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| PHOTOS PRODUCTION 1998 | INDEX |
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Irmin Schmidt, founder of the legendary group CAN, has written an opera: GORMENGHAST Commissioned by : Wuppertaler Bühnen, the work was performed in the English language and premiered at the Operahouse Wuppertal on 15. November 1998.
Inspired by Mervyn Peake's masterpiece of gothic fantasy, English novelist Duncan Fallowell wrote the libretto in St. Petersburg, combining romance, comedy and futurism into an adventure of epic strangeness peopled by unforgettable characters.
The opera is in 3 acts and centres on the rise and fall of Steerpike, a courageous, clever and charming kitchen-boy who becomes by degrees the murderous tyrant of Gormenghast Castle and its domain. In the process he bewitches and destroys Fuchsia the daughter of Gormenghast's opium-addicted ruler. Finally he meets his own dramatic death. The other inhabitants of this vivid decaying realm are drawn into the terrible tale.
Irmin Schmidt, who studied under Ligeti and Stockhausen, not only created in CAN one of the most influential of avant garde groups, but is also a classical conductor and pianist and has composed music for over 70 film productions. His work transforms elements of the popular, ethnic and classical into a wholly original musical language.
In both libretto and music, this integration of high culture and popular culture is not like anything which has gone before: it is achieved with perfect naturalness, carrying the art of opera forward into a new phase. The result is both accessible and magically unexpected : GORMENGHAST is a major addition to the world of musical theatre.
Worldwide release on SPOON/ MUTE January 30th, 2000:
Spoon CD 44 - Extracts from the Fantasy Opera GORMENGHAST |
| Music and scenario: | Irmin Schmidt |
| Libretto: |
Duncan Fallowell
inspired by Mervyn Peake's trilogy |
| Sound engineer and programmer: | Jono Podmore |
| produced by: | Irmin Schmidt und Jono Podmore |
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Mastered by Miles Showell at Metropolis, London With the singers of the World Premiere (Wuppertal Operahouse Schillertheater NRW), recorded live in performance |
| Musical Director : | Simon Rekers |
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and the Brandenburger Symphoniker conducted by Irmin Schmidt
A phantasmagorical soundworld of electronics, symphony orchestra and pounding beats
which envelopes singers who effortlessly stretch from Pop to Classical virtuosity. |
"The sheer range of "sensurround" sound is bewildering, loud, sensuous, always intriguing, especially the rustles of exotic percussion emerging from around the auditorium. If Richard Strauss had written rock music, this is what it would have sounded like - gloriously, unashamedly lush." Rodney Milnes, The Times, 24.11.1998 |
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| 1. | OVERTURE | 00:54 | |
| 2. | GETRUDE'S ARIA: Touch | Danielle Grima | 09:23 |
| 3. | SWELTER'S ARIA: Be A Happy Carnivore! | Florian Simson | 06:15 |
| 4. | STEERPIKE'S SONG: Oxygen | Stefan Vinzberg | 07:01 |
| 5. | FUCHSIA'S SONG: Rainbow Party | Claudia Visca, | 06:52 |
| 6. | ENSEMBLE: Joy | Claudia Visca, Elise Kaufman, Sabine Schnitzer, Stefan Vinzberg, Reiner Beinghaus | 03:23 |
| 7. | THE TWINS' DUET: Triumph | Elise Kaufman, Sabine Schnitzer | 03:07 |
| 8. | BARQUENTINE'S ARIA: Possess Me, Chaos! | Ulrich Wewelsiep | 02:14 |
| 9. | SEPULCHRAVE'S ARIA: Behold The Night! | Mark Morouse | 09:44 |
| 10. | DUET FUCHSIA & STEERPIKE: The Birds Are Leaving For The South | Claudia Visca, Stefan Vinzberg | 06:45 |
| 11. | FUCHSIA'S ARIA: Fall, Friendly Rain | Claudia Visca | 05:48 |
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| Musical Director: | Simon Rekers |
| Director: | Michael Sturminger |
| Stage-design & costume: | Renate Martin and AndreasDonhauser |
| Choreography: | Bennie Voorhaar |
| Dramaturgy: | Martin Griesemer |
| Live sound engineer: | Thomas Dickmeis |
| Lord Sepulchrave: | the Earl of Groan (lyric baritone)
Mark Morouse |
| Lady Gertrude: | the Countess of Groan (dramatic mezzo soprano)
Danielle Grima |
| Fuchsia: | the daughter (soprano)
Claudia Visca |
| Titus: | the son (dancer, pantomine)
Jakob Fedler / Thomas Hartung |
| The Twins:
Cora:
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sisters of the Earl of Groan (coloratura sopranos)
Elise Kaufman
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| Barquentine: | the Master of Rituals (tenor, rock singer)
Ulrich Wewelsiep |
| Steerpike: | the kitchen boy (tenor, rock singer)
Stefan Vinzberg |
| Dr. Prunesquallor: | the court physician (countertenor)
Reiner Beinghaus |
| Flay: | the Earl's manservant (actor)
Markus Dietz |
| Swelter: | the kitchen master (lyric tenor)
Markus Heinrich / Florian Simson |
| Nanny Slagg: | the children's nurse (actress)
Walter Theil |
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| Brandenburger Symphoniker | |
| Jaki Liebezeit | - percussion |
| Michael Karoli | - guitar |
| Matthias Lorenz | - cello |
| Jessica Wynne | - voice |
| Boys choir Hampstead School | - London |
| Directed by: | Diedre Broadbent |
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IRMIN SCHMIDT & JONO PODMORE (KUMO) CAN PERFORM AS A CLASSICAL RECITAL WITH THE SINGERS FROM THE FANTASY OPERA GORMENGHAST |
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