The Death of Klinghoffer

Submitted by nonesuch on
genre
New Music
also filed under
Sanford Sylvan
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Adams’s controversial opera, with libretto by Alice Goodman, addresses the 1985 terrorist hijacking of the Achille Lauro ocean liner. Following its 1991, Peter Sellars–directed premiere, the New York Times said the work “transmutes contemporary history into operatic poetry.”

Description

The CD of this album is available to purchase at ArkivMusic.

Adams’s controversial opera, with libretto by Alice Goodman, addresses the 1985 terrorist hijacking of the Achille Lauro ocean liner. Following its 1991, Peter Sellars–directed premiere, the New York Times said the work “transmutes contemporary history into operatic poetry.” The Los Angeles Times' Mark Swed calls it "a haunting and meaningful meditation on terrorism, its roots and causes," and The New Statesman says it's "an intense and solemn St. Matthew Passion for the late 20th century."

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
The premiere performances of The Death of Klinghoffer took place at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels (March 19, 1991), the Opéra de Lyon (April 13, 1991), and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (September 5, 1991).
Music by John Adams
Libretto by Alice Goodman
Peter Sellars, director
Kent Nagano, musical director
Mark Morris, choreography
George Tsypin, set design
Dunya Ramicova, costume design
James F. Ingalls, lighting design
Jonathan Deans, sound design
John Boesche, projection design

FIRST RECORDING
Produced by John McClure
Recorded April and July 1991 at Auditorium Maurice Ravel, Lyon, France
Balance Engineer: John Newton
Recording Engineer: Henk Jansen
Recording and Editing Engineer: Everett Porter
Stage Sound Design: Jonathan Deans
Stage Production Sound Engineer: Graham Carmichael
Audio Assistant: Susan Presson
Production Coordinator: Kathryn King

Design by John Heiden
Cover photo by Joel Meyerowitz

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

79281

Number of Discs in Set
2discs
ns_album_artistid
2
ns_album_id
9
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Available
Artist Name
John Adams
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Cast (in order of appearance):
The Captain: James Maddalena
The First Officer / “Rambo”: Thomas Hammons
Swiss Grandmother / Austrian Woman / British Dancing Girl: Janice Felty
Molqi: Thomas Young
Mamoud: Eugene Perry
Leon Klinghoffer: Sanford Sylvan
Omar: Stephanie Friedman
Marilyn Klinghoffer: Sheila Nadler

Orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon
Kent Nagano, musical director and conductor

The London Opera Chorus
Richard Cooke, director

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
Price
0.00
UPC
075597928129BUN
Label
MP3
Price
15.00
UPC
603497121168

  • 79281

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Nonesuch Recordings Receive Seven Grammy Awards Nominations

    Congratulations to all of the Nonesuch nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards: The Black Keys for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Beautiful People (Stay High)," from Ohio Players; Ambrose Akinmusire's Owl Song for Best Jazz Instrumental Album; John Adams's Girls of the Golden West for Best Opera Recording and Best Engineered Album, Classical; Timo Andres's The Blind Banister for Best Engineered Album, Classical; and Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion's Rectangles and Circumstance for Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance.

    Read more
  • Watch: John Adams on Composing 'Girls of the Golden West'

    "Right from the start, the very first notes sound almost like a pickaxe going against rock and then against that the singing has a certain quality that I think has that same simplicity of affect," composer John Adams says of his 2017 opera, Girls of the Golden West, in a new Boosey & Hawkes video marking the work's recently released first recording. "All of that comes together in this opera in a way that I think only opera can actually address, because it addresses you on an intellectual level, but it also fundamentally touches you on an emotional level." You can see what else he had to say here.

    Read more
View All

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    The CD of this album is available to purchase at ArkivMusic.

    Adams’s controversial opera, with libretto by Alice Goodman, addresses the 1985 terrorist hijacking of the Achille Lauro ocean liner. Following its 1991, Peter Sellars–directed premiere, the New York Times said the work “transmutes contemporary history into operatic poetry.” The Los Angeles Times' Mark Swed calls it "a haunting and meaningful meditation on terrorism, its roots and causes," and The New Statesman says it's "an intense and solemn St. Matthew Passion for the late 20th century."

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Cast (in order of appearance):
    The Captain: James Maddalena
    The First Officer / “Rambo”: Thomas Hammons
    Swiss Grandmother / Austrian Woman / British Dancing Girl: Janice Felty
    Molqi: Thomas Young
    Mamoud: Eugene Perry
    Leon Klinghoffer: Sanford Sylvan
    Omar: Stephanie Friedman
    Marilyn Klinghoffer: Sheila Nadler

    Orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon
    Kent Nagano, musical director and conductor

    The London Opera Chorus
    Richard Cooke, director

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    The premiere performances of The Death of Klinghoffer took place at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels (March 19, 1991), the Opéra de Lyon (April 13, 1991), and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (September 5, 1991).
    Music by John Adams
    Libretto by Alice Goodman
    Peter Sellars, director
    Kent Nagano, musical director
    Mark Morris, choreography
    George Tsypin, set design
    Dunya Ramicova, costume design
    James F. Ingalls, lighting design
    Jonathan Deans, sound design
    John Boesche, projection design

    FIRST RECORDING
    Produced by John McClure
    Recorded April and July 1991 at Auditorium Maurice Ravel, Lyon, France
    Balance Engineer: John Newton
    Recording Engineer: Henk Jansen
    Recording and Editing Engineer: Everett Porter
    Stage Sound Design: Jonathan Deans
    Stage Production Sound Engineer: Graham Carmichael
    Audio Assistant: Susan Presson
    Production Coordinator: Kathryn King

    Design by John Heiden
    Cover photo by Joel Meyerowitz

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

More From John Adams, Los Angeles Philharmonic