Organization

Singer

Tenor

Kurt Streit

Lazarus

Soprano

Annette Dasch

Maria

Mezzo-soprano

Stephanie Houtzeel

Martha

Bass-baritone

Florian Boesch

Simon

Cigdem Soyarslan

Jemina

Ladislav Elgr

Nathanael

Paul Lorenger

Tänzer

Conductor

Michael Boder

Stage director

Claus Guth

Costume designer

Christian Schmidt

Set designer

Lighting designer

Bernd Purkrabek

Dramaturge

Konrad Kuhn

MusikTheater an der Wien

Orchestra

Vienna Symphony Orchestra

German

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

Approved

Lazarus Schubert

LAZARUS Franz Schubert - Scenic version by Claus Guth

LAZARUS Franz Schubert - Szenische Fassung von Claus Guth

"Nachthelle" D 892 by Franz Schubert / from the scenic version "Lazarus" by Claus Guth

"Nachthelle" D 892 von Franz Schubert/aus der Szenischen Fassung "Lazarus" von Claus Guth

In 1820 Franz Schubert turned to an oratorio libretto by August Hermann Niemeyer from 1778: Lazarus or The Celebration of Resurrection . The work described by the librettist as "Religious Drama" has only survived as a fragment. The first act is complete, the second act breaks off in the middle of an aria. The rest of the manuscript is lost; what else Schubert composed is uncertain. It was not until 1863, 35 years after his death, that the fragment was premiered in Vienna. Nonetheless, Lazarus is one of the most moving works in vocal music and occupies a special position in Schubert's oeuvre.

The raising of Lazarus is only recorded in the Gospel of John, where it precedes the story of Christ's passion. Along with his sisters Maria and Martha, Lazarus is an ardent follower of the Messiah.
He dies in firm belief in the resurrection on the last day. However, Jesus sets a sign by bringing back to life those who have already been buried for several days. In Niemeyer's Lazarus this becomes the turning point in the life of Simon, who has lost his faith through strokes of fate. In the 3rd act (for which we don't know any music by Schubert) he is converted through the encounter with the risen Lazarus.

Following on from the staged performance of Handel's Messiah(2008) Claus Guth continues his preoccupation with the themes of death and redemption with Schubert's oratorio. He uses the fact that the traditional score breaks off in the middle of the burial of the deceased, so the miracle story of the resurrection of Lazarus is left out. With instrumental compositions by Charles Ives (including The Unanswered Question ) and other vocal works by Franz Schubert, he interweaves Lazarus into an evening of theater that revolves around death and what may come afterwards. A performance that deals with questions for which there are no definitive answers.

English

Lazarus by Schubert, From (2013/2013), Directed by Claus Guth,, Conductor Michael Boder, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

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