''Clara'' is an opera in two acts and 18 tableaux by

Hans Gefors Hans Gefors (born 8 December 1952) is a Swedish composer. He was born in Stockholm and has lived in Lund since the mid-1990s. Selected works * ''La boîte chinoise'', for guitar (1975) * ''Poeten och glasmästaren'', chamber opera (1979, libretto ...

based on a French-language libretto by

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorar ...

. The opera premiered at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

at the Salle Favart in Paris on 7 December 1998. This was Gefors' fifth opera; he had previously composed full-length stage works for the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

(''Christina'', 1986) and for

Wiesbaden Opera The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden), also known as the Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden, is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state of Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, b ...

(''Der Park'', 1992).

Background

The work was commissioned from Gefors in 1995 and the composer and librettist met in Paris that year. Having received the first drafts of the text the following year, Gefors began composition in April 1997. The opera is written for traditional acoustic orchestral forces plus some electronic instruments.Programme book for Opéra-Comique production of ''Clara'', 1998–1999 season, Entretien avec Hans Gefors, page 15-19. For the premiere production, the director was

Günter Krämer Günter Krämer (born December 2, 1940) is a German stage director, especially for opera, and a theatre manager who has staged internationally. Career Born in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Krämer studied German language and literature and gain ...

with sets and costumes by Gottfried Pilz; lighting was designed by Fabrice Kebour. The opera was later performed in the same production at the Stadt Theater in Bern on 3 November 2000. It was mounted at the Royal Swedish Opera on 12 May 2001 (in Swedish) with Susann Végh in the title role and Werner Seitzer conducting. The production was recommended to be viewed by adults only.Mälhammar, Åsa. Report from Stockholm, Sweden. ''

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'', October 2001, Vol 52 No.10, p1247. Two performances took place in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

the following May.

Roles

Synopsis

The first scene, set in a big coastal house on the

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, ends with the murder of Clara's father. At the funeral a police inspector implies that the family's wealth came from her father's connection to organized crime. Clara is determined to discover why her father was murdered, and leaves the family home in search of information. Her travel brings her to red-light areas, where, as well as the doctor and Pascal, she meets a client, Lucio. At a gambling den she sees a ghostly apparition of Faustin, while Irène and Adriana warn her that Lucio is dangerous; however she goes off with Lucio. Amélia arrives at the den hallucinating and not recognizing her daughter. Back at the family house the contents are being sold by Pascal. Lucio arrives and is recognized by Amélia. Lucio tells Clara how her childhood comforts were paid for – by death and narcotics. Pascal threatens his sister, but the confrontation ends with his death and that of Lucio. By the end of the opera Clara has discovered who the person was she must accept as her father, but learns more about herself as she leaves to restart her life.

References

{{Jean-Claude Carrière Compositions by Hans Gefors 1998 operas French-language operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Works by Jean-Claude Carrière