From 30 September to 11 November, the Nederlandse Reisopera will be touring the country with the opera Das Wunder der Heliane (The Miracle of Heliane). The internationally renowned Dutch soprano Annemarie Kremer plays the leading role in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s grand, symbolic opera about love that conquers all. A new arrangement is made by Fergus McAlpine. The premiere will take place on Saturday 30 September in Wilminktheater, Enschede.
Synopsis
Heliane is under the spell of the Stranger, who has brought so much happiness to the people. However, her husband, the Ruler, sentences him to death. As his last wish, Heliane shows him her naked body. She is therefore suspected of adultery and must appear before the Blind Chief Judge. During the process, the Stranger commits suicide. If Heliane is really innocent, she should have the power to bring him back to life, is the verdict. And indeed, the miracle happens.However, the jealous Ruler stabs her, after which Heliane ascends to heaven with the Stranger. Love has conquered.
Love and eroticism
Following the general public acclaim of Die tote Stadt in 2019, the Nederlandse Reisopera presents another masterpiece by Korngold. Das Wunder der Heliane is undoubtedly his most ambitious project: a symbolic story with romantic, almost decadent, and bombastic music. The mysterious, supernatural and divine, great emotions and unvarnished eroticism: it all fits Korngold’s time, the 1920s. So does the spirit of sacrifice and the motto that love conquers all: if not here and now, then in the hereafter.
Sung in German with Dutch and English overtitles.