OPERA SEARCH
Das kalte Herz
(Nuit sans aube) (2023/25)Libretto by Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg; French version by Catherine Fourcassié (G,F)
2S,2M,Bar, child soloist; chorus;
3(II=picc,III=bfl).2(II=corA).3(II=dbcl,III=bcl).2.dbn-4.3.3.1-perc(5)-harp-pft-strings(12.10.8.6.5);
reduced orchestration: 3(II=picc,III=bfl).2(II=corA).2(II=dbcl).2(II=dbn)-4.3.3.1-perc(5)-harp-pft-strings(9.7.6.6.4)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Bote & Bock
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
James Darrah, director
Conductor: Matthias Pintscher
Company: Staatsoper Unter den Linden
| PETER | Baritone |
| ANUBIS | Mezzo-soprano |
| MOTHER | Mezzo-soprano |
| CLARA | Soprano |
| AZAËL | Speaking role |
| Old woman | Soprano |
| Child | Child soloist |
Tableau 1: In the fores: An old woman tells a child about an eerie ritual where the people of the village make a sacrifice to the gods. She says that during the coming night the goddess Anubis will appear and demand what is her due.
2: Invocation – Dream: Peter speaks words from the invocation of the goddess Anubis saying that he has been chosen because he was born on a Sunday and bears a mysterious mark.
_ Forest Music (Waldmusik) I_
3: Pain: Clara comes to her lover Peter, who is frightened by his dreams. They are unable to find a language in common. In his pain, he expresses the desire to tear his heart from his breast.
4: Fairy Tale: Azael is drawn to Peter’s heart and tells him a fairy tale. It is about an old man in the forest who has turned his back on humanity. A fearful wolf begs him for help. The man refuses to help the wolf because neither human being nor animal has ever helped him. Peter doesn’t understand why he was told this tale and what Azael wants from him.
5: The Holy Cloak: Peter’s mother promises Azael to remove the heart of her son, having taken on another form. She receives the vestments of the goddess Anubis from Azael.
6: Mother: Pe Peter is afraid of the coming “great transformation.” His mother comforts him and reminds him that Peter is chosen and bears the Mark of Cain as a sign of this. Both summon the darkness they share.
_ Forest Music (Waldmusik) II_
7: The Mark of Cain: Clara and Peter declare their love for one another. Peter tells her about the Mark of Cain. Clara asks him from whom he got it. Peter refuses to answer. Clara sees his relationship with Peter as lost and leaves him.
_ Forest Music (Waldmusik) III_
8: Invocation: Peter invokes the goddess Anubis.
9: Anubis: Anubis desires Peter’s heart and tells him that she will replace it during the night with a stone.
10: White Stillness (Forest Music (Waldmusik) IV): Anubis removes Peter’s heart.
11: The Cold Heart: Peter realizes that he lacks all emotion after the ritual has been completed.
12: Night without Morning: Peter’s mother denies Azael her son’s heart and realizes what she has done, full of regret.
The heart is an especially popular symbol as the physical locus of human feelings, longings, and pain. A man would like to live without the painful feelings in his heart; his lover wants to unite with his
heart, while transcendental powers would also like to win it over. The composer Matthias Pintscher invents overwhelming and gripping sounds for the mysterious and strange events that take place in his opera. Pianist and poet Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg wrote the libretto loosely based on Wilhelm Hauff’s fairy tale Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart) from 1827. In his new poetic text as well, the forest serves as a fascinating backdrop for various worlds of human emotion and uncanny moments of human existence.
Poetic