''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'' is an opera in five acts composed by Gerald Barry to a libretto in English by Denis Calandra closely based on

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

's screenplay for the film of the same name. Co-commissioned by

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

and

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

, it premiered in

concert version A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly presented in c ...

in Dublin on 27 May 2005, before premiering in its fully staged version at the English National Opera in London on 16 September 2005. The opera's German-language premiere took place at Basel Opera on 4 May 2008. The opera, which recounts a destructive lesbian affair, has an all-female cast. The title role in its ENO premiere was sung by Stephanie Friede.

Susan Bickley Susan Bickley is a British mezzo-soprano singer who performs in opera, Baroque and contemporary classical music. Personal life and education Susan Rochford Bickley was born into a Welsh family in Liverpool, England. Her father was a primary sch ...

sang the role of her friend Sidonie von Grasenabb. The production was conducted by

André de Ridder André de Ridder is a German conductor of classical music based in Berlin and working all over the world. Work De Ridder studied conducting with Leopold Hager at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and with Sir Colin Metters at ...

and directed by Richard Jones.

''Aus Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant''

On 2 June 2022 the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

premiered ''Aus Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant'', a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

for

double-bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

by Barry, based on his music for the opera, commissioned by the orchestra for the leader of its double-bass section, Matthew McDonald. The music of the concerto is a representation of a scene in Fassbinder's film, in which Petra falls in love with Karin and invites her to live with her.

References

Operas English-language operas 2005 operas Operas by Gerald Barry Operas based on films Compositions for double bass Rainer Werner Fassbinder {{English-opera-stub