World Premiere | Bo Holten ”Schlagt sie tot!” 1. act
11th May 2017
© Lars Skaaning
World Premiere | Bo Holten ”Schlagt sie tot!” 1. act | Luther, The Reformation and our time.
”Schlagt sie tot!” is an opera that focuses more on the historical person, Luther, than on the theological aspects of his person and teachings. Thereby creating an image of Luther that is a stark mixture of good and bad, as it is often seen, with history’s great and notable characters.” These are composer Bo Holten’s words about his new opera ”Schlagt sie tot!” – ”Kill them all!” about the main character of the Reformation.
Celebrating 500 years since the Reformation, and the man who above all others embody the Reformation is not a straightforward task. Librettist Eva Sommestad Holten says: "In its very essence this is an opera about today, and the dynamics and dangers of radical change. The story of the reformation mirrors in surprisingly detail our own world, now seized by escalating aggression at all levels. This makes looking back at our own religious revolution even more important and thought-provoking. Why are we as humans suddenly set afire, promoting methods otherwise unthinkable? And could there actually have been other ways to reform an all-corrupt Church?”
Luther wrote words and music to several psalms and the Holten’s score is based on these melodies. ”There is hardly a minute in the 80 minutes of the first act of the opera without the presence of one of his melodies somewhere in the vast musical ocean ... Sometimes the well-known melodies come to the surface, but often in brand new and strange shapes”, says Bo Holten.
The premiere of the first act takes place on an evening celebrating the Reformation 500 years in words and music with, among others Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, The Danish National Opera a string of eminent soloists and speakers.
Read the Synopsis and more about the opera
Read more about the world premiere (in Danish)
SCHLAGT SIE TOT! - Act 1
Composer & Conductor: Bo Holten
Libretto: Eva Sommestad Holten
German Translation: Jana Hallberg
Martin Luther: Lars Møller |Philip Melanchthon: Gert Henning-Jensen
Spalatin: Simon Duus |Kurfyrst Friedrich af Sachsen: Anders Jakobsson
Philip von Hessen: Mathias Hedegaard |Lucas Cranach: Morten Staugaard
Andreas Karlstadt: Poul Elming |Barbara Cranach: Inger Dam Jensen
Erasmus af Rotterdam: Jens Krogsgaard
THE DANISH NATIONAL OPERA’S CHOIR & VOCAL ENSEMBLE GAIA
AARHUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
