Opera

Arnold Schönberg

Moses und Aron

24 May, 16 - 17 Jun, 16

Musical conductor: Lothar Koenigs

In this unfinished work Arnold Schoenberg raises a metaphysical question: how can we love what we cannot imagine? Moses has heard the word of a new God, one who called him to free the Israelites from Egyptian captivity. Moses believes that this new God is beyond the capacity of human understanding: we must obey his will simply because it is the Truth. On the other hand, his brother Aaron takes a more practical approach: the superstitious Israelites want to see a sign of divine favour before deciding which path to follow. The opera is a dramatisation of the brutal and overwhelming contrast between utopia and reality, between the ineffability of the ideal and that of expressing it. Aaron represents beauty while Moses represents truth. The plot of the opera centers on the antagonism between the religion of the people (which always has some degree of idolatry) and truth in its purest form (which often can lead to a dangerous idolization of the concept). Much of Moses und Aron was a provocative response to anti-semitic movements in central Europe. It was also a personal expression by Schoenberg of his own "Jewish identity crisis". The composer had converted to Protestantism in 1898 but embraced Judaism in 1933, due to the anti-Semitic atmosphere and his indignation with the events around him. This was the same year that Hitler took power. Moses und Aron was first seen at the Teatro Real in a concert version in September 2012 but it has never been staged in Madrid. This, despite being one of the fundamental works in the entire history of opera. The profound debate posed in this opera of radical musical language will undoubtedly be staged accordingly by Romeo Castellucci, one of the most innovative directors in the European avant-garde scene.

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Subtitles in

Spanish, English

"Moses und Aron"

Opera in three acts

Libretto by the composer, based on the Book of Exodus in the Bible
First performed at the Stadttheater in Zurich on 6 June 1957.

A new production by the Teatro Real, co-produced with the Opéra National de Paris

Artistic information

Creative team

Musical conductor Lothar Koenigs

Dirección de escena, escenografía, figurines e iluminación Romeo Castellucci

Coreografía Cindy von Acker

Chorus Conductor Andrés Máspero

Cast

Moses Albert Dohmen

Aron John Graham-Hall

Sick woman Catherine Wyn-Rogers

Youth / Naked youth Michael Pflumm

Young girl/First naked virgin Julie Davies

A young man Antonio Lozano

Man/Ephraimite Oliver Zwarg

Priest Andreas Hörl

Second virgin Beatriz Jiménez

Third virgin Anais Masllorens

Fourth virgin Laura Vila

Six solo voices Pilar Belaval

Six solo voices Cristina Teijeiro

Six solo voices Beatriz Oleaga

Six solo voices Cristian Díaz

Six solo voices Manuel Rodríguez

Six solo voices John Heath

Releases

Patron friends

27 February

2016

Subscribers friend

03 March

2016

Tickets on sale

08 March

2016

Performances

Date/hour
Space
Cast
Subscription ticket

24 May 2016