Main roles: S,2M,2T,Bar; Minor roles: hT,B,actor,male quartet(2T,Bar,B),children's trio(S,M,A),4actors
2(II=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=bcl).asax(=ssax).tsax(=ssax).2(II=dbn)-2.2.2.1-timp.perc(3):drum kit/glsp/marimba-harp-pft-strings (minimum 10.8.6.4.2)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
“Der Herr Nordwind is a raucous, witty hit. You are allowed to laugh. And you will. The opera, written with Viennese poet HC Artmann, is wildly entertaining. It’s also complex, original and satisfying… [It] is a rare thing indeed, a new comic opera which is both truly new and truly comical. Unlike so many world premieres, this is a work that has every chance of entering the repertoire. We will certainly hear more of it.”
Bloomberg.com
“Anyone who feels inclined can read very contemporary issues into Gruber’s opera, also in relation to the exaggerated, cabaret-style characterisation of the powermongers, here in the shape of a particularly rotten church brotherhood … Together with Gruber’s typically passionate musical manner, HC Artmann’s creative language and speech ultimately turn into a rich, lively music theatre piece where speech sound, vocal quality and brass-rich orchestration combine beautifully…”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
“What you hear is remarkably multi-dimensional music. When Gruber turns to musical realism and allows the wind to blow, he does so with an imaginative orchestration. Tonal elements rub shoulder with complex clusters, the whole is held together by way of a gripping dramaturgy…”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung