OPERA SEARCH
Das Fest im Meer
(2001/02)Francis Hüsers (Libretto)
lyrS,S,2Bar,B,hT
2(I=picc,II=afl).0.2(1=Ebcl,II=bcl).2(II=dbn)-2.0.0.0-perc:wd.chimes/5tpl.bl/wdbl/5tom-t/conga/3bongos/SD/BD/susp.cym/t.bells/glsp/vib/string.D/wind.machine-hp-accordion-strings(0.0.2.2.2five-stringed db)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Sikorski
NINON | Lyric Soprano |
ZDENA, her mother | Soprano |
JEAN, her father | Bass-baritone |
GINO | Baritone |
FEDERICO, his father | Bass |
TOMAS | High tenor |
AUNT EMANUELA, GUESTS AT THE WEDDING | Mute roles |
When the young Ninon learns that she is HIV positive, she decides to leave her beloved Gino so as not to infect him. Federico advises his son Gino to separate from Ninon immediately. However, Gino is determined not to give up his girlfriend, and he asks her to marry him. After some hesitation, Ninon, plagued by fears and despair, consents, and the pair plan their wedding.
Jean, Ninon’s father, sets off from France by motorcycle to participate in the wedding of his daughter, who lives in Italy. In Bratislava, Zdena, the mother of the bride, packs her luggage and likewise embarks upon the journey. Both parents are distraught about their daughter’s illness, and each grapples with the fate of the young girl. On the way to Italy, Zdena mets Tomas, whom, to her own surprise, she tells about Ninon’s illness.
All the guests finally arrive. At the wedding of their daughter, Ninon’s parents met for the first time in nearly twenty years. The wedding is celebrated exuberantly in a many-armed river estuary. Here, where water and land seem to merge, everyone celebrates a feast in the sea, eating, drinking, and dancing to last a lifetime.