Organization

Singer

Soprano

Lauren Snouffer

Griet

Baritone

Thomas Hampson

Jan Vermeer

Laura Aikin

Catharina Vermeer

Yannick Debus

Pieter

Mezzo-soprano

Irène Friedli

Tanneke

Tenor

Iain Milne

Van Ruijven

Contralto

Sarah Castle

Griet‘s Mother

Lisa Tatin

Child engine

Stage director

Ted Huffman

Conductor

Peter Rundel

Lighting designer

Franck Evin

Costume designer

Annemarie Woods

Set designer

Andrew Lieberman

Choreographer

Sonoko Kamimura-Ostern

Dramaturge

Fabio Dietsche

Andrew Owens

Liliana Nikiteanu

Maria Thins

Noelia Finocchiaro

Cornelia

Sava Baumgartner

Cleo Salzmann

Maertge

Eleonore Zweig

Adina Hohler

Lisbeth

Joséphine Jacob

Opernhaus Zürich

Orchestra

Philharmonia Zürich

Others

Statistenverein am Opernhaus Zürich

English

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Zurich

Switzerland

Opernhaus

Girl with a Pearl Earring Wirth,S

Public

German

Approved

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRINGOper von Stefan WirthLibretto von Philip Littell nach dem gleichnamigen Roman von Tracy Chevalier (1999)Uraufführung am 3 Apr 2022ww...

The Zurich Opera House has commissioned the Swiss composer Stefan Wirth to create a music theater work based on the novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by bestselling author Tracy Chevalier, which has already been successfully adapted for the cinema. The Zurich-based composer is one of the great talents of the younger generation. He has theater experience and his style of writing is committed to modern music theater that is as reflective as it is sensual. In the interview we talk to him about colors and the challenges of composing.

Girl with a pearl earring
The girl's gaze is gentle and haunting, with a pearl shining on her ear. It seems as if it has just turned in surprise to the artist who is portraying it - the painter Jan Vermeer. The girl with the pearl earring, the famous head study by the Dutch master, is a snapshot of mysterious beauty. In her novel of the same name, the American bestselling author Tracy Chevalier brought the painting to life and invented a gripping tale about the artist Vermeer and his muse: Griet, the daughter of an impoverished family in Delft, is employed as a maid in the household of Jan Vermeer. Dedicated to hard work and tormented by the Vermeer's children, while cleaning the artist's studio she was the only one to gain insight into the mystery of colors, light and perspectives of the painter. After the patron and voluptuary Pieter van Ruijven ordered a painting with the maid as a portrait motif, Griet often stayed alone in the studio with the artist.

The Zurich Opera House commissioned the Swiss composer Stefan Wirth to create a music theater work from the literary model, which has already been successfully adapted for the cinema. The composer, who lives in Zurich, is one of the great talents of the younger generation. He is experienced in theater and, in his writing, is committed to a reflected and sensual modern music theater. In addition to his composing, Wirth has made a name for himself as a pianist and virtuoso interpreter of contemporary works and has worked as a theater musician with directors such as Christoph Marthaler and Frank Castorf.

The cast also stands for the high standards of this premiere project: Thomas Hampson returns to the Zurich Opera House in the role of Vermeer, while the young American Lauren Snouffer sings Griet. Laura Aikin and the grande dame of opera singing, Felicity Palmer, can be seen as Catharina Vermeer and her mother. Ted Huffman, who delighted the Zurich audience with his interpretation of Madama Butterfly , is the director.

The girl's eyes are soft and intense, and a pearl is shining on her ear. It seems as if it has just turned in surprise to the artist who is portraying it - the painter Jan Vermeer. The girl with the pearl earring, the famous head study by the Dutch master, is a snapshot of mysterious beauty. In her novel of the same name, the American best-selling author Tracy Chevalier brought the painting to life and invented a gripping tale about the artist Vermeer and his muse: Griet, the daughter of an impoverished family in Delft, is employed as a maid in the household of Jan Vermeer. Committed to hard work and bullied by the Vermeers' children, she is the only one who gets a glimpse of the painter's mystery of colour, light and perspective when cleaning the artist's studio. After the patron and lecher Pieter van Ruijven commissioned a painting with the maid as a portrait motif, Griet increasingly stayed alone in the studio with the artist.

The Zurich Opera House commissioned the Swiss composer Stefan Wirth to create a music theater work from the literary original, which has already been successfully adapted for the cinema. The Zurich-based composer is one of the great talents of the younger generation. He has theater experience and his style of writing is committed to modern music theater that is as reflective as it is sensual. In addition to composing, Wirth has also made a name for himself as a pianist and virtuoso interpreter of contemporary works and has worked as a theater musician with directors such as Christoph Marthaler and Frank Castorf.

The cast is also responsible for the high standards of this premiere project: Thomas Hampson returns to the Zurich Opera House in the role of Vermeer, and the young American Lauren Snouffer sings Griet. Ted Huffman, who delighted the Zurich audience with his interpretation of Madama Butterfly , is directing.

Deutsch

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Wirth, S., From (2022/2022), Directed by Ted Huffman,, Conductor Peter Rundel, Opernhaus, Zurich, Switzerland

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