Opera in 24 scenes (2014/15)
Libretto by Thomas Jonigk based on motifs from William Shakespeare's drama of the same name, Saxo Grammaticus' 'Historia Danica' and Francois de Belleforest's 'Histoires tragiques'
commissioned by Theater an der Wien
Cast:
Hamlet, son of Gertrude and the dead Hamlet (baritone)
Dead Hamlet, former King (voice)
Gertrude, Queen (soprano)
Claudius, King (baritone)
Ophelia, a young woman from the court environment (mezzo-soprano)
A Pastor, protestant (tenor)
Men and Women (choir SATB)
Orchestra cast:
2(2nd also picc) 2(2nd also Eh) 2(2nd also Bkl) 2(2nd also Kfg) - 4 2 3 1 - timp, perc(2), hrf, cel, str
Duration: approx. 120 min
More information at Schott Music
Premiere: September 14, 2016, Theater an der Wien
Conductor: Michael Boder
Director: Christof Loy
Set and costume design: Johannes Leiacker
Light: Reinhard Traub
With Marlis Petersen, Bo Skovhus, Andrè Schuen, Theresa Kronthaler, Kurt Streit, Jochen Kowalski
Arnold Schoenberg Choir (conducted by Erwin Ortner), ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Old King Hamlet is dead, probably poisoned. His widow Gertrude is preparing to marry his brother Claudius. She seems to have an overly tender relationship with her son Hamlet, presumably for this reason and for reasons of propriety the son does not approve of the marriage that took place so soon after the father's death. The young Hamlet feels overwhelmed by everything: by the emotional situation towards his mother, the death of his father and the latent claim that one day he will have to succeed his father as king and therefore possibly accept him or the new king, his uncle Claudius, as a role model to have to. He also thinks he knows that Claudius killed his father - how should he react to that? Gertrud will soon be pregnant, she is sure that she will have a son. Hamlet feels superfluous and falls deeper into depression. Gertrud hires the high-class prostitute Ophelia, who has already served the late king, to distract Hamlet. But Ophelia, herself depressed by the circumstances of her job, she and Hamlet recognize their shared mood and fall seriously in love. Gertrud now instigates Claudius to murder Ophelia. With Ophelia dead, Gertrude sets Hamlet on Claudius to get rid of him, but Hamlet unplannedly stabs Hamlet to death. Claudius publicly regrets the death of the crown prince and then forms a family portrait with the pregnant Gertrude.