The Tempest

Opera by Frank Martin

Libretto by August Wilhelm von Schlegel and Johann Ludwig Tieck
From the play by William Shakespeare
French translation by Pauline Martin
First performed June 17, 1956 at the Vienna State Opera

New production!
Co-production with the Opéra national du Rhin

Sung in french with french and english surtitles
Duration: 3h with one intermission
Recommended for ages 12 and up

Cast

Musical director Thierry Fischer
Stage director, Set Designer and Costumes Designer Netia Jones
Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth
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Choir director Mark Biggins

Prospero Stéphane Degout
Miranda Catherine Trottmann
Ferdinand Julien Dran
Alonso Nicolas Cavallier
Sebastian Edwin Crossley-Mercer
Antonio Léo Vermot-Desroches
Gonzalo Christian Immler
Adrian Glen Cunningham
Caliban Alex Rosen
Trinculo François Rougier
Stephano Christophe Gay
The Boatswain Georgiy Derbas-Richter
Ariel Joseph Chosson

Grand Théâtre de Genève Chorus
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

About

The King of Naples’ ship has been wrecked by mighty tempest. Its survivors are washed up on a mysterious island, full of melodious sounds coming from nowhere. Their shipwreck turns out to be the first part of a plot hatched by Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, whose downfall they provoked. Prospero has found refuge on this island, where he raised his daughter Miranda. Using the dark arts, he controls the monster Caliban and, above all Ariel, a spirit who is the key to his revenge.

In 1952, Frank Martin began setting Shakespeare’s The Tempest to music, and his opera premièred at the Vienna State Opera in 1956. With obvious delight in the musicality of this enchanted island, he composed a shimmering score for Shakespeare’s text. In 1967, Frank Martin presented a French adaptation in Geneva, in which Ariel was played by an actor supported by the chorus. This version returns to the Grand Théâtre, conducted by Thierry Fischer, in a production where Prospero’s powers are literally electrified by director Netia Jones.