto the Angel of Death (soprano, mezzo-soprano)

Lament for the many fallen.

X. "Canto of the Survivor Part 2"

Canto of the Survivor II (tenor - bass)

One soldier was the only one in his group to survive because he was the last to enter a house where a bomb exploded. In the hospital, he dreamed of his family. When he returned home two weeks later, he had problems in everyday life. He hopes for a better future for his daughter.

XI. "Canto of the Fallen"

Canto of the Fallen (female choir, mezzo-soprano - bass)

Lament of the many fallen men and grieving women. One soldier pleaded with death in black on the battlefield instead of the others to fetch him himself. However, Death always took other soldiers and replied: "I fetched you yesterday."

XII. "Canto of the Missing"

Canto of the Missing (countertenor)

A soldier drags his dying comrade away, is shot himself and falls into a mud hole. He will never be found.

XIII. "Canto of the Unknown Soldier"

Canto of the Unknown Soldier (tenor - all soloists)

A dead soldier washes up on a strange coast. His daughter waits in vain for his return.

XIV. "Canto of the Mother"

Canto of the mother (mezzo-soprano)

A desperate mother remembers her son's whole life. She curses God and the flag and demands her son back.

XV. "Canto of the Orphans"

Canto of the orphans (boy soprano, countertenor)

The soldiers themselves do not feel their death. The children, however, long for their parents.

layout

Different genre names such as opera or “dance oratorio ” are used for the work . The subtitle is " Requiem of War". The two authors pointed out that in their opinion it was neither an opera nor an oratorio.

Despite the theme, the music does without harsh sound effects apart from a single scene. The reviewer of the Opernwelt magazine found it “little illustrative, despite all the courtesy”. She reminded him "occasionally of Bartók , sometimes of Charles Ives , but consistently supports the piece". The subject of the post-traumatic stress disorder of the war tremors given by the opera title was mainly dealt with in the production. This is "coherent in itself", "always opens new spaces of association [...] full of fantasy" and is "extremely touching", especially in the final song of the orphan.

orchestra

The orchestral line-up includes the following instruments:

Work history

The work was commissioned by the Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt , where it was premiered 100 years ago as part of the global commemorations around the outbreak of the First World War . The composer is Nicholas Lens . He was born in Ypres in 1957 , a particularly hotly contested city during the First World War. The libretto is by the Australian poet and rock musician Nick Cave .

At the premiere on 24 October 2014 at the Brussels opera house La Monnaie / De Munt sang Claron McFadden (soprano), Sara Fulgoni (mezzo-soprano), Gerald Thompson (countertenor), Ed Lyon (tenor), Mark S. Doss (bass) and Gabriel Crozier, Gabriel Kuti and Theo Lally (boy soprano). Koen Kessels directed the choir and orchestra of the Brussels Opera House. Staging and choreography were by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui , stage and videos by Eugenio Szwarcer and the costumes by Khanh Le Thanh (costumes). A video recording was made available on Arte Concert on the Internet.

The production was played again in 2018 on the occasion of the centenary commemoration of the end of the war in the Paris Philharmonic , broadcast by Arte on television with a slight delay and then also made available on Arte Concert.

Recordings

  • 2014 - Koen Kessels (conductor), Orchester symphonique de la Monnaie, Chœurs de la Monnaie.
    Claron McFadden (soprano), Sara Fulgoni (mezzo-soprano), Gerald Thompson (countertenor), Ed Lyon (tenor), Mark S. Doss (bass), Gabriel Crozier, Gabriel Kuti and Theo Lally (boy soprano).
    Live recording of the world premiere production.
    Universal 4812473.
  • November 2, 2014 - Koen Kessels (conductor), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (staging and choreography), Eugenio Szwarcer (stage and videos), Khanh Le Thanh (costumes), Orchester symphonique de la Monnaie, Chœurs de la Monnaie.
    Claron McFadden (soprano), Sara Fulgoni (mezzo-soprano), Gerald Thompson (countertenor), Ed Lyon (tenor), Mark S. Doss (bass), Gabriel Crozier, Gabriel Kuti and Theo Lally (boy soprano).
    Live video of the world premiere production in Brussels.
    Video stream at Arte Concert .
  • November 10, 2018 - Bassem Akiki (conductor), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (staging and choreography), Eugenio Szwarcer (stage and video), Khanh Le Thanh (costumes), Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France , Choeur de l'Opéra de Silésie, Trinity Boys Choir, Eastman dance company.
    Laurence Servaes (soprano), Sara Fulgoni (mezzo-soprano), Magid El-Bushra (countertenor), Sébastien Droy (tenor), Mark S. Doss (bass).
    Live video from the Paris Philharmonic .
    TV broadcast on Arte .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Shell Shock, A Requiem of War in the ARD program, accessed on December 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c d Hartmut Regitz: Twelve songs about the war. In: Opera world . December 2014, p. 39.
  3. ↑ Information on the works (PDF) of the Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt, accessed on December 6, 2018.
  4. ^ Iwona Karpińska: Brussels / La Monnaie: Shell Shock by Nicholas Lens. World premiere of the opera. In: Online marker. October 27, 2014, accessed December 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Shell Shock. Work information on composer Nicholas Lens website, accessed December 7, 2018.
  6. ^ Shell shock. CD information in the Vlaamse catalogus.
  7. ^ "Shell Shock" based on a libretto by Nick Cave in the Brussels Opera La Monnaie at Arte Concert ( memento from April 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (video no longer available).