Heinz Holligers "dream opera" Lunea, which premiered to great acclaim at Opernhaus Zürich, weaves together elements from the life and mind of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch (1802-1850), the Hungarian-born Austrian poet who wrote under the name Nikolaus Lenau. Lenau's final, fragmentary writings sparked Holliger's imagination and led to the creation of an intricately inventive work with a beautifully evocative leading role for baritone Christian Gerhaher.
Here Gerhaher can display his full sensitivity in handling the finest nuances of language and his nearly unlimited spectrum of tonal-dynamic gradations in intonation. The poet Lenau speaks most directly through the sounds and notes...
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
The 2-CD set, in slipcase, is accompanied by an extensive 120-page German-English booklet with the complete libretto by Händl Klaus and summaries of each of the 23 scenes of the opera, as well as an accompanying essay by Roman Brotbeck, a note by Christian Gerhaher on the performance, score fragments, photos from the production, and more.
Preview & purchase link** If you make a purchase via the link above, we receive a small commission. This allows us to continue providing you with reviews and articles. By buying something through our link, you support us in writing new articles. Products will never be more expensive for you when you use our links.