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Opera in one act (1922),
The opera opens in a convent at night, the protagonist, Susanna, lying in prayer in front of an altar. She is approached by a number of figures, the most prominent of whom is Sister Clementia, who states that Susanna is sick, and ‘scarcely live[s] on this earth any longer’. The dialogue is underpinned by a high pedal in the organ, and - in conjunction with conventionally extra-musical sounds such as that of belfry bells, - heightens one's sense of total immersion, and helps reinforce the ritualistic and religious themes. Susanna finds herself increasingly seduced and overpowered; initially by the sweet scents and sounds entering through the chapel window, but soon by the physical presence of her maid-servant, and her lover. Following a Latin invocation of Satan by Susanna, she is cautioned by Sister Clementia, with the tale of a nun, Sister Beata, who gave in to her erotic fantasies, and as a punishment was bricked up behind the altar. Susanna, no longer capable of abstaining, discards her veil, rips the loin cloth from the crucifix in front of her, and demands such punishment from the nuns, who have now congregated around her. Musically, this finale consists of a giddying, sequence in woodwind and strings, abruptly cut off by a piercingly dissonant, yet dynamically restrained chord in the upper strings. Following this, vocal and brass forces compete – the nuns all now chanting ‘Satana’ - in what is both a deafening and densely scored series of chordal exchanges.
Agnes Selma Weiand ( Suzanna), Elizabeth Soina (Klementia)
Stage direction: John Fulljames, Sets: Johann Engels, Costumes: Marie-Jeanne Lecca, Lighting : Fabrice Kebour
German
English, French
Production compagny : Telmondis
Coproduction compagny : Opéra de Lyon, Mezzo with the participation of France TV
Running Time : 1x28’
Production Year : 2012
Distribution compagny : Telmondis distribution
Video Format : HD CAM, Digibeta 16/9