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Opernhaus Zürich

Orchestra

The Orchester der Oper Zürich

Extras

Opernhaus Zürich Extras

Conductor

Conductor (+1)

Beat Furrer

Stage director

Tatjana Gürbaca

Set designer

Henrik Ahr

Costume designer

Costume designer (+1)

Silke Willrett

Lighting designer

Stefan Bolliger

Chorusmaster

Chorusmaster (+2)

Cordula Bürgi

Dramaturge

Dramaturge (+1)

Claus Spahn

Bass (+4)

Andrew Moore

Paqui

Soprano

Sarah Aristidou

Aquella Muchacham

Opernhaus

Bass-baritone (+3)

Ruben Drole

Vicente Aparicio, Ayo

Schamane

Chorus

Cantando Admont

Soprano (+1)

Mimi Doulton

Baritone (+3)

Leigh Melrose

Eisejuaz

Mezzo-soprano (+3)

Cornelia Sonnleithner

Die alte Chahuanca 1

Helena Sorokina

Die alte Chahuanca 2

Singer

Piroska Nyffenegger

Die alte Chahuanca 3

Bass (+2)

Christoph Brunner

Selim

Friederike Kühl

Lucia I

Patricia Auchterlonie

Lucia II

Elina Viluma-Helling

Mauricia

Lucias Schwester

Tenor

Hugo Paulsson Stove

Reverendo

Bass (+3)

Piotr Pieron

Gomez

Bass (+1)

Ferdinand Junghänel

Pocho Zavalla, Xadi

Filippa Möres-Busch

Eine Frau

David de Winter

Ein Jäger

Tenor (+1)

Bernd Lambauer

Der hinkende Alte

In his operas, the composer Beat Furrer, who was born in Schaffhausen and lives in Austria, likes to explore the extreme and terminal points of human existence. Spheres of existential exposure, desolation and proximity to death are always the starting points for his musico-dramatic explorations. His most recent opera, Das grosse Feuer, which is being premiered as a commission by the Opernhaus Zürich, takes us into the cosmos of an indigenous tribe in South America whose territory has been destroyed by colonization and Christian missionary work. At the center of the story is the leader and shaman Eisejuaz, a man with clairvoyant abilities who is miserably destroyed by modern civilization, which has advanced into the rainforest with devastating force. Eisejuaz stands between the cultures that determine his life: On the one hand, he is deeply rooted in the animistic spirituality of his indigenous community. He hears the voices of the wood in the sawmill where he works and has contact with supernatural animal spirits. At the same time, he is influenced by the Christian missionaries in whose station he grew up. A «voice of the Lord» tells him to save a human life. He transfers this mission of unconditional charity onto an obnoxious, racist white man named Pacqui, whom he cares for until he is betrayed in the most shameful way. Like the figure of Job, Eisejuaz loses everything – his wife, his home, his self-determined existence, his cultural orientation and ultimately his life.
The story of Beat Furrer's new opera, for which the Austrian writer Thomas Stangl wrote the libretto, is based on a novel published in 1971 by the Argentinian writer Sara Gallardo, who met a shaman called Eisejuaz while researching the living conditions of the indigenous Wichi tribe in northern Argentina. Das grosse Feuer is Furrer’s first large choral opera. For the world premiere production, the Opernhaus Zürich has engaged the Austrian choir Cantando Admont, a prestigious independent ensemble that specializes in contemporary choral works. Tatjana Gürbaca, who became one of the most important directors in Zurich under Andreas Homoki, is responsible for the production. The composer himself will conduct the world premiere.

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