Peter Rundel - Hector Parra:Les Bienveillantes - Import 3 CD

Credits:

Peter Rundel

Description:

The American writer Jonathan Littell published in French "Les Bienveillantes" (The Goddesses of Mercy) in 2006 from the famous Parisian publishing house Gallimard. The harsh tale told in over 1,400 pages has been the talk of the French literary world, winning the Prix Goncourt and the Académie Française, and has been translated into many languages (Japanese edition translated by Akimasa Kanno, Moriyuki Hoshino, Katsuhide Shinoda, and Hideya Arita, published in 2011 by Shueisha). Under the title of "Eumenides," which concludes the trilogy "Oresteia" by the ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus, this is the story of the difficulties faced by the Jewish population during World War II, from the battle of Stalingrad to the fall of Berlin. The internationally acclaimed Barcelona-born Ector Parra has been commissioned by Opera Ballet Flanders to adapt the story into an opera with a German libretto (directed by Callisto Biate, an internationally acclaimed director of both theater and opera).The premiere at the Antwerpen Opera in April 2019 was a great success, and the positive response has led to a live recording in Ghent, another home of Opera Ballet Flanderen. As in the original work, the opera unfolds according to a subtitle that mimics the 18th century dance suite form. Para's musical language clearly conveys the nuances of the verses while never losing the sing-song quality, and the orchestra, which spins a freely elastic and dramatic sound, consistently arouses interest in the story. This is a rare release of a musical drama that should be treated with renewed interest in the 2020s, when signs of unrest are increasing after the pandemic that has occurred since the premiere of this work, and can be enjoyed in every detail through B Records' careful live recordings. The booklet contains only the staff list and the script (with German/French/English/Western bilingual translation), and does not include a commentary on the production. Naxos Japan