Opera in five acts (2016-18)
Libretto by Kerstin Maria Pöhler based on the drama 'Tis Pity She's A Whore' by John Ford
Commissioned by Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Philotis, Richardetto's niece (light coloratura soprano)
Annabella, Florio's daughter (lyric soprano)
Hippolita, Richardetto's wife (dramatic mezzo-soprano)
Putana, Annabella's nurse (mezzo-soprano)
Bergetto, a citizen of Parma (tenor)
Giovanni, Florio's son (tenor)
Grimaldi, a Roman nobleman (tenor)
Soranzo, a nobleman (baritone)
Vasquez, Soranzo's servant (baritone)
Florio, a citizen of Parma (baritone)
Richardetto, an alleged doctor (baritone)
Mönch (bass baritone)
Citizens of Parma, guests (choir SATB)
Orchestra:
3(3rd=picc) 3(3rd=c.a.) 3(3rd=bcl) 3(3rd also cbs) - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc(2), hp, cel/synth, str
Duration: approx. 120 min
More information and perusal at Schott Music
Premiere: February 16, 2019, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf Opera House
Conductor: Lukas Beikircher
Director: David Hermann
Stage design: Jo Schramm
Costume design: Michaela Barth
Lighting: Tobias Löffler
Conductor: Patrick Francis Chestnut
Dramaturgy: Hella Bartnig
Düsseldorfer Symphoniker
Chor der Deutschen Oper am Rhein
The two lovers Giovanni and Annabella are not offspring of hostile families, but a pair of siblings whose incestuous tendencies stand in the way of their happiness in life. The dark web of intrigue that surrounds them is coarse-meshed and coarsely knit, so its deadly venom predictably hits the wrong person most of the time. Annabella's scorned suitors massacre each other while her brother impregnates her and she is forced to marry one of the suitors to cover up the incest. Driven by manic passion, Giovanni kills his beloved and shocks all those who have survived this cruel intrigue.
In his drama 'Tis Pity She's a Whore', Shakespeare contemporary John Ford pulled out all the stops of the Elizabethan gothic drama that became a veritable treasure trove for opera in later years. For the composer Anno Schreier, this reflects the basic pattern of opera, whose exaggerations, absurdities and abysmal emotionality he combines through allusive musical imagery into an expressive and joyful opera about opera.