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Kepler | |
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Opera by Philip Glass | |
Librettist | Martina Winkel |
Language |
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Based on | life of Johannes Kepler |
Premiere |
Kepler is an opera by Philip Glass set to a libretto in German and Latin by Martina Winkel. It premiered on 20 September 2009 at the Landestheater in the Austrian city of Linz with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Bruckner Orchestra. Its libretto is based on the life and work of Johannes Kepler, the 16th and 17th century mathematician and astronomer. The work was commissioned by the Linz Landestheater and Linz09 (a programme celebrating the city's designation as a European Capital of Culture). The opera was performed in the USA for the first time in May 2012 at the Spoleto Festival USA; it was conducted by John Kennedy and directed by Sam Helfrich, featuring an English translation by Saskia M. Wesnigk-Wood. [1]
This is the third opera by Glass to be inspired by a physicist, after Einstein on the Beach (1976) and Galileo Galilei (2002).
"Fragments from the life and ideas of the scientist Johannes Kepler are contrasted with segments from the story of creation and poems by Andreas Gryphius, which portray Europe during the Thirty Years War." [2]
Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion, and his books Astronomia nova, Harmonice Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae, influencing among others Isaac Newton, providing one of the foundations for his theory of universal gravitation. The variety and impact of his work made Kepler one of the founders and fathers of modern astronomy, the scientific method and natural science.
Philip Glass is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive phrases and shifting layers. Glass describes himself as a composer of "music with repetitive structures", which he has helped evolve stylistically.
Linz is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube 30 km (19 mi), south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it received the title of European Capital of Culture.
Harmonice Mundi (Harmonices mundi libri V) (Latin: The Harmony of the World, 1619) is a book by Johannes Kepler. In the work, written entirely in Latin, Kepler discusses harmony and congruence in geometrical forms and physical phenomena. The final section of the work relates his discovery of the so-called "third law of planetary motion".
The Johannes Kepler University Linz is a public institution of higher education in Austria. It is located in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It offers bachelor's, master's, diploma and doctoral degrees in business, engineering, law, science, social sciences and medicine.
The Voyage is an opera in three acts by the American composer Philip Glass. The English/Latin/Spanish libretto was written by David Henry Hwang.
The School of Law at Trinity College Dublin is the oldest established law school in Ireland. It teaches law to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as conducting legal research and holding conferences.
Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was a key figure in the scientific revolution.
The Bruckner Orchester Linz is an Austrian orchestra based in Linz. Named for Anton Bruckner, the orchestra is the concert orchestra for the state of Upper Austria, and also the opera orchestra at the Landestheater Linz. Consisting of 110 musicians, the orchestra participates in the Bruckner Festival, the Ars Electronica Festival and the Linzer Klangwolke.
Dennis Russell Davies is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic.
Alice in Wonderland is a 2007 operatic adaptation of the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll. It is the first opera of Korean composer Unsuk Chin, who co-wrote the English libretto with the Asian-American playwright David Henry Hwang.
Bernhard Lang is an Austrian composer, improviser and programmer of musical patches and applications. His work can be described as contemporary classical, with roots, however, in various genres such as 20th-century avant-garde, European classical music, jazz, free jazz, rock, punk, techno, EDM, electronica, electronic music, and computer-generated music. His works range from solo pieces and chamber music to large ensemble pieces and works for orchestra and musical theatre. Besides music for concert halls, Lang designs sound and music for theatre, dance, film and sound installations.
Die Harmonie der Welt is an opera in five acts by Paul Hindemith. The German libretto was by the composer.
Michael Obst is a German composer and pianist.
Ingo Mörth is an Austrian sociologist.
Alaine Rodin is an American operatic soprano who has sung leading roles both in the United States and internationally.
Die Hamletmaschine is an opera composed by Wolfgang Rihm to a German-language libretto based on Heiner Müller's 1977 play of the same name. The libretto, subtitled Musiktheater in 5 Teilen, was written by the composer. The opera was composed between 1983 and 1986 and premiered on 30 March 1987 at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.
Martin Dvořák was born in Brno in 1979. He received his professional dance education at the Dance Conservatory in Brno, from which he graduated in 1997. He advanced his education at the Anton Bruckner Privat University in Linz where he enrolled in the master's degree program in Contemporary Dance Movement Research. As a dancer, Dvořák is versatile in various dance styles. He collaborated on a number of projects with the following companies:
Orphée is a chamber opera in two acts and 18 scenes, for ensemble and soloists, composed in 1991 by Philip Glass, to a libretto by the composer, based on the scenario of the eponymous film (1950) by Jean Cocteau. Commissioned by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, this is the first part of a trilogy in honour of the French poet. The world premiere of the work took place on 14 May 1993 under the direction of Martin Goldray and the European premiere in London on 27 May 2005 in the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio Theatre.