''Das Gesicht im Spiegel'' (''The Face in the Mirror'') is an opera in 16 scenes by Jörg Widmann, with a libretto in German by

Roland Schimmelpfennig Roland Schimmelpfennig (born 19 September 1967) is a German theatre director and playwright. His plays are performed in more than 40 countries. Biography Schimmelpfennig was born in Gottingen. He began his career as a journalist in Istanbul, b ...

. The opera is about the emotional consequences and ethical issues of human cloning. The opera was premiered at the

Cuvilliés Theatre The Cuvilliés Theatre (german: link=no, Cuvilliés-Theater) or Old Residence Theatre (''Altes Residenztheater'') is the former court theatre of the Residenz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. History Elector of Bavaria Maximilian III Joseph (reg. ...

in Munich on 17 July 2003, conducted by Peter Rundel.

Background and performance history

Jörg Widmann received in 2000 a commission from the Bavarian State Opera for the 2003

Munich Opera Festival The Munich Opera Festival (german: Münchner Opernfestspiele) takes place yearly in the Bavarian capital from late June to late July. Preceding on the calendar the two nearby festivals of Bayreuth and Salzburg, which both start in late July, the ...

. Sir Peter Jonas, manager of the Bavarian State Opera, commissioned an opera that would address a contemporary issue. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

deals with the emotional consequences and ethical issues of human cloning. The stage work was composed from 2002 to 2003 and finished in Freiburg on 11 June 2003. The opera was premiered at the

Munich on 17 July 2003, with the Orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera conducted by Peter Rundel and

Tölzer Knabenchor The Tölzer Knabenchor (Tölz Boys' Choir) is a German boys' choir named after the Upper Bavarian city of Bad Tölz and since 1971 based in Munich. The choir is ranked among the most versatile and sought-after boys' choirs in the world. Histor ...

. ''Das Gesicht im Spiegel'', Widmann's first full-length work, was chosen by critics of the

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...

as the most important premiere of the season 2003–2004. The opera was also performed two years later in

Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach gGmbH is a daughter company of the German cities Krefeld and Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway betwee ...

conducted by Kenneth Duryea. In March 2010 a revised version of the opera was premiered in

Opernhaus Düsseldorf Opernhaus Düsseldorf ( en, Düsseldorf Opera House) is a venue and administrative headquarters of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. The original opera house was constructed between 1873 and 1875 as the Stadttheater Düsseldorf, designed by Ernst Gie ...

conducted by

Axel Kober Axel Kober (born 10 February 1970) is a German conductor. Since 2009 he has been the music director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Kober was born in Kronach and studied conducting under Peter Falk and Günther Wich at the Hochschule für Musik W ...

. In September 2022, the opera would be performed at the

Neue Oper Wien Neue Oper Wien is an Austrian opera company based in Vienna. Insight Guides cites them and the Wiener Taschenoper as "two of the independent groups which perform exclusively 20th and 21st-century opera". Operas performed, 1992–2014 * 1992: Mu ...

, with conducting, and Carlos Wagner directing the stage. This production would go on to give the Hungarian premiere at

Müpa Budapest Müpa Budapest (between 2005 and 2015 ''Palace of Arts'' – ''Művészetek Palotája'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian) is a building in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, officially opened in March 2005. It is located near Rákóczi Bridge and ...

Roles

Instrumentation

The opera uses a small orchestra, with only 23 players. * ''Woodwinds'': 2 flutes, 2 clarinets (A, B), 2 bassoons * ''Brass'': 2 horns (F), trumpet (C), trombone * ''Strings'': 4 violins, 3 cellos, double bass * ''Percussion'': 2 players * piano, guitar, accordion

Background and performance history

Roles

Instrumentation

Synopsis

Scene 1–5

Scene 6–10

Scene 11–16

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading