Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0000584, Thu, 11 May 1995 11:20:34 -0700

Subject
(fwd) Re: New chamber opera based on Nabokov novel (fwd)
Date
Body
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 May 1995 23:16:40 -0500
From: Michael Willkommen <mikewill@alpha2.csd.uwm.edu>
To: mikewill@alpha2.csd.uwm.edu

A new Danish opera 'Latter i moerket' ('Laughter In The Dark') based on a
novel by V. Nabokov is performed these days for the the first time by 'The
Jutland Opera' in Aarhus.

The composer Tage Nielsen may not be very well known outside Denmark, but he
belongs - in my opinion - to the best contemporary Danish composers. The text
book was written by the author Marianne Rosen who actually persuaded Tage
Nielsen to compose the opera.

'Latter i moerket' takes place in Berlin about 1930 and is a rather cruel
story about a rich man who falls in love with a young girl, leaves his family
and eventually has a most unpleasant fate.

In the programme the composer presents the music as post modern and besides
the genuine poetic-modern Tage-Nielsen-sound the audience surely recognizes
many quotes either directly from earlier composers or from the all purpose
musical style cookbook. Tage Nielsen uses the quotations as music dramatic
character properties and thus momentarily touches the musical idioms of
Weill and Eisler.

With 'Latter i moerket' we have got something as infrequent as a credible
and fascinating contemporary opera. With the Danish text translated to
other languages the opera might well achieve success also outside Denmark.

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