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Music Text

Libretto by Pamela Dürr after Homer's 'Odyssey' (G)

Scoring

2S,M,A,2T,2Bar,2B;
1(=picc,afl).0.2(I=Ebcl,Srec,II=bcl).asax(=ssax).1-2.1.1.1-perc(2):marimba/vib/glsp/crot/Thai gongs/t.bells/Tibetan singing bowl/almglock; drum set:3wdbl/4tom-t/4tpl.bl/tgl/whip/thundersheet/SD/cyms(clash,susp)/BD/tam-t-harp-gtr-acc

Abbreviations (PDF)

Publisher

B&B

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

Availability

World Premiere
11/13/2021
Opernhaus, Zürich
Rainer Holzapfel, director
Conductor: Eduardo Strausser
Company: Opernhaus Zürich

Roles

ODYSSEUS Baritone
PENELOPE / SIREN Mezzo-Soprano
TELEMACHUS / SIREN Tenor
EURYCLEA / MOTHER Alto
ATHENA Soprano
POSEIDON Bass
ELPENOR / SUITOR Tenor
EURYLOCHUS / SUITOR Baritone
POLYPHEMUS / ACHILLES / SUITOR Bass
Crew/Suitors/Dead 2 extras
Synopsis

After the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus makes his way homewards to Ithaca. The goddess Athena bids the victorious hero a speedy voyage. But Poseidon, the god of the seas, doesn’t want to see Odysseus and his companions make the trip so quickly – and sends them on a journey brimming with adventure. It ends up taking Odysseus ten whole years to finally make his way back to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. On his odyssey across the Mediterranean, his ship is tossed and turned by wind and waves, and he lands repeatedly on unknown shores. Untold dangers and temptations – among them the enchantingly beautiful shores of the land of the Lotus Eaters – await the voyagers on their journey home. They must outwit the giant cyclops Polyphemus and the powerful sorceress Circe, who changes Odysseus’ companions into pigs and shows him the way to the Underworld, where his dead mother awaits him. Temptations and storms also await on the seas: the sirens try to lure Odysseus with their seductive song, hoping to destroy his ship. And the crew faces near-certain death between the twin horrors of Scylla and Charybdis. When the hungry crew members feast on a herd of cattle that belongs to Helios, the sun god, the angry deities prolong their journey once again. Stranded on Calypso’s paradisical island, Odysseus nearly forgets that he’s trying to find his way home...
Zurich Opera

Moods

Dramatic

Subjects
Listening
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