Munich Biennale Explained

The Munich Biennale (German: '''Münchener Biennale''') is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater, literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze and is held in even-numbered years over 2–3 weeks in the late spring. The festival concentrates on world premieres of theater-related contemporary music, with a particular focus on commissioning first operas from young composers.[1] [2]

History

Hans Werner Henze's artistic directorship (1988–1996)

Henze, himself a prolific composer of operas, described the genesis of the festival like this:

Henze curated the first four festivals, from 1988 to 1994, and established the general format of most of the festivals that followed.[3] Short runs of the premiered operas are preceded by talks and additional concerts from the featured composers, to introduce the audiences to their ideas and music.[4] See also Klangspuren.

Peter Ruzicka's artistic directorship (1996–2014)

Peter Ruzicka took over as artistic director ("one of the most influential administrative/ artistic positions in the European music-theatre scene")[5] in 1996, with that year's biennale being jointly curated by Henze. Ruzicka broadened the scope of the works presented, with more emphasis on works using multimedia, and moving away from the text-based sources that characterised the period curated by Henze.[6]

Manos Tsangaris and Daniel Ott's artistic directorship (2016–2024)

The composers Manos Tsangaris and Daniel Ott took over as joint artistic directors of the Biennale, starting in 2016.[7] Their approach to curation further expanded the festival's remit beyond opera, to reflect an 'expanded composition term' and the 'open field' of new music theatre which spans '[f]rom new opera to scenic installation, from minimalized artistic interventions in municipal spaces to composed performance'.[8]

Katrin Beck and Manuela Kerer's artistic directorship (2026–)

Katrin Beck and Manuela Kerer took over as joint artistic directors of the Biennale, starting in 2026.[9]

Operas given at the Munich Biennale

World premieres are marked as WP

Premiereclass=unsortableComposerTitleclass=unsortableLibretto and source
29 May 1988WPDetlev GlanertLeyla und MedjnunAras Ören and Peter Schneider, after the epic poem by Nizami
3 Jun 1988WPGerd KührStallerhofFranz Xaver Kroetz, after his own play
4 Jun 1988WPBremer Freiheit , after the play by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
17 Jun 1988WPMark-Anthony TurnageGreekthe composer and Jonathan Moore, after the play by Steven Berkoff
26 Apr 1990WPAndrás HamarySeid stillJosé Vera Morales, after the play Tóték by István Örkény
28 Apr 1990WPWolfgang von SchweinitzPatmos, after the Apocalypse of St John in Martin Luther's translation
6 May 1990WPHans-Jürgen von Bose63: Dream Palacethe composer, after the novella by James Purdy
14 May 1990WPMichèle ReverdyLe PrécepteurHans-Ulrich Treichel, after the play Der Hofmeister by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz
7 May 1992[10] Violeta DinescuEréndiraMonika Rothmaier, after the story The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother by Gabriel García Márquez
29 Apr 1992WPJorge LidermanAntigona Furiosathe composer, after the drama by Griselda Gambaro
27 May 1992[11] Giorgio BattistelliTeoremathe composer, loosely after the film by Pier Paolo Pasolini
16 May 1992WPGerhard StäblerSünde.Fall.Beil, after the drama Catherine Howard by Alexandre Dumas père
22 May 1992[12] Param VirBroken StringsDavid Rudkin, after the Buddhist story Guttil Jatak
22 May 1992Param VirSnatched by the GodsWilliam Radice, after the poem Debatar Gras by Rabindranath Tagore
1 May 1994WPTania LeónScourge of Hyacinthsthe composer, after the radio play by Wole Soyinka
19 May 1994WPBenedict MasonPlaying AwayHoward Brenton
4 Dec 1996WPMichael ObstSolaristhe composer, after the novel by Stanislaw Lem
9 Dec 1996WPHanna KulentyThe Mother of Black-Winged DreamsPaul Goodwin
14 Apr 1997WPRoderick WatkinsThe Juniper TreePatricia Debney, after the folk tale by the Brothers Grimm
19 Apr 1998WPToshio HosokawaVision of LearTadashi Suzuki, after his stage play The Tale of Lear
21 Apr 1998WPSandeep BhagwatiRamanujanthe composer, after the life of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920)
25 Apr 1998WPJan Müller-WielandGerman: Komödie ohne Titelthe composer, after the drama Spanish; Castilian: [[Comedia sin título]] by Federico García Lorca
19 Apr 1999WPMauricio SoteloDe Amore
10 May 2000WPChaya CzernowinPnima ... ins Innere
27 Apr 2002WPAndré WernerMarlowe: Der Jude von Maltathe composer, after the play The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe
3 May 2002WPManfred StahnkeOrpheus KristallSimone Homem de Mello
12 May 2004WPJohannes Maria StaudBereniceDurs Grünbein, after Edgar Allan Poe
25 May 2004WPBrian FerneyhoughShadowtimeCharles Bernstein
9 May 2006WPAureliano CattaneoLa Philosophie dans le labyrintheEdoardo Sanguineti, after the Greek myth of the Minotaur
18 May 2006WPJosé María Sánchez-VerdúGRAMMAthe composer
17 Apr 2008WPEnno PoppeArbeit Nahrung WohnungMarcel Beyer, loosely after the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
18 Apr 2008WPKlaus LangDie Architektur des Regensafter the Noh play Shiga by Zeami (c1363–c1443)
23 Apr 2008WPCarola Bauckholthellhörig(none)
30 Apr 2008WPJens JoneleitPiero – Ende der NachtMichael Herrschel, loosely after the novel Die Rote by Alfred Andersch
27 Apr 2010WPPhilipp MaintzMaldororThomas Fiedler, after Les Chants de Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont
28 Apr 2010WPMárton IllésDie weiße Fürstinafter the first draft of the dramatic poem by Rainer Maria Rilke
5 May 2010WPKlaus SchedlTilt[13] Roland Quitt, after the diary of Sir Walter Raleigh
5 May 2010WPTato TabordaDer Einsturz des HimmelsRoland Quitt, after the book La Chute du Ciel by Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert
5 May 2010WPLudger Brummer (web)In ErwartungPeter Weibel
9 May 2010WPLin WangDie Quellethe composer and Can Xue, after a story "the Double Life" by Can Xue
3 May 2012WPSarah NemtsovL'Absencethe composer, after Livre des Questions by Edmond Jabès
5 May 2012WPEunyoung Esther Kim (web)Mama DolorosaYona Kim
16 May 2012WPArnulf HerrmannWasserNico Bleutge (lyrics)
7 May 2014WP[14] Marko NikodijevićVivier, after the life and death of Claude Vivier
8 May 2014WPSamy Moussa (web)VastationToby Litt
11 May 2014Claude VivierKopernikusopéra-rituel de mort, libretto by the composer
17 May 2014WPDieter SchnebelUtopien
22 May 2014WPHéctor ParraDas geopferte LebenMarie NDiaye

Significance

The Munich Biennale has provided first or early commissions for stage works from many composers now established as opera composers, such as Mark-Anthony Turnage, Detlev Glanert, Gerd Kühr, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Param Vir, Toshio Hosokawa and Violeta Dinescu.

The strongly international scope of the festival has meant that it has been able to offer opportunities missing at a national level.[15]

References

NotesSources

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.evs-musikstiftung.ch/en/grants-in-aid/grants-in-aid-archive/2010/festivals/ Munich Biennale Concert Series: Biennale plus
  2. Book: Hans Werner Henze: Komponist der Gegenwart . 117. 9783894875367 . Kerstan . Michael . Wolken . Clemens . 2006 .
  3. Official website, archive notes to first biennale, 1988
  4. Official website, Klangspuren (discussion concerts) archive
  5. Salzman, Desi, p. 164
  6. Official website, archive notes to fifth biennale, 1996
  7. Web site: The Munich Biennale for Music Theatre as a Form of Artistic Research – DARE conferences.
  8. Web site: Press – Münchener Biennale.
  9. Web site: Press – BR Klassik. 2024-08-08.
  10. Dinescu's Eréndira was a co-commission with the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where it had its world premiere on 18 March 1992
  11. Battistelli's Teorema was a co-commission with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where it had its world premiere in the Teatro Comunale, on 10 May 1992
  12. Vir's operas Broken Strings and Snatched by the Gods were a co-commission with De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, where they had their world premieres on 11 May 1992
  13. Tilt, Der Einsturz des Himmels and In Erwartung were presented in a triple bill entitled Amazonas
  14. http://www.muenchener-biennale.de Advance information for the 2014 edition
  15. Salzman, Desi; p. 222: ".. with one or two notable exceptions, the lively London theatre and music scene has not developed a strong creative music-theatre component. The result is that the Munich Biennale and the film industry have sometimes been better patrons for new British opera and music theatre than local musical institutions".