OPERA SEARCH
Der Engel auf dem Schiff
(The Angel on the Ship) (1995)Libretto by Thornton Wilder; German version by Herbert Herlitschka (E,G)
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Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes / Bote & Bock
Theater (Concordia), Bremen
Mark Daniel Hirsch, director
Conductor: Catherine Rückwardt
Company: Bremer Theater
| Van, the Undercook | Tenor |
| Minna, the captain's widow | Soprano |
| Sam, an old member of the crew | Baritone |
Three survivors are drifting on the wreck of a ship. They make the figurehead into the god of the Atlantic, pray to him that they will be saved, and gradually confess all their sins. When a ship appears on the horizon, they quickly throw the great god Lilli into the sea.
Der Engel auf dem Schiff is the third 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.
"Jazzy overtones and song forms rose to the top as Wilder’s shipwrecked trio sought salvation by worshipping their figurehead, only to abandon her once rescue loomed. This was fun.”
The Times
Dramatic, Poetic