''Das verratene Meer'' (''The Betrayed Sea'') is an

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 ...

in two parts and 14 scenes, with music by

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

to a German

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by Hans-Ulrich Treichel, after

Yukio Mishima Kimitake Hiraoka ( , ''Hiraoka Kimitake''; 14 January 192525 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima ( , ''Mishima Yukio''), was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Ultranationalism (Japan), ultranationalis ...

's novel '' The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea'' (). Composed between 1986 and 1989, it was Henze's ninth opera, his third that he wrote for the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

Performance history

It was first performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 5 May 1990, when it was conducted by Markus Stenz and produced by Götz Friedrich. The US premiere was at

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

on 8 November 1991. The opera was revised by the composer. The second version, called the ''Japanese version'', was presented in a concert performance on June 19, 2004 at the Suntory Hall of Tokyo. It was also the national premiere of this opera, it was conducted by

Kazuyoshi Akiyama was a Japanese conductor who held conducting posts of symphony orchestras in Japan, Canada and the U.S., such as the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra from 1964 for life, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1985, the Syracuse Symphony Orche ...

. This version, revised by conductor Gerd Albrecht, was then presented at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

of 2006 in a concert version. For the first time, the opera was performed in Japanese language and with an all-Japanese cast. It was dedicated to the 80th birthday of the composer. The Viennese version, presented in December 2020 at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

, is based on the Japanese version but includes several parts of the original version, mainly orchestra interludes. It stems from conductor Simone Young.

Roles

Synopsis

''Part I: Summer'' * Scene 1 – Fusako's house * Scene 2 – An abandoned warehouse * Scene 3 – A park on a hill above the sea * Scene 4 – Fusako's house * Scene 5 – The warehouse * Scene 6 – The park * Scene 7 – On the pier in the harbour * Scene 8 – The warehouse ''Part II: Winter'' * Scene 9 – The park * Scene 10 – The warehouse * Scene 11 – Fusako's house * Scene 12 – The warehouse * Scene 13 – Fusako's boutique * Scene 14 – The warehouse

Recordings

* 2006: Gerd Albrecht conducting a Japanese cast (including Mari Midorkawa as Fusako Kuroda; Tsuyoshi Mihara as Ryuji Tsukazaki) and the

RAI National Symphony Orchestra The RAI National Symphony Orchestra () is an Italian symphony radio orchestra, owned by the public radio and television company RAI. Its primary concert venue is the Auditorium RAI in the Piazza Rossaro in Turin. Its concerts are broadcast on Ra ...

for the

(live recording 26 August 2006) 2 CDs, Orfeo C794 092 I * 2021: Simone Young conducting the

and as Fusako Kuroda; Bo Skovhus as Ryuji Tsukazaki; 2 CDs, Capriccio C5460; named Opera Recording of the Year by the magazine ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

''.

References

External links

San Francisco Opera page on ''Das verratene Meer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verratene Meer, Das Operas German-language operas Operas by Hans Werner Henze 1990 operas Operas set in Japan Operas based on novels Adaptations of works by Yukio Mishima Japan in non-Japanese culture