Antikrist (English: Antichrist) is the only opera by Danish composer Rued Langgaard. It was composed in 1921–23 and reworked in 1926–30, but despite several attempts by the composer to have it performed, the work was not premiered until many years after Langgaard's death. Today, it is considered Langgaard's principal work and is included in the Danish Culture Canon; it was the first Danish opera recorded on DVD in 2002.
The first version of Antikrist was completed in 1923 and submitted to the Royal Danish Theatre that year. It was rejected then and several times later because of censorship problems.
In 1926 the composer began a complete rewrite of the work. The text, which had been the overriding reason for the rejection, was radically rewritten. The new version was completed in 1930, after which Langgaard again tried to get it accepted at the Royal Theatre. It didn't help; it was rejected and was turned back again in 1935, again with the text as the primary criticism.
The opera has a non-traditional plot structure split between two acts, with three scenes in each act. The subject of the opera is the biblical figure of the Antichrist, and the consequences of the Antichrist's activities on Earth. It begins with the Antichrist being sent into the world and ends with the Antichrist's final destruction. In between these two structural points, each scene illustrates an aspect of the Antichrist in the world.[1]
Act 1
The prologue starts with Lucifer, sung by a Baritone, raising the Antichrist out of the pit and God, who is represented by a speaking voice, allowing the Antichrist to act on the Earth for a period of time.
Scene 1, titled The Light of the Wilderness, features a tenor singing the part of the Spirit of Mystery and a mezzo-soprano sing the spirit's echo. The scene focuses on the apathetic state of the world and looks forward to the dawning of a new age of hope.
Vainglory, the title of Scene 2, is primarily focused on a tenor playing the Mouth Speaking Great Things and espouses a populist slogan characterized by faith in the progression of society.
In Scene 3, Despair, Despondency (Despair), once again sung by a tenor, sings of pessimism and cynicism that functions as humankind's cross under the age of the Antichrist.
Act 2
The second act starts with Lust, which features a soprano as the Great Whore (Babel), a tenor playing the Scarlet-Coloured Beast, and a mixed choir representing humanity. The two figures elaborate on egocentric hedonism worshiped by humankind.
The Great Whore and the same tenor who played the Scarlet-Coloured Beast, now playing the Lie, feature in Scene 5 Every Man Against His Neighbouralong with a bass representing Hate, accompanied by a mixed choir representing demons. The Lie and the Great Whore argue over truth and power, while Hate intervenes in their squabble, while the world begins to perish.
The final scene Perdition features a Mystical Voice, sung by a baritone, who curses the Antichrist, while God destroys the Antichrist. This is followed by the Ephphatha Chorus, sung by the choir, where God gives peace harmony and insight to creation.
Recordings
Antikrist was premiered as a scenic opera in 1999 at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, on the initiative of the Danish conductor Niels Muus. Three years later the opera was premiered in Denmark in a collaboration between DR and the Royal Theatre. The performance that took place in the Riding School at Christiansborg in 2002 was released on DVD in 2005. In September 2015, Antikrist was performed at the annual Langgaard Festival in Ribe.
This article was initially translated from Danish Wikipedia
January 27, 2023
antikrist, dimmu, borgir, song, stormblåst, stormblåst, english, antichrist, only, opera, danish, composer, rued, langgaard, composed, 1921, reworked, 1926, despite, several, attempts, composer, have, performed, work, premiered, until, many, years, after, lang. For the Dimmu Borgir song see Stormblast and Stormblast MMV Antikrist English Antichrist is the only opera by Danish composer Rued Langgaard It was composed in 1921 23 and reworked in 1926 30 but despite several attempts by the composer to have it performed the work was not premiered until many years after Langgaard s death Today it is considered Langgaard s principal work and is included in the Danish Culture Canon it was the first Danish opera recorded on DVD in 2002 Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 2 1 Act 1 2 2 Act 2 3 Recordings 4 ReferencesBackground EditThe first version of Antikrist was completed in 1923 and submitted to the Royal Danish Theatre that year It was rejected then and several times later because of censorship problems In 1926 the composer began a complete rewrite of the work The text which had been the overriding reason for the rejection was radically rewritten The new version was completed in 1930 after which Langgaard again tried to get it accepted at the Royal Theatre It didn t help it was rejected and was turned back again in 1935 again with the text as the primary criticism Langgaard was slightly more successful in getting the work accepted by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation where the conductor Launy Grondahl worked on the opera in 1940 The work however was not performed until 1980 by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Michael Schonwandt The first recording was made in 1988 by Ole Schmidt and the Copenhagen Philharmonic Plot EditThe opera has a non traditional plot structure split between two acts with three scenes in each act The subject of the opera is the biblical figure of the Antichrist and the consequences of the Antichrist s activities on Earth It begins with the Antichrist being sent into the world and ends with the Antichrist s final destruction In between these two structural points each scene illustrates an aspect of the Antichrist in the world 1 Act 1 Edit The prologue starts with Lucifer sung by a Baritone raising the Antichrist out of the pit and God who is represented by a speaking voice allowing the Antichrist to act on the Earth for a period of time Scene 1 titled The Light of the Wilderness features a tenor singing the part of the Spirit of Mystery and a mezzo soprano sing the spirit s echo The scene focuses on the apathetic state of the world and looks forward to the dawning of a new age of hope Vainglory the title of Scene 2 is primarily focused on a tenor playing the Mouth Speaking Great Things and espouses a populist slogan characterized by faith in the progression of society In Scene 3 Despair Despondency Despair once again sung by a tenor sings of pessimism and cynicism that functions as humankind s cross under the age of the Antichrist Act 2 Edit The second act starts with Lust which features a soprano as the Great Whore Babel a tenor playing the Scarlet Coloured Beast and a mixed choir representing humanity The two figures elaborate on egocentric hedonism worshiped by humankind The Great Whore and the same tenor who played the Scarlet Coloured Beast now playing the Lie feature in Scene 5 Every Man Against His Neighbouralong with a bass representing Hate accompanied by a mixed choir representing demons The Lie and the Great Whore argue over truth and power while Hate intervenes in their squabble while the world begins to perish The final scene Perdition features a Mystical Voice sung by a baritone who curses the Antichrist while God destroys the Antichrist This is followed by the Ephphatha Chorus sung by the choir where God gives peace harmony and insight to creation Recordings EditAntikrist was premiered as a scenic opera in 1999 at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck on the initiative of the Danish conductor Niels Muus Three years later the opera was premiered in Denmark in a collaboration between DR and the Royal Theatre The performance that took place in the Riding School at Christiansborg in 2002 was released on DVD in 2005 In September 2015 Antikrist was performed at the annual Langgaard Festival in Ribe References Edit Rued Langgaard Antichrist www langgaard dk Retrieved 2018 01 06 This article was initially translated from Danish Wikipedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Antikrist amp oldid 1003132000, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
