FULL UN RE IN ASCOLTO (Berio) Geneva 2002 Armand Arapian, Pierre Lefebvre, Georg Nigl, Ziya Azazi
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Un re in ascolto
- Composer: Berio Luciano
- Libretto: Luciano Berio, based on a short story from Italo Calvino 's collection Sotto il sole jaguaro, incorporates excerpts from Friedrich Einsiedel's 1778 libretto (reworked by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter between 1790 and 1791) for an opera based on Shakespeare 's The Tempest . This became Die Geisterinsel in 1798, to music written by Friedrich Fleischmann. Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Grand Theatre de Geneve, Switzerland
- Recorded: January 2002
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Armand Arapian, Pierre Lefebvre, Georg Nigl, Ziya Azazi, Donna Ellen, Sophie Fournier, Mary Saint-Palais, Nana Javakhidze, Ian Honeyman, Jean-Philippe Marliére, Josep Miguel Ribat
- Conductor: Patrick Davin
- Orchestra: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
- Chorus: Choeurs du Grand Theatre de Geneve
- Chorus Master: Ching-Lien Wu
- Choreographer: Anne-Marie Gros
- Stage Director: Philippe Arlaud
- Costume Designer: Andrea Uhmann
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Philippe Arlaud
- Date Published: 2024
- Format: Broadcast
- Quality Video: 3 Audio:3
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Opera by Luciano Berio , also author of the Italian libretto . It is based on a short story from Italo Calvino ‘s collection Sotto il sole jaguaro , but incorporates excerpts from Friedrich Einsiedel’s 1778 libretto (reworked by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter between 1790 and 1791) for an opera based on Shakespeare ‘s The Tempest . This became Die Geisterinsel in 1798, to music written by Friedrich Fleischmann. Another source, also, was WH Auden’s The Sea and the Mirror: A Commentary on Shakespeare ‘s The Tempest .
Berio himself described the opera as a musical action rather than an opera. It is divided into 19 sections grouped into two parts. The work was written from 1981 to 1983 and received its premiere at the Kleines Festspielhaus in Salzburg on 7 August 1984, directed by Lorin Maazel , with direction by Götz Friedrich and set design by Günther Schneider-Siemssen. The London premiere took place on 9 February 1989 at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden .
Plot
The work does not have a conventional linear narrative.
A king of a mythical realm lives detached from his kingdom where his only contact with the kingdom is through overheard conversations. A traveling theater company arrives to put on a performance of The Tempest . As the king overhears the hearings and trials, he begins to imagine himself as Prospero from the play and begins to equate these with events in his kingdom, confusing the two worlds. Ultimately, he suffers a psychological collapse, the rehearsed production of The Tempest never happens, and the theater company leaves. The king sees a vision of his future as he heads towards his death.
Quoted from Wikipedia