- Sarah Kirkland Snider
Hildegard (2024)
- G Schirmer Inc (World)
- fl, cl, bn, hp, str septet
- 3 Sopranos; 1 Mezzo-soprano; 2 Tenors; 2 Baritone
- 2 hr 20 min
- the composer after Hildegard von Bingen
- English, Latin
Programme Note
Synopsis
The year is 1147, and German Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen has begun transcribing her visions of God to obtain Papal imprimatur, at grave risk of ex-communication. She enlists a young convalescent, Richardis von Stade, to help illustrate her visions, and the two women quickly develop a transformative partnership that awakens them creatively, spiritually, and – much to the internal conflict of both women – romantically. In the meantime, a dispute with Hildegard’s superior costs her and her novitiate daughters the right to make music, underscoring Hildegard's fundamental lack of agency in the patriarchal monastic culture and jeopardizing her standing within the Church. As Hildegard anxiously awaits the Pope to declare her prophet or heretic, the love between Hildegard and Richardis becomes impossible to ignore, and an unforeseen crisis threatens both their hard-won accomplishments and the intimacy – in all its complexity and secrecy – that has become their salvation.
Features
- Opera Season Highlights 2025-26
- Discover operatic highlights from Wise Music Classical during the 2025-26 season test