Heinz Holliger: Lunea (Traumoper)

Heinz Holliger’s “dream opera” Lunea which was premiered, to great acclaim, at Opernhaus Zurich, interweaves strands from the life and mind of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch (1802-1850), the Hungarian-born Austrian poet who wrote under the name Nikolaus Lenau. Lenau’s last, fragmentary writings have fired Holliger’s imagination and led to the creation of an intricately inventive work with a marvellously evocative lead role for baritone Christian Gerhaher. Neue Zrcher Zeitung: “Here Gerhaher can display his full sensitivity in dealing with the finest nuances of language and bring to bear his almost unlimited spectrum of tonal-dynamic gradations in the intonation. The poet Lenau speaks most directly from the sounds and notes…” The 2-CD set, in slipcase, is accompanied by an an extensive 120 page German-English booklet with the full libretto by Hndl Klaus and synopses of each of the opera’s 23 scenes, as well as a liner essay by Roman Brotbeck, a performer’s note by Christian Gerhaher, score fragments, performance photography, and more.

Heinz Holliger: conductor, composer / Recording Venue: Opernhaus Zürich

There’s no pretending that Lunea is an easy work to get on terms with, it’s never straightforward. But it is an immensely imaginative opera, full of very beautiful, fragile music. — The Guardian, 12th May 2022