Opera in the 20th century

1966, the year in which the first succesful ‘soft’ landing on the moon took place, by the unmanned Russian spacecraft Luna 9. A first kidney transplant is performed in the Netherlands at the Leiden University Hospital; princess Beatrix marries Claus van Amsberg. There is a construction worker’s revolt in Amsterdam during which the building of the De Telegraaf newspaper is besieged; the inauguration of the Coentunnel in Amsterdam is done by Queen Juliana and the Beatles perform their final concert at Candlestick Park, San Francisco. In the world of classical music there are a few new premieres with, among others the first performance of
Symphony no. 8 by Mieczysław Weinberg, the first performance of De Natura Sonoris no. 1 by Krzysztof Penderecki and also the first performance of Sweet was the song the Virgin Sung by Benjamin Britten. In the land of opera things were going at a leisurely pace. A new generation of composers is on the rise but they are experimenting with instrumental music first and the transition is made by many, often unknown, avant-garde pioneers pur sang.

In this episode excerpts of:

·      Samuel Barber- Antony & Cleopatra

·      Poul Rovsing Olsen- Belisa

·      Aleksander Knaifel- The Canterville Ghost (Кантервильское привидение)

other opera productions in 1966:

·      Krzysztof Penderecki- St. Lucas Oratorium

·      Shi Fu and Wusi Manjiang- Ayiguli (阿依古丽)

·      Douglas Moore- Carry Nation

·      Jorge Peña Hen- La Cenicienta (Cinderella)

·      Carlisle Floyd- Markheim

·      Darius Milhaud- La mère coupable

·      Grace William- The Parlour

·      William Butler Yeats- Purgatory

·      Malcolm Williamson- The Violins of Saint-Jacques

·      Ernst Krenek- Der Zauberspiegel

·      Tikhon Khrennikov- A White Night

·      Malcolm Williamson- The Brilliant and the Dark

·      Harry Somers- Evocations

·      Thomas Pasatieri- La Divina

·      Harry Somers- Crucifixion