Opera in the 20th century

What a year, 1959. Apart from the fact that the first New Years concert by Wiener Philharmoniker was broadcasted live on Dutch television, Barbie – the fashion plate of Mattel – saw the light of day, and Alaska officially became the 49th State of America, and in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, the first DAF was produced, it was a year of extremes. This was also the case in the land of opera. Extrem modernism and delicate conservatism alternate. Nothing truly spectacular, but beautiful music none the less. Do you want to join us?

In this episode excerpts from:

• – Karl-Birger Blomdahl – Ariana
• – Bohuslav Martinů – Mirandolina

Other opera and operetta productions from 1959:

• Giselher Klebe – Die Ermordung Cäsars
• Giselher Klebe – Die tödlichen Wünsche
• Samuel Barber – A Hand of Bridge
• Zhuang Ying and Lu Ming – Keshan hong ri (柯山红日)
• Rudolf Wagner-Régeny – Prometheus
• Hugo Weisgall – Six Characters in Search of an Author
• Francis Poulenc – La voix humaine
• Heinrich Sutermeister – Seraphine (Die stümme Apothekerin)
• Bohuslav Martinů –The Greek Passion
• Jakov Gotovac – Stanac
• Carl Orff – Oedipus der Tyrann
• Nino Rota – Scuola di guida
• Lukas Foss – Introductions and Good-byes
• Germaine Tailleferre – Le maître
• Eugen Suchoň – Svätopluk
• Paul Dessau – Puntila
• Nicolas Nabokov – Rasputin’s End
• Samuel Barber – A Hand of Bridge
• Karl-Birger Blomdal – Aniara