Glanert, Detlev

Der Engel, der das Wasser bewegte (1994)

Duration: 25 minutes
Chamber opera based on a text by Thornton Wilder

Libretto by Thornton Wilder; German version by Herbert Herlitschka (E,G)

Scoring
S,T,Bar; fl.cl-hn-perc(1):2susp.cym(sm,lg)/sizzle cym/tam-t/BD/3tgl(sm,med,lg)/glsp/crot/3wdbl(sm,med,lg)/hanging glass sticks-gtr-pft(=cel)-vla.vlc.db.
Abbreviations (PDF).

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

World Premiere
5/16/1995
Theater (Concordia), Bremen
Mark Daniel Hirsch, director
Conductor: Catherine Rückwardt
Company: Bremer Theater

Roles

The Angel	Soprano
The Mistaken Invalid	Tenor
The Newcomer, a doctor	Baritone

Synopsis

At the pool in Bethesda, people seeking to be healed wait for the saving angel. He appears first to a doctor, who is mentally ill, and tells him that he cannot help him. There are maladies that not even an angel can cure, only disturbed people. However, the diseased hand of a man with delusions is healed. He then notices the doctor and begs him for help — for his children, who suffer from melancholy.

Der Engel, der das Wasser bewegte is the second of the Three Water Plays (Drei Wasserspiele) by Detlev Glanert, three chamber operas based on the ‘Three-Minute Plays’ by Thornton Wilder, to be performed separately or as a trilogy.

Moods
Dramatic, Poetic

Subjects
Ethics, Magic/Mystery, Society, Literary