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Christian Jost's Egmont Triumphs in Vienna

Apr. 01, 2020

Christian Jost's <em>Egmont</em> Triumphs in Vienna

Christian Jost's opera Egmont was given its world premiere performances at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on February 17, in a production directed by Keith Warner and conducted by Michael Boder. The new opera was commissioned by the theater in celebration of Beethoven’s 250th Anniversary. The German premiere of the opera is set to take place at Theater Bielefeld during the 2020/21 season.

Egmont is based on the play of the same name by Goethe, a work to which Beethoven famously wrote incidental music. The libretto for Jost’s Egmont was adapted from the play in collaboration with Christoph Klimke for a cast of six characters and addresses both topical issues and conflicts. In the original, Prince Egmont of Gaure is portrayed as an advocate for freedom, peace, and justice – themes that resonated strongly with Beethoven throughout his life. However, these ideas are sometimes approached from an altered perspective in Jost's opera, which explores how society may be manipulated, and what can happen when a system falls short of its own moral and ideological values.


(Photo credit: Monica Rittershaus)

The composer notes, "My opera reveals a different side of Beethoven using extracts from his famous letter ‘to the immortal beloved’. The ubiquitous six-voice chorus leads us into the interior of the figures and behind the masks of their social functions in a fragile, chiseled vocal texture."

Listen to Christian Jost's Heart Sutra (2012):

(Christian Jost/Heart Sutra/National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan Philharmonic/Christian Jost, conductor)

To learn more about Christian Jost, visit: schott-music.com


Christian Jost
Egmont (2018-2019)
Opera in 15 scenes
Libretto by Christoph Klimke, in collaboration with the composer
using texts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
2.2.2.2(2.cbn)-2.2.3.1-2perc-hp.pno-str
Graf Egmont, tenor - Herzog Alba, baritone - Clara, soprano - Margarete von Parma, alto - Ferdinand, Alba's Son, mezzo-soprano - Machiavell, baritone - Chorus of Six

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