Opera Scotland

Melusine

Tours by decade

Tours by location

Music

Aribert Reimann (born Berlin, 4 March 1936)

Text

Claus H Henneberg

Source

Play (1922) by Yvan Goll

 

Premieres

First Performance: Schwetzingen (Schlosstheater), 29 April 1971.

First Performance in UK; Edinburgh (King's Theatre), 2 September 1971.

First Performance in Scotland: As above.

Scottish Opera premiere: N/A.

 

Background

This was Reimann's second opera, and he was an unknown figure in Britain at the time. All his other operas have been based on acknowledged literary classics, including his momentous third opera, a version of King Lear composed for Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Melusine may seem a slight work by comparison, but the orchestration was quite beautiful, and the major roles were carefully tailored to the skills of Catherine Gayer, the two American tenors, and a wonderful pair of veterans.