Peter Eötvös. The Golden Dragon

Israel Contemporary Players, Kiryat Ono, Israel


Making the genre of contemporary chamber opera known in Israel is the goal of a project by the Israel Contemporary Players (ICP) spanning a number of years. Chamber opera as a popular form of musical expression scarcely features in the repertoires of Israeli theaters and concert halls, despite a large repertoire emerging internationally over the last 20 years. Israeli composers see little chance of having their works performed to an Israeli audience, which in turn leads to very few new works being created within this genre.

To counter this deficit, the Israel Contemporary Players are planning a performance of Peter Eötvös' renowned chamber opera The Golden Dragon in collaboration with the Gesher Theatre. Two performances are planned – one in Tel Aviv at the JaffaFest – Jaffa International Theatre Festival and the other at the Bartók Fesztivál in Miskolc, Hungary. The libretto is based on a play by Roland Schimmelpfennig, which was translated into Hebrew and successfully performed as a play in Israel with the support of the Goethe Institute. Focalizing the topic of refugees in Europe the chamber opera will feature 16 musicians and five singers. Bruno Berger-Gorski (Cologne) will stage the opera and it has been possible to enlist Zsolt Nagy (Karlsruhe) as conductor. The Golden Dragon was chosen because of the outstanding quality of Roland Schimmelpfennig's text and Peter Eötvös's composition, and not least due to the relevance of the refugee theme at the start of the project. The international line-up once again reflects Israel's lack of tradition when it comes to chamber opera. For this reason, the project is planned for the medium term, with at least one chamber opera featuring an outstanding line-up to be staged per season at the Gesher Theatre going forward.


May 28 and 29, 2019
Gesher Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel

June 16, 2019
Bartók Fesztivál, Miskolc, Hungary


Further Information:
ensemble21.org.il