Lear - Opera - Season 19/20 Programming - Opéra national de Paris

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Lear

Palais Garnier - from 21 November to 07 December 2019

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Lear

Opera Aribert Reimann

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Palais Garnier - from 21 November to 07 December 2019

2h50 with 1 interval

Surtitle : French / English

Opening night : 21 November 2019

About

In few words:

Numerous composers have sought to come to grips with this monument of Shakespearian tragedy. Keen to perform the title role of King Lear, the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau turned to Aribert Reimann who initially declined the proposition. However, in 1975, when Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper approached him, he finally agreed to take up the challenge of this impossible opera. From the sombre orchestral timbres and the highly nuanced vocal lines emerge all the tortuous dissimulations and violence of human relationships. No illusions remain, however, in Calixto Bieito’s cathartic production in which each of the characters is stripped bare: collective hysteria gives way to an old man’s solitude. Destroyed, like a new-born babe, he weeps to find “that we are come to this great stage of fools.”

Opening
First part 80 mn
Intermission 30 mn
Second part 60 mn
End

Lear

Opera in two parts (1978)

After William Shakespeare, King Lear
In German

Music :

Aribert Reimann

Libretto :

Claus H. Henneberg

Conductor :

Fabio Luisi

Director :

Calixto Bieito

Set design :

Rebecca Ringst

Costume design :

Ingo Krügler

Video :

Sarah Derendinger

Lighting design :

Franck Evin

Dramaturgy :

Bettina Auer

Chorus master :

Alessandro Di Stefano
Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris
König Lear :

Bo Skovhus

König von Frankreich :

Gidon Saks

Herzog von Albany :

Derek Welton

Herzog von Cornwall :

Michael Colvin

Graf von Kent :

Kor-Jan Dusseljee

Graf von Gloster :

Lauri Vasar

Edgar :

Andrew Watts

Edmund :

Andreas Conrad

Goneril :

Evelyn Herlitzius

Regan :

Erika Sunnegardh

Cordelia :

Annette Dasch

Narr :

Ernst Alisch

Bedienter :

Luca Sannai

Ritter :

Lucas Prisor

Performances

Available in audiodescription

Advantages

Full

Available in audiodescription

Advantages

Full

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Gallery

1/7 :

Lear (season 15/16)

2/7 :

Lear (season 15/16)

3/7 :

Lear (season 15/16)

4/7 :

Lear (season 15/16)

5/7 :

6/7 :

7/7 :

Lear by A. Reimann - Trailer

Audio clips

Podcast | Lear - Aribert Reimann

Media coverage

Au sommet, l’incroyable performance de Bo Skovhus dans le rôle du roi Lear. L’athlétique baryton danois campe un Titan déchu, dont on ne sait ce qu’il faut admirer le plus de l’incarnation scénique ou vocale.
Le Monde, 27 mai 2016, Marie-Aude Roux
L’œuvre contemporaine d'Aribert Reimann est renversante tant musicalement que scéniquement.
Le Figaro, 26 mai 2016, Christian Merlin
L’opéra d’Aribert Reimann offre un spectacle d’une grande intensité
Le Monde, 27 mai 2016, Marie-Aude Roux

About the work

Bringing scandal in his wake

By Aleksi Barrière
The man who tamed a king

By Aribert Reimann, Simon Hatab and Emmanuelle Josse

Beyond the experience

Useful information

The Paris Opera