Organization

Singer

Miriam Zubieta

Girl (Anya)

Isaac Lee

Man (Alexei)

Eva-Maria Wurlitzer

Popova

Johannes Beck

Smirnov

Kai Wefer

Luka

Stage director

Kay Kuntze

Conductor

Ruben Gazarian

Costume designer

Benita Roth

Set designer

Dramaturge

Sophie Jira

Theater Altenburg Gera

Orchestra

Philharmonisches Orchester Altenburg Gera

English

The Bear

Gera

Germany

Gera, Grosses Haus

Public

A Gentle Spirit

German

Approved

The Bear, A Gentle Spirit

"Watching from beyond the grave, he will see me just as I was before he died ..."
(If he watches from beyond the grave, he will see me as I was before he died.)
Popova (The Bear )

Two English composers of the 20th century brought in two Russian writers of the 19th century to tell in two operas of two marriages that were divorced by death. On this double evening, memories are rolled up once in the tragic, once in the comic.

John Tavener (1944-2013), best known for his sacred compositions, created the chamber opera A Gentle Spirit in the year he joined the Russian Orthodox Church(1977), based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name. A young woman who married out of necessity and threw herself out of the window with an icon in her hands lies dead in front of her husband. In flashbacks that repeatedly flow into the image of the lintel, the widower relives moments of marriage together to understand what drove his wife to commit suicide.

William Waltons (1902-1983) called "Extravaganza" chamber opera The Bear(1967) is based on the vaudeville one-act play of the same name by Anton Chekhov. Popova, the widow of a landowner, likes to play the part of the grieving wife who remains loyal to death until a believer shows up to collect her husband's debts. With a lot of musical humor, the deceased is revealed as a bon vivant and the uninvited guest becomes an opponent in a ludicrous duel scene.

The Bear by Walton, A Gentle Spirit by Tavener, From (2021/2022), Directed by Kay Kuntze,, Conductor Ruben Gazarian, Gera, Grosses Haus, Gera, Germany

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues