Scene 1In an underground grotto in the realm of Keikobad, the Dyers Wife, who has become separated from her husband, tries to still the voices of the Unborn Children, crying that she has never ceased to love Barak. The Emperor was sung by British tenor David Butt Philip whose voice is very beautiful indeed. $10 per lecture. It is a huge orchestra playing big music about what, one is not sure. Magic created her. It was a sonic feast Strauss had worked on for years. Due to updated Covid-19 restrictions, masks are required. Roy Rallo directs the production, which also features the work of San Francisco Opera Lighting Director Justin A. Partier, as revival lighting designer. Die Frau ohne Schatten in San Francisco - Opera Today Explore Die Frau ohne Schatten in a 90-minute presentation by Simon Williams. Famed Swedish soprano Nina Stemme was the dyers wife whose shadow was not stolen after all (see lead photo). They undertake a perilous journey from the underworld back to the world of the living. The cast will be rounded out byStefan Egerstrom, Zhengyi Bai, Wayne Tigges, Philip Skinner, Javier Arrey, Kidon Choi, Jongwon Han, Elisa Sunshine, Arianna Rodriguez, Mikayla Sager, Olivia Smith, Gabrielle Beteag, Nikola Printz and Victor Cardamone. The Financial Times recently observed of Butt Philip: his singing is scrupulous, at ease when the vocal writing goes high, and he has an appealing, Romantic sound.. Production and Set Design David Hockney ("I will not!"). A sword appears in the Dyer's hand. Die Frau Ohne Schatten Tickets | Event Dates & Schedule - Ticketmaster The Empress now appears, lamenting the loss of a talisman that enabled her to change her form. The Wife wants them out of her house but the Nurse conjures up visions of luxury and promises them to the Wife in return for her shadow. Apparition of a Youth Victor Cardamone + Richard Strauss. Three sopranos discuss their roles in Strauss's most complex opera San Francisco Opera 2022-23 Review: Die Frau ohne Schatten The Nurse is excited about the prospect of returning to the spirit world, since she hates humans and having to dwell with them. On June 4, a Sunday afternoon, everyone was high with anticipation. Learn how and when to remove this template message, International Music Score Library Project, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Die_Frau_ohne_Schatten&oldid=1162617118, This page was last edited on 30 June 2023, at 06:22. The Empress goes to sleep at the hunting lodge, but in her sleep she is further troubled by her crime and by the possible fate of the Emperor. A greater warmth of tone in her mid voice would have enriched her reconciliation with Barak, her husband. The vision fades as Barak returns with his hungry brothers and a group of beggar children. It is revealed that after being attacked by the red falcon that the Emperor is seeking, she lost a talisman that gave transformation powers, and on which was inscribed a curse that foresaw the fate she and the Emperor are about to face if she does not acquire a shadow. The brothers flee, and the Nurse, recognizing Keikobad's hand, spirits the Empress away. San Francisco Opera presented the works American premiere in 1959, launching a proud Company tradition of presenting Die Frau ohne Schatten (or FROSCH, as Strauss affectionally called the opera, using the initials of its title to spell the German word for frog). The scene changes to a beautiful landscape. Original Lighting Designer Alan Burrett * The Nurse was sung by American soprano Linda Watson who sings both Herodias at La Scala and Isolde in Dusseldorf. It was premiered in Vienna in 1947. A choir of angelic unborn children ultimately underscores the case, in a decidedly pro-life, anti-choice message to contemporary ears. To accomplish all of this, Justin A. Partier reconstructed Alan Burretts original lighting, which causes the magical transformations of color that fascinated Hockney. The score may tempt conductors commanding an orchestra as fine as his to opt for sheer beauty, but Runnicles projected urgency and propulsive energy as well. Scenery built in San Francisco Opera Scenic Shop Costumes courtesy of the Paris Opera Properties courtesy of The Royal Opera, Stockholm For the first time, two front rows of seats were removed in order to accommodate a full Strauss . Strauss himself called this opera his "child of woe"; he even called it Die Frosch[This quote needs a citation] ("Frosch" means "frog" in German), that is "Die Frau ohne Schatten"). Following this free presentation and a Q&A, Professor Wolff will be signing copies of his new book, The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy (Stanford University Press). They descend to the human world. The Fountain of Life springs up before the Empress, and a temple guardian urges her to drink from it and claim the Wife's shadow for herself. Jun 6, 2023 San Francisco Opera Awards Nina Stemme With Major Medal By David Salazar (Credit: Neda Navaee) Soprano Nina Stemme was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal immediately following the June 4 premiere of " Die Frau ohne Schatten ." 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Since its American premiere in 1959, the work had only been rarely mounted in San Francisco (five times since 1959), or in other houses, in Paris or Vienna, or Milan, if at all. But the cast of fine singers contributed more sound than even San Francisco is used to hearing. Half-spirit and half-mortal, the Empress lives in fear of a curse: If she doesnt acquire a human shadow in three days time, the spirit world will reclaim herand turn her husband to stone. Steven Winn on June 6, 2023. Admission payable only at the door;due to Covid-19 restrictions, attendance is limited to 30 people who are fully vaccinated and emailpresident@sjoperaguild.orgfor reservations. Baraks Wife Nina Stemme Scene 4The Emperor and Empress, Barak and his wife (who has regained her shadow), sing of their humanity, to the praises of the Unborn. The show features 96 Instrumentalists in the pit, 110 performers on and around the stage, a score that calls for two out-of-the-hall sopranos, and a story that matches only Die Zauberflte and Wagners Ring for its out-of-the-ordinary-world concerns. To the end, Stemme led the musical charge. Janos Gereben on May 23, 2023. Armed with nothing but a magic flute and magic bells, a prince and a bird-catcher embark on a perilous journey to rescue a kidnapped princess only to discover that their adversary may actually be their ally. As the Guardian of the Temple Gates, Sager does appear in dusty green armor at vital moments, when her rich soprano proved arresting. Scene 1On a terrace overlooking the Emperors palace, the Empress Nurse, adept in Black magic, hears the Messenger of Keikobad warn that the Empress, still barren, has only three days left. When it premiered at the Vienna State Opera on 10 October 1919, critics and audiences were unenthusiastic. Runnicles musical identity is rooted in the huge Romantic and post-Romantic repertory, thus he mined all possible richness and volume from the Strauss score, reveling in its myriad musical colors. For more information, visit sfopera.com/operapreviews. According to Keikobads decree, unless the Empress gains a shadow before the end of the twelfth moon she will be reclaimed by her father and the Emperor turned to stone. And, with strong dramatic presence, she held her own against her conniving Nurse, the towering Linda Watson. His gentle baritone fit this sympathetic role like a glove. How could that be? For more information, visit sfpl.org/events/2023/06/02/author-shadow-empress. Work on the opera began in 1911. Keikobad is a variant spelling of the name of the Sasanian king Kovad and the mythical Iranian king Kai Kobad from the Kayanian dynasty in the Shahnameh (book of kings) by Ferdowsi. Whatever misgivings one might have about the story and its implications, is a San Francisco-based writer and critic and frequent interviewer for City Arts & Lectures. Male singers included Danish bass-baritone Johan Reuter, British tenor David Butt-Philip and bass Stefan Egerstrom, among others. Professor Simon Williams, emeritus professor in the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an active director of both opera and spoken drama, is internationally recognized as an authority on the history of acting and Shakespearean performance, on opera as drama, and on the history of operatic staging. This Opera Preview was presented virtually via Zoom webinar on May 23, 2023 and you can register to view the recording here. San Francisco OperaSAN FRANCISCO. However much the foggy and extreme esotericism of the work pervaded, it was the music itself that captivated the heart and the head. 6/28/23. Like many fairy tales, Die Frau ohne Schatten is made of wishes and curses, menace and grace, human striving and supernatural forces, all of it wrapped up in a happy ending. For more information, contact Elizabeth Green Sah at (510) 338-0181 oregreensah2001@yahoo.com. Your support helps us fulfill our mission to bring the transformative power of musical storytelling to our community. In Die Zauberflte, we let ourselves fly off the ground with the story, and a detailed understanding of its mysteries never stopped us from lifting off through the music itself. Daughter of Keikobad, King of the spirits, she is a woman without a shadowthat is, unable to bear children. Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow), Op. One of the foremost Wagnerian sopranos of our time with frequent appearances at Wagners theater in Bayreuth, Watson has also earned acclaim for her portrayals of Strauss heroines like the title role of Elektra and the Dyers Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten. San Francisco Opera Awards Nina Stemme With Major Medal Opera Medal Nina Stemme.pdf Photos. Barak Johan Reuter * War Memorial Opera House301 Van Ness AvenueSan Francisco, CA 94102-4509, (415) 864-3330Mon 10am-5pmTue-Sat 10am-6pm, Sat phones only, except during performance seasonPerformance days: 10am through first intermission, AboutEmployment | AuditionsPress RoomBlogVisitPerformance Archive, Opera ShopStreaming the First CenturyBohme Out of The Box, SF Opera GuildMerola Opera ProgramOpera Center, San Francisco Opera is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (The American premiere . According to Keikobad's decree, unless the Empress gains . Baraks Hunchback Brother Zhengyi Bai ++ The five performances of Die Frau ohne Schatten,performed in German with English supertitles, are scheduled for June 4 (2 p.m.), 10 (7 p.m.), 20 (7 p.m.), 23 (7 p.m.) and 28 (7 p.m.), 2023. The star of the production was the score, and Runnicles conducting brought a vision of what heaven might be like with color, texture, and sounds that reached beyond the usual planetary sphere that soaked the stars. Mozarts The Magic Flute, which is built around the spiritual trials of two young couples, launched Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal into the remote fantasy realms of Die Frau ohne Schatten. An earthquake splits the ground and Barak and his wife are swallowed into the earth. San Francisco Opera; Die Frau Ohne Schatten; Venue. PDF Die Frau ohne Schatten - San Francisco Opera Leonie Rysanek in the title role of Die Frau ohne Schatten. Though in an agony to save him, she will not do so at the expense of Baraks happinesswhereupon she casts a shadow and the Emperor is freed. Audio excerpts are from the 1976 cast of Die Frau ohne Schatten, with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by Karl Bhm. Even the best, the mightiest, the most affluent of houses cant easily pull together such a production. Former music director Donald Runnicles returned to San Francisco Opera for this production, as he has for the two recent Wagner Ring cycles. Strauss and Hofmannsthal completed Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1916 but the operas premiere was delayed until 1919 so its deeply humanistic message might bring hope and renewal in the aftermath of World War I. Addison-Penzak JCC Silicon Valley, 14855 Oka Road, Suite 201, Los Gatos. Lafayette Library and Learning Center, 3491 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette. Landmark Die Frau ohne Schatten Broadcast on Sunday It left the audience shaken and exhilarated for a variety of reasons." Presented by San Francisco Opera. Roy Rallos staging kept it all in line with the libretto as well, while tending toward the stand and deliver tradition. Barak and his Wife are reunited and she regains her own shadow. Roy Rallos direction was not a prominent asset of the production. To this add the modeled linear flow of musical line, and the Hockney obsessive manipulation of perspective. *For the complete press release, including cast and calendar, open the PDF version above. The Wife is haunted by the Voices of Unborn Children. July 29 - August 24, 2023. Scenically, it is also demanding, with all the scene changes and special effects. He and Hofmannsthal worked on music and words in parallel, each receiving inspiration from the other. "Die Frau ohne Schatten" continues at 7 p.m. June 10, June 20, June 23 and June 28 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Early on, in her workaday life with her oblivious husband Barak (bass-baritone Johan Reuter, in a growly, shambolic turn), Stemmes Wife registered in clipped, almost perfunctory phrases. The kindly Dyer longs for children, but his wife is reluctant, wary of motherhood without having experienced it. Mme. Under the hand of stage director Roy Rallo and costume designer Ian Falconer, the shapesdots, dashes, and fields of abstractions easily impressed. Met titles In. A blunt, imposing temple facade looms over a misty lake. She moved through the several transformations of this character with perfect conviction, at times knocking down the scenery and leaving few floor boards in place. The Dyer is the most approachable of the leading vocal parts, but again the orchestration is very heavy and requires a baritone with sufficient stamina to last the opera's three hours and fifteen minutes. 28. In such a context many fine performers may be overlooked. -San Francisco Chronicle, "yet another entry in the roster of [Sir Donald] Runnicles triumphal San Francisco appearances, a majestic display of sweep and expressive precision." The glorious history of Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten at the San Francisco Operaincluding its 1959 U.S. premiere and the still vivid 1976 staging under Karl Bhm and Nikolaus Lehnhoffis continuing in brilliant form.. Sir Donald Runnicles, the beloved past Music Director here for seventeen years, brought his Wagnerian prowess not only to a pit jammed with 96 players . In the same 2019 Vienna performances of the opera, Opera News observed: Aside from Stemme, the evenings most accomplished performance belonged to Camilla Nylund, a veteran to this work, who has emerged as one of todays finest Strauss singers.. Die Frau ohne Schatten - Wikipedia Great swaths of electric blue, red, and emerald green mark the supernatural realm, while wobbling stripes in earthy tones dominate the world of Barak. Camilla Nylund delivered magic as she sang these soaring lines. . The text by Hugo von Hofmannsthal should be acknowledged for its complexity and fantastical elements. Chorus Director John Keene Composer. The Emperor often is sung by a heldentenor struggling to render his challenging vocal line and so immobile as to seem already to have turned to stone. But certainly the Canadians Olivia Smith and Mikayla Sager require attention. PDF Die Frau ohne Schatten - San Francisco Opera Partenope is the queen of the Paris social scene, her salon a magnet to the eras surrealist artists as they vie for her hand in a laugh-out-loud comedy. On June 4, a Sunday afternoon, everyone was high with anticipation. In a vibrant return to San Francisco Opera after a 34-year absence, The Woman Without a Shadow filled the War Memorial Opera House to overflowing at its Sunday, June 4 opening. The Emperor David Butt Philip * The opera 'Die Frau ohne Schatten' depicts an empress for the 20th century, an empress for the age of democracy. Synopsis: Die Frau ohne Schatten Select a language to update the synopsis text. Die Frau ohne Schatten | Richard Strauss | San Francisco Opera - Operabase Many cited problems with Hofmannsthal's complicated and heavily symbolic libretto. And yet, here was San Francisco Opera, during its 100-year anniversary, showing it with a cast of glittering, highly accomplished, and remarkable singers. No small feat. Still, the story is as Hofmannsthal created it, and as it plays out on stage, our era challenges the audience. With all the color, movement, and sound coming from the pit, backstage, stage center, right and left, from rotating platforms and overhead projections, we can give it a tip of the hat while not galvanizing opposition regarding its operatic value. Choreographer and Dance Master Colm Seery The opera is conceived as a fairy tale on the theme of love blessed through the birth of children. When it premiered at the Vienna State Opera on 10 October 1919, critics and audiences were unenthusiastic. As the Nurse and Empress disappear, the Dyers Wife hears the voices of Unborn Children bewail their fate. Don't Look Back! War Memorial Opera House, June 10, 2023. Subsequent revivals by San Francisco Opera featuring luminaries like conductor Karl Bhm and vocal soloists Leonie Rysanek, Birgit Nilsson, Gwyneth Jones, James King and Walter Berry, helped found the Companys strong tradition with this rarely performed opera. Living as a servant to the Barak clan, the abstracted Empress develops empathy and cannot bring herself to take away the shadow. The opera remains a challenge to stage, even for a major opera house, calling as it does for five top soloists in the demanding principal roles, first rate secondary roles, a large orchestra, and elaborate sets and scenic effects. In contrast to the quickly-moving Salome and Elektra, it includes extended monologues and scenes. To speak about the color on stage as only sensory input would be limiting. Yet always in character and in control. Throughout the work, the audience heard new and unusual combinations from the pit and offstage, with adult and childrens choruses and various combinations of singers amplified backstage. Follow us on Instagram. The Nurse foretells terrible tortures awaiting the Empress and misleads the Wife and Barak, who are looking for each other, she to die at her husband's hand, he to forgive her and hold her in his arms. Rarely has the opera house resounded with such a collection of sounds. In a grotto beneath the realm of Keikobad, the wife and the Dyer are seen in separate chambers, unaware of the other's presence. Details. The riot of activity, people, sound, and extravagance brought the house down, whether it was everybodys cup of tea or not. SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 5, 2023) Immediately following the June 4 opening performance of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal's fairy-tale opera Die Frau ohne Schatten, soprano Nina Stemme, who performed the role of the Dyer's Wife in the opera, was presented with the San Francisco Opera Medal. San Francisco Opera presented the work's American premiere in 1959, launching a proud Company tradition of presenting Die Frau ohne Schatten (or FROSCH, as Strauss affectionally called the opera, using the initials of its title to spell the German word for "frog"). Unseen choruses chant the curse of the talisman. Our federal tax ID is 94-0836240. The Nurse tries to convince the Empress to escape but she remembers the doors from her dream and knows that her father is waiting for her on the other side. A renowned interpreter of Strauss works, Runnicles was recently praised by the New York Times for leading an Elektra at the Metropolitan Opera that was riveting in its revelatory transparency, the layers of expressionistic color, sweetness and Wagnerian abundance stacking in counterpoint or weaving in and out of one another with grace. Die Frau ohne Schatten, like Elektra, requires one of the largest pit orchestras in the operatic repertoire, and Maestro Runnicles leads the artists of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, including 96 instrumentalists in the pit and 9 backstage, for these performances. One rule must be followed: Orfeo cannot look at Euridice. Opera is thriving. For more information, contact Steve Zilles atsteve@zilles.org. Die Frau Ohne Schatten is no stranger to San Francisco, the opera marking its American premiere at the War Memorial Opera House in 1959 in a production by the then 27 year-old Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.
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