With a mix of historical works, contemporary compositions, and illuminating lectures, the Komponistinnenfestival her:voice in the German city of Essen has delivered for the second time an extremely engaging and powerful edition. Both in the old and often forgotten works as well as in contemporary pieces, there were plenty of discoveries to be made, and we can only hope they will secure a permanent place in the concert repertoire, beyond Germany as well.
One of the questions that arose during the lectures and debates – the side program that makes the Komponistinnenfestival so interesting – was about New Material: what themes does contemporary music theater long for, especially to remain relevant in these times? The second edition of the Essen festival certainly didn't lack in current and relevant themes. Both Missy Mazzoli and Kaija Saariaho stirred emotions with subjects not so obvious for opera.
American Dream
Missy Mazzoli (1980) may not be a household name in our regions, but she is one of the most sought-after contemporary composers. She has already received, as one of the first women, two commissions from the Metropolitan Opera and in 2022 she was Musical America's Composer of the Year. She wrote, among other works, the opera Breaking the Waves (2016) based on the film of the same name by Lars von Trier. Last year, the New Yorker made an impression at the Komponistinnenfestival in Essen with River Rouge Transfiguration, a brief but powerful work inspired by Detroit's (defunct) industrial past. We were therefore eagerly anticipating a larger-scale work from her: The Listeners (2021, trailer), a two-act opera for which she made the trip to the festival herself.
The Listeners is the second part of a trilogy in which Mazzoli reflects on the darker sides of the American Dream. Together with her trusted librettist Royce Vavrek (known to us from his opera adaptation of is a psychological coming-of-age story. The inner workings of family structure – both that of the Ekdahls and the household of Bishop Edvard Vergerus (a sinister portrayal from none other than baritone Thomas Hampson.) I didn't expect he could appear even more imposing – in voice and presence alike – but here we are., the recent De Munt production directed by Ivo Van Hove) she illustrates in a compelling way how charismatic leaders exploit vulnerable people in their desperate search for understanding and connection. Claire suffers from sleepless nights caused by a deep, persistent hum that drives her to madness. Together with Kyle, one of her students who also experiences this imperceptible tone, she seeks solace in a community centered around Howard Bard, a charlatan and manipulator. Finally, they believe they've found someone (!) who understands their complaints, until it becomes clear that they've actually ended up in a cult.
Suppressed Potential
Mazzoli is also interested in what happens when female potential is suppressed. Where does their strength go when women have to suppress their dreams and what they consider their calling? The constraints of marriage and motherhood and even her job as a teacher feel too confining for Claire. You also wonder about all those other listeners in the clan: is the maddening hum they hear the cause or the symptom of a deep unease?
And yes, The Listeners is also a reflection on the Trump era, Mazzoli confirmed when we asked her about it. According to her, opera and musical theater are certainly the most fitting genres to respond to the zeitgeist, even though they sometimes lag a few years behind due to their long production timelines – she started work on it during Trump's first term. Incidentally, she notes with satisfaction that young people are still attracted to the genre precisely through such contemporary themes. Which is simultaneously hopeful for the future of musical theater. In New York, the The Listeners composer-performer , as she calls herself, also founded theLuna Composition Lab , through which she provides mentorship to young women and non-binary individuals in their first steps at composing opera. (In)nocence
For another work with a contemporary theme, we traveled to Gelsenkirchen, 30 km further away, where the opera
Innocence ) by Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) had its premiere earlier this season at the Musiktheater im Revier. As part of the Komponistinnenfestival, the production there (just like (2021, trailer) by Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) had its world premiere. As part of the Composers Festival, the production there (just like The Listenerstheir last performance. It was not without emotion and well-deserved pride that the highly international cast looked back during a post-show discussion on the intense experience for themselves and for the audience.
Aside from the decidedly challenging music by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, that gripping experience was also very much tied to the multilingual nature of the piece. Saariaho and her fellow Finnish librettists Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière (also her son) gave each of the diverse characters in the work their own language. Thus there is singing and speaking in Finnish, English, German, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Czech, and French. This multilingualism also immediately reflects the unique way in which the characters deal with the events. And yet that linguistic diversity feels completely natural. Contemporary life as it is...
The story unfolds simultaneously in two locations. On one hand, there is the wedding of a Finnish young man with a Romanian woman. The bridegroom's brother killed eleven people in a mass shooting at an international school ten years ago, but the bride is kept in the dark about it. She believes she has found herself in a warm family and a non-violent constitutional state. At the same moment as the wedding-without-guests, young people and their teacher commemorate the ten murdered classmates and a teacher. It is clear that for each of the bereaved, including in the shooter's family, the traumatic event still reverberates. How do they cope with loss, memories, and also with (in)guilt? For is everyone really innocent?
Shock
Through a fateful turn of events, the mother of one of the victims works as a servant at the wedding. Remarkably skillfully done is how the two storylines interact and tension builds gradually. Or how the past shockingly catches up with the present. No one remains unmoved by it; the audience watches with increasing shock. And yet life goes on: 'Let it go'... A true Greek tragedy, complete with Greek chorus.
Also at the {{NOTRANSLATE_1}} in Dresden, this opera is currently on the program (until April 11), albeit in a different production. Worth noting in this regard is that Venla Ilona Blom, who sings the vocally unique role of victim Markéta in Dresden, jumped on an early morning train to Essen to replace the singer with the same role who had fallen ill the night before the final performance. And then quickly back to Dresden for the next performance in a completely different staging... Actually, we're inclined to jump on the train again. To see that version, but also to be able to focus extra this time on the music. Because that is a sensitive point with contemporary productions: there is so much to experience that it's impossible to grasp both the story and the music in one go. In any case, the full houses in Essen and Gelsenkirchen prove that the audience is open to it, despite the observation by Anna-Sophie Mahler, dramaturge of {{NOTRANSLATE_2}} in Essen. During the debate about {{NOTRANSLATE_3}}, she said that in her experience concert halls still show great reluctance toward contemporary themes because they fear the audience won't be receptive to them. Yet apparently they are. Charlotte 'Charles' Sohy
From Kaija Saariaho we also heard her evocative {{NOTRANSLATE_4}} during a {{NOTRANSLATE_5}}, which transported us completely into Nordic realms. Also {{NOTRANSLATE_6}} by English composer Anna Clyne (1980), inspired by a painting by Mark Rothko, made us drift away. The Listeners All this does not mean that the Komponistinnenfestival focuses exclusively on contemporary work. On the contrary. After French composer Louise Bertin (1805-1877) with her completely forgotten opera {{NOTRANSLATE_7}} was last year's most talked-about discovery on the program ({{NOTRANSLATE_8}} read here {{NOTRANSLATE_9}}, also revived during this edition), we were able this year to become acquainted with Charlotte Sohy (1887-1955). Or Charles Sohy, because to have a better chance at recognition, this Parisian woman usually put a male name on her scores. From her we heard {{NOTRANSLATE_10}} – yet another timely theme?... New Material she said that in her experience opera houses still show great reluctance toward contemporary themes because they fear the audience won't be receptive to them. Yet here they were.
Charlotte 'Charles' Sohy
From Kaija Saariaho we received during a symphony concert her atmospheric pieces as well Winter Sky to hear, which took us completely into Nordic realms. Also Color Field by English composer Anna Clyne (1980), inspired by a painting by Mark Rothko, made us drift away into reverie.
That said, the Komponistinnenfestival doesn't exclusively focus on contemporary work. Quite the opposite. After French composer Louise Bertin (1805-1877) made waves last year with her completely forgotten opera Fausto as the most talked-about discovery on the program (read here, which was also revived during this edition), we had the chance this year to discover Charlotte Sohy (1887-1955). Or Charles Sohy, as this Parisian woman usually put a male name on her scores to have a better shot at recognition. From her we heard The Great War to listen – still very much a topical theme, wouldn't you say?…
Sohy began this work in 1914, right at the time her husband Marcel Labey, also a composer, conductor and advocate of her work, was called up to the front. During her lifetime it was The Great War never performed or published. Only a century later (!) did the work resurface. Hopefully it won't disappear into oblivion again after this performance.
Alma Mahler
Furthermore, the Komponistinnenfestival devoted considerable attention this year to Alma Mahler (1879-1964), the woman who was hardly known and defined by her own work, but primarily in relation to famous men: Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, Franz Werfel, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Oskar Kokoschka. Her relationship with the latter is illustrated until June 22 through the exhibition Woman in Blue at the Folkwang Museum, which for the first time in 30 years brings together all the paintings, fans and a fresco that Kokoschka created during the period when he was (morbidly) obsessed with Alma.
The flamboyant Viennese composer's own work is rather modest with 17 surviving songs. Nevertheless, they received considerable attention during various concerts. A Viennese Salon also offered the opportunity to get acquainted with Alma's contemporaries, such as Mathilde Kralik von Meyrswalden (1857-1944) and Evelyn Faltis (1887-1937).
Heavenly Sounds
The concert by the Belgian ensemble B'Rock conducted by Andreas Küppers offered even more work to discover. Under the title Seraphim we heard a selection of songs with religious and contemplative overtones: from the virtually unavoidable 12th-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen, but also from lesser-known composers such as Vittoria Aelotti (1575-1620), Caterina Assandra (ca. 1580-1618), Francesca Caccini (1587-1640), Chiara Margerita Cozzolani (1602-1678), Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704), Maria Xaveria Perucona (?-1709), or the 'younger' Louise Farrenc (1804-1875), Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) and Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953). An Angel by the recently departed Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025) fit wonderfully into this collection of heavenly sounds. We can only hope that B'Rock will revive this program with mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardo, which could also be heard a few days earlier at De Bijloke.
The Komponistinnenfestival will certainly offer even more discoveries during its third edition from March 12 to 15, 2026. We've already marked it on our calendar.
This article also appeared on the blog notities.vrouwaandepiano.be.
