Poul Ruders' opera Tycho in 3 Acts was premiered May 15 1987 by Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Kaare Hansen (conductor) at Helsingør Theater in Aarhus Denmark. Libretto in Danish by Henrik Bjelke. Vocal score: WH31457C Synopsis: In 1597 the famous Danish astronomer and astrologist the nobleman Tycho Brahe flees his castle cum observatory Uraniburg on one of the small islands off the Danish coast. The newly coronated King Christian the Fourth has a grudge against Tycho who in 1572 discovered a new star Stella Nova by using his naked eye only; the telescopewasn’t invented yet. This discovery gained Tycho tremendous fame among his contemporaries within the European scientific circles. The now weakened and embittered old man moves together with his wife Christina whom he raped when she was an adolescent and Jeppe the Dwarf his fool-servant whose life Tycho once saved to the plague-infested city of Prague. There at the Benatky Castle Tycho encounters the main reason for his departure from Denmark: the young German mathematician Johannes Kepler the only scientist among his contemporaries Tycho acknowledges - Tycho is in severe need of intelligent challenge. Which he gets and with a disastrous result for himself. The encouraging encounter with Kepler turns into Tycho's scientific and earthly death verdict. Slowly Tycho realizes that his own conception of the Earth as the indisputable axes of the Universe is shattered by Kepler s theory about Earth encircling the stationary Sun. The ancient picture of the Universe collapses Tycho feels deceived by Kepler who leaves the castle shaken by Tycho's wrath. But they meet again and reunite in a Romanza a Due at Tycho’s death bed. The opera hovers above immense sadness and extreme ridicule - the cast is most peculiar indeed - so in many ways 'TYCHO' may be described at the best as a'Tragic Operetta'

Par HUMMEL BERTOLD. The overall form of this work in one movement is in seven sections. A slow introduction begins with multiphonics of the saxophone and sounds of cymbals played with a double-bass bow. Vibraphone and marimbaphone provide the chordal foundation for a fanfare-like invocation by the saxophone. The atmosphere of the following Allegro is dominated by an ostinato series of notes taken from the chords of the introduction and played by the marimbaphone - over this, starting from a four-note series, the saxophone develops jazz-influenced figures. The constructional elements are worked into a cadenza-like section, followed by an arioso passage, leading over lightly-pulsating sounds to a final climax with a B-A-C-H (B flat - A - C - B) quotation in the saxophone. Once again, it continues with a cadenza-like section. Slap in the saxophone and stopped notes in the vibraphone and marimbaphone introduce new ideas and sonorities for discussion, the constructional elements are played off against each other in a loose sequence. At the end of this second cadenza, the B-A-C-H (B flat - A - C - B) quotation re-appears in the saxophone. A varied reprise of the first Allegro section leads to a concluding passage, taking up the atmosphere of the introduction, combined however with clear references to the four-note series of the Allegro. The interval of a third is heard and remains hovering in the air to the very end, closing the work in pianissimo./ Répertoire / Saxophone Soprano et Percussions

Opera in three acts. Leos Janácek began composing his seventh opera, ?The Cunning Little Vixen?, based on the popular feuilletons of Rudolf Tesnohlídek, in January 1922. The first copy of the score, since lost, was completed by Václav Sedlácek in October 1923, while the second copy was prepared by Jaroslav Kulhánek in January 1924. The world premiere took place on 6 November 1924 under the direction of Ota Zítek and was conducted by Frantisek Neumann. The vocal score was published in Czech before the event and then again in 1925 along with the German translation by Max Brod, which is something of a separate version of the text in its own right. This volume of the complete edition reprints the critical edition by Jirí Zahrádka, which was published by Universal Edition in 2010. The present edition newly includes transcriptions of the libretto in three languages (Cz/Eng/Ger) and a detailed Critical Report (Eng). The edition draws on all extant sources and ? in consideration of Janácek?s active participation in rehearsals for the premiere production ? integrates both the dynamics of Franti?ek Neumann and the performance markings of Sir Charles Mackerras into the musical text. This is the third opera to be published in the complete edition, following ?Fate? and ?The Makropulos Affair?.

Chamber opera in a prologue and one act. A ghost story telling of the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in the Hebrides. This is a mystery story in the form of a chamber opera. The prologue is set as acourt of enquiry into the unexplained disappearance of the three keepers from a lighthouse. Questions are posed by a solo horn which may sound from among the audience and three officers give answer. Gradually they move fromstraight testimony into fantastical imaginings of evil during a 'flashback' to the lighthouse; but then we snap back to the courtroom. In the main act the three singers become the vanished keepers. They have been together formonths long enough to be fully aware of each other's weaknesses; petty bickerings suggest a relationship which is stable but liable to become highly unstable at any moment. They sing songs to reduce the tension Blazes beginningwith a rough ballad of street violence accompanied by violin and banjo. Sandy's song with cello and out-of-tune upright piano is a thinly disguised description of sexual bliss and Arthur's with brass and clarinet is atub-thumping hymn. But the songs serve only to resurrect in their minds ghosts from the past and as the fog descends each of the keepers becomes convinced that he is being claimed by the Beast. They prepare to meet its dazzlingeyes which become the lights of the relief vessel and the three men reappear as officers met at the lighthouse only by an infestation of rats. They leave and at the end the last hours of Blazes Sandy and Arthur begin to playover again.Study Score. Duration c. 1h 25mins.

Lyric opera in two acts. Libretto by David Pountney.Commissioned?jointly by the Royal Academy of Music London UK and The Juilliard School New York USA.UK premiere: 18th March 2011 - Royal Academy of MusicOpera and Sinfonia at the Royal Academy of Music London conducted by Jane Glover.US premiere: 16th November 2011 - Students of The Julliard School at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre New York conducted by AnneManson.Overview.The piece consists of three interlocking stories of students involved in political action in three different situations.?Die Weiße Rose? was the name taken by a group of students atthe University of Munich led by Sophie and Hans Scholl. They produced leaflets protesting against the National Socialist government of Germany in 1942-3 until they were arrested and guillotined.?Soar to Heaven? follows twocharacters Wu and Zhou involved on opposite sides of the Cultural Revolution in China.?The Oxford Revolution? tells the story of James Meredith who fought a lonely battle against segregation and racial prejudice to becomethe first black student to enrol at ?Ole Miss? the University of Mississippi in the USA.Librettist's Note.There are inevitably and properly some differences between the original libretto and whatMax ultimately set to music. Most of these are insignificant but all the Latin texts in the opera were added by Max and texts for the alternating black / white choruses (Scene 19) and final chorus (Scene 28) were written by him.

Opera in tre atti-Antonio Salvi’s “Arminio” is one of the best-loved operatic librettos of the Baroque period.Against the historical background of the so-called “Battle of the Teutoburg Forest” in 9 AD in which the Cherusci leader Arminius as “Liberator of Germany” (Tacitus) inflicted a devastating defeat on the Romans Handel’s opera first performed in 1737 is about the disputes between the Chatti and the Cherusci. Arminius has married the daughter of his arch-enemy Segestes. When he is imprisoned Segestes who has conspired with the Romans sees his opportunity for revenge.- Urtextedition based on the “Halle Handel Edition”- Libretto in Italian with singable German translation- Comprehensive foreword (Ger/Eng) with important information on the history of the libretto as well as on the genesis and the performance history of the work. A detailed resume of the plot is also contained.- Extensive appendix with richly ornamented versions of two arias- Idiomatic piano reduction in the vocal score- Full score (BA4100) and vocal score (BA4100-90) available for sale- Performance material (BA4100-72) for hire