OPERA SEARCH
Das kalte Herz
(Nuit sans aube) (2025)Libretto by Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg; French version by Catherine Fourcassié (G,F)
2S,2M,Bar, child soloist; chorus;
3(II=picc,III=bfl).2(II=corA).3(II=dbcl,III=bcl).2.dbn-4.3.3.1-perc(5)-harp-pft-strings(12.10.8.6.5)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Bote & Bock
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
James Darrah, director
Conductor: Matthias Pintscher
Company: Staatsoper Unter den Linden
| PETER | Baritone |
| ANUBIS | Mezzo-soprano |
| MOTHER | Mezzo-soprano |
| CLARA | Soprano |
| Old woman | Soprano |
| Child | Child soloist |
The heart is an especially popular symbol as the physical locus of human feelings, longings, and pain. A man would like to live without the painful feelings in his heart; his lover wants to unite with his
heart, while transcendental powers would also like to win it over. The composer Matthias Pintscher invents overwhelming and gripping sounds for the mysterious and strange events that take place in his opera. Pianist and poet Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg wrote the libretto loosely based on Wilhelm Hauff’s fairy tale Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart) from 1827. In his new poetic text as well, the forest serves as a fascinating backdrop for various worlds of human emotion and uncanny moments of human existence.
Poetic