''Behold the Sun'', Op. 44, is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in three acts and 10 scenes by

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic. Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer Walter Goehr, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a centra ...

with a libretto by John McGrath and the composer. It was commissioned for the 25th anniversary of the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, th ...

. Titled ''Behold the Sun – Die Wiedertäufer'', it was premiered there in German in 1985, and published by

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...

. It was aired in English by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

in 1987. The opera has also been called ''Die Wiedertäufer'' and ''The Anabaptists''.

History

The opera was commissioned for the 25th anniversary of the

in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The libretto by John McGrath and Goehr is focused on the ''Wiedertäufer'' (

anabaptists Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

) and set in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

in 1543, when two Dutch anabaptists,

Jan Matthys Jan Matthys (also known as ''Jan Matthias'', ''Johann Mathyszoon'', ''Jan Mattijs'', ''Jan Matthijszoon''; c. 1500 – 5 April 1534) was a charismatic Anabaptist leader of the Münster Rebellion, regarded by his followers as a prophet. Matthys w ...

and

John of Leiden John of Leiden (born Johan Beukelszoon; 2 February 1509 – 22 January 1536) was a Dutch Anabaptist leader. In 1533 he moved to Münster, capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, where he became an influential prophet, turned the city into ...

(or Jan Bokelson) tried to transform the town to a "City of God" in expectation of the

Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

. The libretto was translated to German by Bernhard Laux. Goehr, who was born in Berlin but grew up and worked in England, worked on the composition between 1981 and 1984. Titled ''Behold the Sun – Die Wiedertäufer'', the opera was premiered in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

on 19 April 1985, conducted by

Hiroshi Wakasugi was a Japanese orchestra conductor. He premiered many of the major Western operas in Japan, and was honoured with many awards for cultural achievement. He was best known for conducting works by German composers such as Richard Wagner, Anton Br ...

, and staged by Bohumil Herlischka in a set designed by Ruodi Barth. It was played in an abridged version, which cut about 50 minutes of Goehr's score. The opera was first presented in English by the

, aired on 1 October 1987. This time, the complete music was played, conducted by John Pritchard. It was published by

. An aria from the opera, Op. 44a, was recorded as part of a collection of the composer's works, with soprano Jeanine Thames and the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

, conducted by

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

Roles

Music

Goehr said about his opera that the people are the protagonists, and the focus of the music is their turbae chorus sections. He combined 20th-century harmonies with baroque features such as

figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsic ...

and

prelude and fugue {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The prelude and fugue is a musical form generally consisting of two movements in the same key for solo keyboard. In classical music, the combination of prelude and fugue is one with a long his ...

References

External links

Cambridge Cultural History of Britain: Volume 9, Modern Britain
{{authority control Operas by Alexander Goehr Operas 1985 operas German-language operas English-language operas Operas set in the 16th century Operas set in Germany