Blühen

Opera by Vito Žuraj
Translation| Blossoming
Librettist| Händl Klaus
Language|

* German
* English

Based on| Thomas Mann's 'Die Betrogene'
Premiere|

22 January 2023

Oper Frankfurt

Blühen (Blossoming) is an opera after the short story Die Betrogene by Thomas Mann, with music by Vito Žuraj. The libretto was written by Händl Klaus. Commissioned by the Oper Frankfurt, the opera was first performed there on 22 January 2023, directed by Brigitte Fassbaender and conducted by Michael Wendeberg.

## History[edit]

Mann completed Die Betrogene, his last short story, in 1953. It was translated as The Black Swan. Händl Klaus wrote the libretto, commissioned by the Oper Frankfurt.[1][2] He converted Mann's prose to dialogues in concise language, in seven scenes.[1]

The opera was first performed in Frankfurt on 22 January 2023, directed by Brigitte Fassbaender in a stage design by Martina Segna with costumes by Anna-Sophie Lienbacher. Michael Wendeberg [de] conducted the Ensemble Modern[2] and a vocal ensemble of 12 soloists.[3]

## Roles[edit]

Roles, voice types, premiere cast Roles  | Voice type | Premiere, 22 November 2023[1][2]

|
|

Aurelia von Tümmler  | mezzo-soprano  | Bianca Andrew
Anna (her daughter)  | soprano | Nika Gorič
Edgar (her son)  | baritone | Jarrett Porter
Ken  | tenor | Michael Porter
Dr. Muthesius  | bass | Alfred Reiter [de]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c Brachmann, Jan (23 January 2023). "Ein Tod wird angekündigt". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
2. ^ a b c Sternburg, Judith von (23 January 2023). "Die Oper Frankfurt zeigt die Uraufführung von "Blühen" – Eine Frau stirbt". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
3. ^ Fuchs, Jörn Florian (23 January 2023). "Mit dem Tod versöhnt". BR (in German). Retrieved 11 February 2023.