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1

Aribert Reimann, Lear

I. Wir Haben Euch Hierher Befohlen

I. Ich Kenne Deine Schuchternheit

I. Die Entartete Schwester

I. Das Alter Hat Den Vater Sehr Verandert

I. Mein Bruder Edgar

I. Ist Nicht Das Alter Lustig

I. Sauft, Frebt, Reibt Witze!

I. So Geht Es Nun

I. Grasmucke

I. Was Steht Ihr Da Und Glotz?

I. Zwischenspiel II Interlude II

I. Blast, Winde, Sprengt Die Backen!

I. Zwischenspiel III Interlude III

I. Habe Ich Mein Leben Retten Konnen

II. Hier Ist Der Platz

II. Doch Ratten Und Mause

II. Sie Sollen Regan Den Leib Aufschneiden

II. Edmund, Wir Fingen Deinen Vater Ein

II. Es Fliebt Viel Blut

II. Welt, Welt, O Welt! Wer Kann Sagen: Ich Bin Der Elendeste?

II. Zwischenspiel IV Interlude IV

II. Wann Kommen Wir Zum Gipfel Dieser Hohe?

II. Zwischenspiel V Interlude V

II. Mein Lieber Vater!

II. Der Konig Und Cordelia Gefangen

II. Du Hast Die Schlacht Gewonnen

II. Weint!

Reimann's Lear

Karoline Gruber (stage director), Simone Young (conductor) - With Bo Skovhus (King Lear), Katja Pieweck (Goneril), Hellen Kwon (Regan), Siobhan Stagg (Cordelia)...

Opera
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Cast

Karoline Gruber — Stage director

Roy Spahn — Set designer

Mechthild Seipel — Costume designer

Hans Toelstede — Lighting designer

Kerstin Schüssler-Bach — Dramaturgy

Anja Krietsch — Assistant stage director

Bo Skovhus — King Lear

Program notes

In 1961, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau asked Benjamin Britten to compose an opera version of Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear. Unfortunately, the English composer refused. Although the complexities of the Bard’s play had put Britten off—much like Berlioz, Verdi, and Debussy previously—the legendary baritone saw his wish come true thanks to the German composer Aribert Reimann and librettist Claus H. Henneberg. Premiered in 1978 in Munich, their adaptation tightens the plot and concentrates on its essential elements, notably retaining the relentless pace of the play. The expressive range of the score is a credit to the composer, remarkable in his unique musical depiction of characters and an orchestral architecture to challenge even his predecessors Schoenberg and Berg.

In this impressive production by Karoline Gruber at the Staatsoper Hamburg, the plot is transported to the modern business world. The cursed king, masterfully portrayed by Danish baritone Bo Skovhus, is no longer a victim of his senility, but of his oversized ego. Maestro Simone Young conducts the resident orchestra, joined by a fantastic cast revolving around the protagonist and his three daughters, played by the superb Katja Pieweck, Hellen Kwon, and Siobhan Stagg.

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