On January 30, 2022 the opera Antikrist by Rued Langgaard will open at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, with conductor Stephan Zilias, under the direction of Ersan Mondtag. There will be following performances on February 5, 9 and 11.
Antikrist has only been scenically performed a few times and never in Langgaard’s lifetime. Composed in the early 1920s, and fundamentally revised in 1930, Antikrist is an opera about philosophy and religion, about the fall of civilisation and spiritual doom. A critic of the times, warning against the pervasiveness of self-sufficency and materialism, at the expense of the spiritual value of life. Rued Langgaard’s message is that culture and society are digging their own grave, but that the individual can find hope by acknowledging the state of things and opening himself to the divine. A message crystally mirrored in the work, pessimistic at its core, yet lifted by Langgaard’s shimmering music. A picture of its time, opening the audience up to modern parallels.
This will be Mondtag’s Berlin opera debut. A promising young director whose works have been seen at numerous theatre conferences, seems to be made for Langgaard's eschatological mysteriousness through its over-aestheticisation.
Listen to Antikrist
The music of Rued Langgaard is going through a revival of late, with three new albums released in 2021:
Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 3
Gunvor Sihm (violin) and Berit Johansen Tange (piano) released on Dacapo Records.
The two musicians have succeeded in creating an intimate space where Langgaard's strange tone narratives can unfold completely – Henrik Friis, Politiken
Music of the Abyss
Esbjerg Ensemble and Signe Asmussen (soprano) released on Dacapo Records.
Nominated for the P2 Music Awards in the category 'Danish Classical'.
NOT to be missed! – Gregers Dirckinck Holmfeld, GregersDH
Towards the Flame
Music by Rued Langgaard and Alexander Scrianbin, with pianist Gustav Piekut relased on Naxos.
A dramatic journey through stunning landscapes of black and fiery inventions – Gregers Dirckinck Holmfeld, GregersDH
Listen to our Rued Langgaard playlist on Spotify
