Das verratene Meer explained

Genre:Opera
Composer:Hans Werner Henze
Translated Name:The Betrayed Sea
Librettist:Hans-Ulrich Treichel
Premiere Location:Deutsche Oper Berlin

Das verratene Meer (The Betrayed Sea) is an opera in two parts and 14 scenes, with music by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel, after Yukio Mishima's novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (Japanese: 午後の曳航|translit=Gogo no eiko). Composed between 1986 and 1989, it was Henze's ninth opera, his third that he wrote for the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 5 May 1990, when it was conducted by Markus Stenz and produced by Götz Friedrich. The US premiere was at San Francisco Opera on 8 November 1991.[1]

The opera was revised by the composer. The second version, called the Japanese version, was presented in a concert performance on June 19, 2004 at the Suntory Hall of Tokyo. It was also the national premiere of this opera, it was conducted by Kazuyoshi Akiyama.[2] [3] This version, revised by conductor Gerd Albrecht, was then presented at the Salzburg Festival of 2006 in a concert version. For the first time, the opera was performed in Japanese language and with an all-Japanese cast. It was dedicated to the 80th birthday of the composer.[4]

The Viennese version, presented in December 2020 at the Vienna State Opera, is based on the Japanese version but includes several parts of the original version, mainly orchestra interludes. It stems from conductor Simone Young.[5]

Roles

!Role!Voice type!Premiere cast, 5 May 1990
Conductor: Markus Stenz
Fusako Kuroda, a 33-year old widowsopranoStephanie Sundine/Beverly Morgan
Noboru, her son aged 13, number 3 in the gangtenorClemens Bieber
Ryuji Tsukazaki, merchant navy officerbaritoneAndreas Schmidt
Ship's matebass-baritone
Gang member number 1baritoneMartin Gantner
Gang member number 2countertenor
Gang member number 4baritone
Gang member number 5bass-baritone

Synopsis

Part I: Summer

Part II: Winter

Recordings

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Henze's Setting of Mishima's Sailor. The New York Times. John Rockwell. John Rockwell. 1984-04-30. 2007-09-21.
  2. Schott: Das verratene Meer, retrieved on 14 October 2023
  3. Wiener Staatsoper: EINFÜHRUNG „DAS VERRATENE MEER“, introduction to the opera, retrieved on 14 October 2023
  4. [Der Standard]
  5. bachwrack: Ein Wiener Psychothriller: Hans Werner Henzes Das verratene Meer an der Staatsoper, 15 Dezember 2020
  6. https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9247146--henze-das-verratene-meer "Henze: Das Verratene Meer"
  7. Announcing the 2022 Limelight Recordings of the Year. Clive Paget. Limelight. 22 August 2022.