Senza sangue
Senza sangue (Without blood) an opera in one act by Péter Eötvös with a libretto by Mari Mezei. It is based on the second part of the 2002 novel of the same name by Alessandro Baricco and is intended to be performed jointly with Béla Bartók's one-act Bluebeard's Castle.[1] The concert première was given by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert on 1 May 2015 at the Kölner Philharmonie.[2] It was premièred in full on 15 May 2016 at the Festival d'Avignon.[2] It is his tenth opera.[3] Anne Sofie von Otter, who sang in the New York première with the New York Philharmonic, said: "The piece is not at all easy for the two singers... [It's] hard to find the pitch; you have to work it into the voice, unless of course you happen to have perfect pitch, which I don't."[4]
Senza sangue | |
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Opera by Péter Eötvös | |
![]() The composer | |
Translation | Without blood |
Librettist | Mari Mezei |
Based on | Senza sangue (2002) by Alessandro Baricco |
Premiere |
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 1 May 2015, Cologne[2] Conductor: Alan Gilbert |
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La Donna (Nina) | mezzo-soprano | Anne Sofie von Otter |
L'Uomo (Pedro) | lyric baritone | Russell Braun |
Synopsis
The opera is set in the time of a civil war in an unnamed country. A little girl called Nina experiences her family being killed in their home by fighters. Nina herself only survived because she was hiding. One of the murderers had traced her, but she was spared. The following years she spent in a kind of schizophrenic condition. During this time she gradually took revenge on all murderers except for her saviour. The opera itself is set many years later. Nina and Tito (her saviour) recall the terrible events of their childhood and reflect on the incomprehensibility of life.[1]
References
- "Eötvös' Senza Sangue: at last, a real partner for Bluebeard's Castle". Bachtrack. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
- Work details, Schott Music
- Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da (2015-04-24). "Peter Eotvos Prepares the Opera Senza Sangue". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
- Walls, Seth Colter (2015-05-08). "Senza Sangue and the New York Philharmonic: 'It's a very intense piece'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
External links
- "Vértelenül" [improper blood], by Anna Belinszky, 27 April 2015 (in Hungarian)