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| Myths are human experiences congealed into fables. Rolf Schneider, expelled from the GDR Writers' Association in 1979, presents the story of Europa and the bull as a dirty joke, a great comical love story, the story of a girl used and discarded by a macho, a defeat with a disastrous outcome. Composer Helge Jörns has clothed the plot in chamber music of an aggressive clarity, developing the – both logical and precise – formal division with exceptional skill out of the dramatic requirements: "Formally, Europa und der Stier comprises four components: firstly, the solo singer, secondly the chorister, [...] thirdly a continuo group [...], and finally the chamber music orchestra [...]. In the overall structure, the individual components either alternate, or they are piled on top of one another, just like the characters on the stage are acting out the scenes at the same time." A thrilling, now already historical, retrospective view of the situation of artists in the GDR of 1988. And an impression of incredible liveliness and intensity, conveyed by this recording of the premiere at the Berlin Hebbel-Theater: this opera is alive, even on CD. |
1CD | Contemporary | Opera | Special Offers |
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| Recommendation |
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52 pieces of the year for a pianist: in Hebdomadaire, Michael Denhoff carries on the noble tradition of cyclic piano music in his own inimitable way.  |
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| Contrasts, hard cuts and discrepancies: Stefan Wolpe’s chamber music offers the listener a stylistic variety that defies simple categorization. |
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| John Cage never came to a standstill: until the very end he kept on searching for (and finding) hitherto unexplored new forms of artistic expression. |
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