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Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers at Curtis Institute; Dohnányi Conducts Music from The Bassarids at the New York Philharmonic

Feb. 28, 2012

Henze's <em>Elegy for Young Lovers</em> at Curtis Institute; Dohnányi Conducts Music from <em>The Bassarids</em> at the New York Philharmonic

In a production perfectly aligned with the end of winter, acclaimed director Chas Rader-Shieber, designer David Zinn, and Artistic Director Mikael Eliasen bring Hans Werner Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers to the Curtis Opera Theatre for three performances opening March 14. The performances are produced in association with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Kimmel Center Presents.

Composed and premiered in 1961, Elegy for Young Lovers was commissioned by the Schwetzingen Festival for a performance in German translation at the Schlosstheater. A chamber opera in three acts, the work’s original English libretto is marvelously crafted by W.H Auden and Chester Kallman. Henze’s work combines a small orchestral force, charged with vital and purposeful writing, with a small cast of severe and complex characters. Elegy for Young Lovers is dedicated to the Austrian poet and writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

The New York Times writes on the opera:

Mr. Henze’s score is the product of an age when dissonance reigned supreme, yet the music is guided by an ear for beauty that suffuses the vocal lines with lyricism. Part of the allure comes from his finely wrought writing for chamber orchestra, in which solo instruments often combine to form lean contrapuntal textures.

The Curtis Opera Theatre’s production marks the work’s Philadelphia premiere and the first performance in the US in almost 20 years. The performances on March 14, 16, and 18 take place at the Kimmel Center’s new Perelman Theater in Philadelphia. 

Also this month, Christoph von Dohnányi returns to the New York Philharmonic for two programs that include performances of music from Hans Werner Henze’s monumental opera The Bassarids March 22-24. With a libretto again fashioned by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman based on Euripides’ The Bacchae, the work explores the timeless conflicts between human passions and rational, emotional control, here personified by the Gods Dionysus and Pentheus. The Bassarids premiered in Salzburg in August 1966, conducted by Dohnányi, who also led concert performances of the work with The Cleveland Orchestra in 1990. This will be the New York Philharmonic’s first performance of excerpts from The Bassarids.

Learn more on the life and work of Hans Werner Henze by visiting www.schott-music.com.

More on the Elegy production can be found at www.operaphila.org.

Details on Dohnányi’s performances can be found at www.nyphil.org.

Hans Werner Henze
The Bassarids (1964/1965, rev. 1992)
opera in one act 
libretto (En, Ger) by Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Kallman
based on the play The Bacchae by Euripides
for coloratura soprano, mezzo soprano, alto, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, bass, chorus and actors 
4(2.bfl,3.pic,4.afl,pic).2.2ca.4(3,4.asax,4.Ebcl).bcl(asax,tsax).4(4.cbsn)-6.4(4.btpt).3.2-timp.8perc-2hp.cel.2pno-str
on stage: 4hn.2gtr.2mand.3kuhgl.
120’

Adagio, Fuge und Mänadentanz from The Bassarids (2004)
for large orchestra
4(3.pic, 4.afl, pic)2.2ca.4(4.Ebcl)bcl.4 (4.cbsn)-6.4.btpt.3.2-timp.8perc-2hp.cel.2pno-str
20' 

Elegy for Young Lovers (1959/1961, rev. 1987)
opera in three acts
libretto (En, Ger, It) by Chester Kallman and W.H.Auden 
for soprano, coloratura soprano, alto, lyric tenor and bass
1(pic,afl,abfl).1(ca).1(bcl).asax.1-1.1.1.0-timp.6perc-cel.mand.gtr.hp.pno-str
150’

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