Opera by Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich
Music by Cord Meijering
WORLD PREMIERE
In their operas Gramsci and Sour Angelica (Sister Angelica), Cord Meijering and Giacomo Puccini introduce us to two characters who react differently to extreme situations: While Angelica's actions in Puccini's one-act opera are entirely focused on a transcendent existence, in Meijering's opera Antonio Gramsci's gaze falls on real life, of which he is no longer allowed to be a part, after his arrest by fascists. Angelica retreats to a monastery after the birth of her illegitimate child. When she learns that her son has died, she sees the only way to be close to him is in an afterlife. In contrast, Gramsci's forced isolation leads him to develop ideas about a new social justice that still influences life on this earth today. The founder and chairman of the Italian Communist Party began writing down philosophical, sociological and political thoughts while in prison.
The opera Gramsci by the Dutch composer Cord Meijering will be premiered at the Gerhart Hauptmann Theater in Görlitz-Zittau. The student of Hans Werner Henze integrates quartets by Sardinian tenors into his composition, thus creating a connection between traditional Italian folk music and the social background of his title character. Like Meijering, Puccini also succeeds in creating an impressive musical psychogram of a social outcast in Suor Angelica by musically exploring her emotional world between despair and hope.
