Name: Die ersten Menschen
Start: 2021-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2021-06-23T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Dutch National Opera & Ballet

Organization

Holland Festival

Direction d'orchestre

François-Xavier Roth

Mise en scène

Calixto Bieito

Décors

Rebecca Ringst

Costumes

Ingo Krügler

Lumières

Michael Bauer

Video

Sarah Derendinger

Basse

Kyle Ketelsen

Adahm

Baryton

Leigh Melrose

Kajin

Soprano

Annette Dasch

Chawa

Ténor

John Osborn

Chabel

De Nationale Opera

Orchestra

Concertgebouworkest

allemand

Die ersten Menschen -  (Les premiers humains)

Amsterdam

Pays-Bas

Dutch National Opera & Ballet

Theaterzaal

"An erotic mystery": That's the subtitle of the sole opera composed by Rudi Stephan, The First Humans (1920). The conflict at the heart of the story arises from the idea that the first people on Earth were thrown into a place without morality: emotions and drives dictate their behavior. Only after transgressions do ethics and morality begin to emerge to keep primal drives in check. There are echoes of Otto Weininger's misogynist theory of the sexes, as well as Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis. Stephan tells the story in an old-testament setting, shortly after the banishment of Adam (hier: Adham) and Eve (here: Chawa) from paradise. It is a work of late romantic excess and expressionist extremes. François-Xavier Roth conducted this revival in June 2021 in Amsterdam, staged by Calixto Bieito, and featuring a first-rate cast.

Photos