The Miracle of Heliane
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Opera in three acts.
Libretto by Hans Müller-Einigen after a mystery play by Hans Kaltneker.
Premiered on October 7, 1927 at the Stadttheater in Hamburg
French premiere.
Production of the Nederlandse Reisopera.
Infos
Strasbourg
Opéra
Entracte compris.
En langue allemande, surtitrage en français et en allemand.
Prologue
Une heure avant le spectacle. (Durée : 30 min.)
Un dramaturge vous propose une courte introduction avant chaque représentation.
Cast
Direction musicale Robert Houssart Mise en scène Jakob Peters-Messer Décors, lumières, vidéo Guido Petzold Costumes Tanja Liebermann Chorégraphie Nicole van den Berg Chœur de l’Opéra national du Rhin, Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg
Artists
Héliane Jennife Jennifer Holloway Le Souverain Josef Wagner L'Étranger Ric Furman La Messagère Kai Rüütel-Pajula Le Geôlier Damien Pass Le Juge aveugle Paul McNamara Le jeune Homme Massimo Frigato Les six Juges Thomas Chenhall, Glen Cunningham, Daniel Dropulja, Eduard Ferenczi Gurban, Michał Karski, Pierre Romainville L'Ange Nicole van den Berg
Presentation
In a cold and gloomy jail cell, a prisoner awaiting execution hears angelic voices singing in his mind: “Blessed are those who love. Those who have loved shall not die. And those who died for love shall be resurrected.” As far as the tyrannical Ruler is concerned, the young Stranger has committed the worst of crimes by bringing his subjects joy in a society forbidden to live in happiness. He is prepared, however, to spare the rebel his life if he can teach Heliane to love the Ruler. But the situation takes a dramatic turn when he discovers his wife unclothed with the Stranger, who is willing to risk everything to embrace the sudden, passionate love that has consumed her heart—even in the face of earthly punishment and divine judgement.
A child prodigy described as a “musical genius” by Gustav Mahler and often compared to Mozart during his teenage years, Korngold was the last of the Viennese Romantics. In1936, he fled Nazi Austria for California where his epic compositional style made a lasting impression on the Hollywood film industry, and continues to influence modern composers like John Williams. After putting on the French premiere of Korngold’s The Dead City in 2001, the Opéra National du Rhin gives the same treatment to his Miracle of Heliane, an operatic gem that hasn’t received the glory it deserves, its plot inspired by medieval mystery plays and Victorian literature. Robert Houssart conducts this enchanting and intoxicating score, staged by Jakob Peters-Messer in a dystopian and inhuman society.