Péter Eötvös - Senza Sangue (CD)

Release Date: 10/09/20

Péter Eötvös's one-act opera is sort of a pair to Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle

Love and death go hand in hand in Péter Eötvös's one-act opera Senza sangue. Based on the novel of the same name by Alessandro Baricco, the composer wrote his work as a pair to Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. In Bartók's piece death is the consequence, but here it precedes events: this is what makes the work suitable for leading into Bartók's weighty mystery play. The open-ended conclusion suggests some kind of release, and likewise, the composer has not sought extreme technical challenges. 'In this opera there are no avant-garde endeavours whatsoever. I'd like my work to be performable in fifty years too,' said Péter Eötvös of the work.
The story deals with an adult woman who meets the man who, during the Spanish civil war, killed her father in front of her when she was a child. The aim of the confrontation is not revenge, but to seek redemption. 'Forgiveness, without blood-letting, not using violence to solve our problems, but overcoming our grievances, with a humane heart: this is extremely important to me,' explains Péter Eötvös.
The album is a recording of the premiere in the Müpa Budapest two years ago, directed by Csaba Káel, and played by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer, with Viktória Vizin (the Woman) providing a nuanced mezzosoprano counterfoil to Jordan Shanahan's striking, intelligent baritone (the Man).