Schönberg GurreLieder

Rarely has a theatrical world premiere been so warmly received as Dutch National Operas production of Arnold Schönbergs lateRomantic GurreLieder in 2014 The production fulfilled a fervent wish of principal conductor Marc Albrecht The music of GurreLieder is timeless and so is its subject a passionate yet forbidden love The story harks back to a Scandinavian saga situated in Gurre King Waldemar loves the girl Tove who is a mysterious character connected to both the world of people and the world of birds The queen is jealous and has Tove killed The Wood Dove tells of this in a moving song and the king accuses God of cruelty A nightmarish scene follows of a fierce army killed in battle which rampages like a horde of ghosts The radiant dawn at the end of GurreLieder shows the insignificance of human destiny compared to the power of nature