Cristóbal Halffter
Lázaro
Short instrumentation: 4 3 4 3 - 4 4 4 1 - perc(4), hp, pno/cel, synth, str(16 14 12 10 8 or 10 8 6 5 4)
Duration: 100'
Libretto von: Juan Carlos Marset
Roles:
Lazarus
baritone Judas
bass Marta
soprano / mezzo-soprano Maria
soprano Simon / Kriegsknecht I
tenor Johannes / Kriegsknecht II
high tenor Andreas / Kriegsknecht III
bass Jacob / Malco
low baritone
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
3rd flute (+picc)
4th flute (+picc)
1st oboe
2nd oboe
3rd oboe (+c.a)
1st clarinet in Bb
2nd clarinet in Bb
3rd clarinet in Bb
4th clarinet in Bb (+bass cl(Bb))
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
3rd bassoon (+cbsn)
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
3rd trumpet in C
4th trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
4th trombone
bass tuba
1st percussion
2nd percussion
3rd percussion
4th percussion
harp
piano / celesta
syntheziser
violin I (1st desk)
violin I (2nd desk)
violin I (3rd, 4th desk)
violin I (5th, 6th desk)
violin I (7th, 8th desk)
violin II (1st desk)
violin II (2nd desk)
violin II (3rd, 4th desk)
violin II (5th–7th desk)
viola (1st desk)
viola (2nd desk)
viola (3rd, 4th desk)
viola (5th, 6th desk)
violoncello (1st desk)
violoncello (2nd, 3rd desk)
violoncello (4th, 5th desk)
contrabass (1st, 2nd desk)
contrabass (3rd, 4th desk)
Halffter - Lázaro
Sample pages
Work introduction
Ever since the première of the reduced version of Don Quijote, opera lovers in Kiel have had a new favourite among the composers of our time: Cristóbal Halffter. The enthusiasm has resulted in a commission for a further opera, Lázaro, which had its eagerly awaited première on 4 May, conducted by Georg Fritzsch.
Halffter has divided the Biblical material into five scenes and filled it with life in a manner typical of his musical language. The opera revolves around life and death and tells of the (life) force which overcomes death. Despite its expansive scoring, in many places Lázaro has a chamber music character. The very lyrically written vocal parts are contrasted – as so often in Halffter’s case – with distorted quotations from ‘early’ music. The stage direction is by Alexander Schulin, as with Don Quijote.