''Gervaise Macquart'', Op. 119, is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

in two acts by

Giselher Klebe Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano wor ...

. His wife, Lore Klebe, wrote the libretto based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

L'Assommoir ''L'Assommoir'' , published as a serial in 1876, and in book form in 1877, is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series ''Les Rougon-Macquart''. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel — a study of alcoholism and po ...

'' (in German: ') by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. The opera premiered on 10 November 1995 at the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, ...

, Düsseldorf, Germany, under the direction of

August Everding August Everding (; 31 October 1928; Bottrop, Germany – 26 January 1999; Munich) was a German opera director and administrator. He studied at the Universities of Bonn and Munich, where launching his career in the 1950s. He was a member of the Ro ...

, conducted by

János Kulka János Kulka may refer to: * János Kulka (conductor) János Kulka (11 December 1929 – 18 October 2001) was a Hungarian conductor and composer. Career Kulka studied in Budapest, where he was born. He was solo repetiteur and later con ...

, with Marta Marquez in the title role,

Martha Mödl Martha Mödl (22 March 1912, Nuremberg – 17 December 2001, Stuttgart) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with Ast ...

as Bazouga, Markus Müller as Lantier, and

Gwendolyn Killebrew Gwendolyn Killebrew (August 26, 1941 – December 24, 2021) was an American operatic contralto and mezzo-soprano who worked in Germany and internationally, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. She performed in the 1971 wo ...

as Madame Goujet.

References

Eleonore Büning Elisabeth Eleonore Büning (née Bauer; born 2 January 1952) is a German music journalist and writer, known for her opera reviews in the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung''. Early life and education Elisabeth Eleonore Bauer was born in Frankfurt a ...

"Gefärbtes Wasser"
''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History Th ...

'' (47/1995) German-language operas Operas by Giselher Klebe Operas 1995 operas Operas based on novels Operas set in France Operas set in the 19th century Les Rougon-Macquart {{German-opera-stub