| Judith | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Siegfried Matthus | |
 Matthus in 1990 | |
| Librettist | Siegfried Matthus |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Friedrich Hebbel: Judith Old Testament |
| Premiere | |
Judith is an opera in two acts by Siegfried Matthus with a libretto by the composer based on Friedrich Hebbel's Judith and texts from the Old Testament. The premiere was on 28 September 1985 at the Komische Oper Berlin, directed by Harry Kupfer. It was recorded in a studio production.
The composer Siegfried Matthus was pointed to Friedrich Hebbel's Judith , a tragedy written in 1840, by stage director Harry Kupfer. Matthus wrote the libretto, also using some texts from the Old Testament, [1] such as Psalm 115, Psalm 135, Psalm 72, Psalm 104 and verses from the Song of Songs. Hebbel's tragedy is based on the Book of Judith. [1] At the same time Matthus composed Holofernes-Porträt for baritone and orchestra, which was premiered in 1981 during the opening week of the new Gewandhaus, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and conductor Kurt Masur. Matthus transferred parts of the composition to his opera, [2] which he composed from 1980 to 1984. [3] : 350
Judith was planned for the opening of the restored Semperoper in Dresden. [3] As Kupfer worked in Berlin from 1981, the opera was premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin on 28 September 1985, staged by Kupfer [3] : 358 and conducted by Rolf Reuter, with Eva-Maria Bundschuh in the title role and Werner Haseleu as Holofernes. The production was a success [2] and was recorded for the television of the German Democratic Republic and for records. [3] : 358
Judith was published by Breitkopf & Härtel, with a translation to English by B. Jacobson. [1]
The first performance was recorded in 1986, conducted by Rolf Reuter and staged by Kupfer, with the chorus and orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, as a studio production in collaboration with the Rundfunk der DDR. [1] [3] [4]
The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals.
Christian Friedrich Hebbel was a German poet and dramatist.
Siegfried Matthus was a German composer, conductor, and festival founder and manager. Some of his operas, such as Judith, were premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin in East Berlin. In 1991, he founded the chamber opera festival Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg and directed it until 2018. In 2005, he composed a Te Deum for the reopening of the Dresden Frauenkirche. Matthus is considered one of Germany's most often performed contemporary composers.
Harry Alfred Robert Kupfer was a German opera director and academic. A long-time director at the Komische Oper Berlin, he worked at major opera houses and at festivals internationally. Trained by Walter Felsenstein, he worked in the tradition of realistic directing. At the Bayreuth Festival, he staged Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer in 1978 and Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1988. At the Salzburg Festival, he directed the premiere of Penderecki's Die schwarze Maske in 1986 and Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in 2014.
Ruth Berghaus was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director.
Walter Felsenstein was an Austrian theater and opera director.
Udo Zimmermann was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He directed a contemporary music series for the Bayerischer Rundfunk and a European centre of the arts in Hellerau. His operas, especially Weiße Rose, on a topic he set to music twice, have been performed internationally, and recorded.
Weiße Rose is a chamber opera in one act by Udo Zimmermann. The opera tells the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, a brother and sister in their early twenties, who were guillotined by the Nazis in 1943 for leading Die Weiße Rose, a non-violent resistance group. The opera premiered at the Dresden Conservatory on 17 June 1967 with a German libretto by the composer's brother, Ingo Zimmermann, a well known journalist and writer in Germany. The opera was received fairly well. Zimmermann revised it the following year for a professional production in Schwerin.
Psalm 115 is the 115th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory". It is part of the Egyptian Hallel sequence in the fifth division of the Book of Psalms.
Judith is a play written in 1840 by the German poet and dramatist Friedrich Hebbel.
Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin is a fairy-tale opera in three acts by Udo Zimmermann with a libretto which he wrote with Eberhard Schmidt based on the eponymous fairy tale by Peter Hacks. It was first performed on 30 December 1976 at the Semperoper, staged by Harry Kupfer.
Werner Enders was a German operatic tenor and member of the Komische Oper Berlin.
Die wundersame Schustersfrau is an opera in two acts by Udo Zimmermann, with a libretto which he wrote with Eberhard Schmidt based on the 1930 Spanish play La zapatera prodigiosa, a farsa violenta by Federico García Lorca and translated by Enrique Beck. The opera was first performed on 25 April 1982 at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, staged by Alfred Kirchner.
Eva-Maria Bundschuh is a German operatic soprano who began her career as a contralto. She received international when she collaborated with Harry Kupfer at the Komische Oper Berlin.
Werner Haseleu was a German operatic bass-baritone and academic voice teacher. He was a long-term member of the Staatsoper Dresden and the Komische Oper Berlin, often with director Harry Kupfer at both houses. He was known for leading roles in world premieres and contemporary opera.
Rolf Reuter was a German conductor.
Horst Seeger, pseudonyme Horst Schell, was a German musicologist, music critic, dramaturg, librettist and opera director.
Bettina is a chamber opera with music by Friedrich Schenker to a libretto by Karl Mickel. The topic is the writer Bettina von Arnim and her relationship with Karoline von Günderrode. The work is described as an Opera for one actress (mezzo-soprano), children's choir, tape and ensemble. Written in 1982, it was premiered at the Theater im Palast in Berlin in 1987, and was published by Breitkopf & Härtel.
Uta Priew is a German operatic mezzo-soprano.
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. She was a long-time lead soloist of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in East Berlin. She took part in world premieres such as Noch einen Löffel Gift, Liebling? by Siegfried Matthus and Heinrich Sutermeister's Le Roi Bérenger. Even before the fall of the Berlin Wall, she appeared internationally, including the Vienna State Opera in her signature role, the tile role of Der Rosenkavalier, and at Opéra de Nancy in Schönberg's Erwartung.
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