Heinz Holliger: Lunea
$60.00
Out of Stock2-4 weeks add to cart
HEINZ HOLLIGER
Heinz Holliger: Lunea
Ivan Ludlow, Sarah Maria Sun, Christian Gerhaher, Juliane Banse / Philharmonie Zürich, Basler Madrigalisten, Heinz Holliger
[ ECM New Series / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Friday 22 April 2022
This item is currently out of stock. We expect to be able to supply it to you within 2 - 4 weeks from when you place your order.
Heinz Holliger's "dream opera" Lunea which was premiered, to great acclaim, at Opernhaus Zurich, interweaves strands from the life and mind of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch (1802-1850), the Hungarian-born Austrian poet who wrote under the name Nikolaus Lenau. Lenau's last, fragmentary writings have fired Holliger's imagination and led to the creation of an intricately inventive work with a marvellously evocative lead role for baritone Christian Gerhaher. Neue Zrcher Zeitung: "Here Gerhaher can display his full sensitivity in dealing with the finest nuances of language and bring to bear his almost unlimited spectrum of tonal-dynamic gradations in the intonation. The poet Lenau speaks most directly from the sounds and notes..." The 2-CD set, in slipcase, is accompanied by an an extensive 120 page German-English booklet with the full libretto by Hndl Klaus and synopses of each of the opera's 23 scenes, as well as a liner essay by Roman Brotbeck, a performer's note by Christian Gerhaher, score fragments, performance photography, and more.
"There's no pretending that Lunea is an easy work to get on terms with, it's never straightforward. But it is an immensely imaginative opera, full of very beautiful, fragile music." The Guardian
"Gerhaher is astonishing in the virtuoso principal role...traversing the gamut of language and expression from song to speech. Yet this is an ensemble piece, in which past and present lovers and relations are wonderfully performed here, matched by an excellent Basler Madrigalisten and 34-piece Philharmonia Zürich conducted live by Holliger." Five Stars BBC Music July 2022
Opera Choice
