Bohuslav Martinu (1890 – 1959)
The Greek Passion
Opera in four acts in the English language
Text by the composer based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis
The People of Lycovrissi:
The Elders:
Priest Grigoris – Wilfried Zelinka
Archon – Ivan Orešcanin
Captain – Dietmar Hirzberger
Schoolmaster – Falk Witzurke
Ladas (spoken part) – Tino Sekay
Other Villagers:
Manolios – Rolf Romei
Katerina – Dshamilja Kaiser
Yannakos – Manuel von Senden
Michelis – Martin Fournier
Panait – Taylan Reinhard
Kostandis – Dariusz Perczak
Lenio – Tatjana Miyus
Dimitri – Richard Friedemann Jähnig
Andonis – Sanggyoul Lee
Nikolio – Christian Scherler
The Refugees:
Priest Fotis – Markus Butter
Despinio – Sofía Mara
An old woman – Yuan Zhang
An old man – Konstantin Sfiris
Canto (baritone) – David McShane
Commentator – Benjamin Plautz
Choir & Extra Choir of the Graz Opera (directed by Bernhard Schneider)
Choir of the Graz University of the Arts (rehearsed by Franz Jo-chum)
Graz Philharmonic Orchestra
Dirk Kaftan, conductor
The style of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu was enriched by nume-rous influences which are reflected in The Greek Passion: magnificent choirs contrast vividly with intimate chamber music, folkloristic elements are placed next to complex, classically worked-out orchestral movements. A highly emo-tional mixture of oratorio and dramatic opera abducts the listener/spectator into a world in which catastrophes abound. Lorenzo Fioroni, who has direc-ted operas in Nuremberg, Augsburg and Heidelberg, has produced this dra-matic contest against fear in Graz.