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Torsten Rasch’s Die andere Frau Premiered at Semperoper Dresden

Feb. 15, 2022

Torsten Rasch's latest opera, Die andere Frau, was premiered on January 22 at the Semperoper Dresden. The unique, expressive make-up of Rasch’s music – his fluency, assurance on the largest scale, and his uncanny ability to spin a vivid and personal sound-world around the ghosts of others – makes him a natural composer for the stage.

Setting a libretto by writer Helmut Krausser that explores the biblical story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, this compelling work in ten scenes offers a gripping and thought-provoking exploration of love, hate, betrayal and loss. Michael Wendeberg conducted a cast including Markus Marquardt, Magdalena Anna Hofmann, and the Iranian vocalist Sussan Deyhim. Immo Karaman’s production placed the audience in the middle of the action: on the stage of the Semperoper itself, with the auditorium lit and with video projections by László Zsolt Bordos.

For more information about the opera and an interview with Rasch, click here. 


(Trailer - Torsten Rasch's Die andere Frau at Semperoper Dresden)

Die andere Frau was hailed in the press following the premiere:

“A rewarding piece of music theatre [that] aims at an eternal human drama… Peter Theiler promised works with social relevance when he was appointed in Dresden and Rasch has clearly delivered a masterwork to him… the result deserves as large an audience as possible! Rasch’s music is well worth listening to: sonorous orchestral parts, sometimes primeval sounding, get under your skin emotionally… The powerfully eloquent text by Krausser filters out the poetry from the biblical source and has met it with a grippingly harsh contemporary language… An advantage of Rasch’s tonal idiom is the high level of textural comprehensibility, even in the choral scenes… Under the direction of Wendeberg, the Staatskapelle produces excellent sound pictures with brute brilliance, all of which underlines the relevance and validity of the opera.”
  -- neue musikzeitung (Michael Ernst), January 24, 2022

“Gripping… the overall impression is impressive… Rasch and Krausser have not simply retold a legend, but also created a captivating family drama… an opulent score with powerful percussion effects and grounding brass sections.”

  -- MDR Kultur, January 25, 2022

“Rasch brings biblical legends in to the present day… a real event.”
  -- Leipziger Volkszeitung, January 24, 2022

“A fantastically varied work… The music comes from two worlds; ten scenes of sharp, piercing, pointed, moving, complexly layered music, sometimes reminiscent of Salome, sometimes reminiscent of much more ancient music. These scenes are interrupted and divided by an Iranian singer’s electronically accompanied lamentation for the destruction of the city of Ur… Hopefully this opera will find large audiences at other houses once times are better again.”
  -- Musik in Dresden (Martin Morgenstern), January 24, 2022

“The opera draws a maximally tense arc from the Old Testament to the present day…”
  -- Concerti (Christian Schmidt), January 25, 2022

To learn more about Torsten Rasch, visit: fabermusic.com.

Torsten Rasch
Die andere Frau (2019)
an opera in 10 scenes
Abram(BBar)/Sarai(S)/Hagar(M)/3 Angels(CT/T/B)/The Eyewitness(female vocalist)
3(2.afl, 3.picc).2(2.eh).2.bcl.tsax.bsax.2.cbsn-2-4.3.3.1–timp-3perc–hp-cel-str(12.10.8.6.4(2 with 5th string B)-pre-recorded electronics
100'

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