KÖNIG HAMED UND SEINE ERSTE FRAU
50′ – 2015
opera
König Hamed und seine erste Frau
Furious, King Hamed drove all the women out of his kingdom, except his mother. Princess Sherifa enters the country, disguised as a prince, emissary of a neighboring kingdom. She / he visits Hamed. The latter, finding him so skillful and refined, falls in love with him. Yet he hesitates: is he a man? Is she a woman? Hamed doubt and asks his mother for advice. Then follow a series of tests, to unmask the feminine character. Sherifa, testifying her taste for weapons and spicy food, does not fall into any trap. Until the king offers her to bathe with him to strip her …
the truth. Sherifa disappears, leaving a message to Hamed at the gate of the city where she confesses to be a woman who came to challenge him. Deceitful, the king sets off a pursuit … With a lot of humor this Arab tale is played by male and female models. The music questions these stereotypes in a playful and liberating way, to open our eyes and our ears to an intercultural society revealing the similarities and the differences between traditions.
set:
3 singers (baritone, tenor, tenor counter), oboe, bassoon, contrabass, oriental percussion, western percussion
children’s opera for 3 singers and small instrumental ensemble
on a libretto by Ina Karr
adaptation & mise en scène Anselm Dalferth
Singing in German
Premiere: 28 May 2015
Venue: Staatoper Mainz, Germany
by Brett Carter, baryton, Alin-Ionut Deleanu, contre tenor
Benedikt Nawrath, tenor
June 1, 2015 Mainz Opera House (Mainz) Germany
November 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 2015 Riever Opera (Germany) every day 2 performances
December 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 2015 Riever Opera House (Germany)
February 1, 2016 Mainz Opera House (Germany)
March 7, 2016 Mainz Opera House (Germany)
January 8 to February 8, 2016 Opera House Mainz (Mainz) Germany
February 19, 2016 Opera House Mainz (Mainz) Germany
November 3, 2016 Opera House Mainz (Mainz) Germany
November 22 , 23, 24, 2016 “Happy New Ears” Festival, National theater Mannheim Germany
January 22, 2017 Staatstheater Mainz
January 24, 2017 Staatstheater Mainz
Commissioned by Staatstheater Mainz
