Heart Chamber – Composition Commission issued to Chaya Czernowin

Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany

 

Heart Chamber is how Israeli composer Chaya Czernowin describes her new piece of musical theater intended as an "investigation of love". In so doing she places herself in the centuries-old tradition of the opera genre that revolves around the topic of “love” right from the beginning. At the same time Chaya Czernowin, who wrote the libretto herself, casts a modern glance from the 21st century onto old opera material: with questions, doubts and distance but also with the hope of a utopia of love. At the focus of Heart Chamber is a developing love story between two people and the powers that emerge from this: attraction and rejection – the longing to melt into each other and the desire for independence – both on a mental and psychological and also a specifically physical level. The composition that is being supported by the EvS Music Foundation formulates these powers and their movements like on a constantly changing map. At the same time, the process of composing, creative activity itself, is an intra-musical topic. At the focus of Heart Chamber is the human voice as a means of expression, as an art form and as a means of communication. The work is designed for six solo singers. They embody the two central figures, a man and a woman. Both are portrayed by three singers each. Each singer embodies a character trait, a particular nature of the figure. The solo singers are joined by a mixed choir, large orchestra, guest ensemble (electronic instruments) and electronics. The electronics are being developed together with the SWR Experimentalstudio Freiburg. Musical direction of the premiere at the opera house Deutsche Oper Berlin comes care of Johannes Kalitzke, while direction is performed by Claus Guth.

 

November 14, 2019
November 21 – December 6, 2019
Großes Haus, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany

 

Further information:
deutscheoperberlin.de