Lunea

Heinz Holliger's Lunea, also known as the "dream opera," premiered to great acclaim at Opernhaus Zurich. The opera interweaves strands from the life and mind of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch (1802-1850), the Hungarian-born Austrian poet who wrote under the name Nikolaus Lenau.

Lenau's last, fragmentary writings have inspired Holliger to create an intricately inventive work with a marvellously evocative lead role for baritone Christian Gerhaher. According to Neue Zürcher Zeitung, "Here Gerhaher can display his full sensitivity in dealing with the nest nuances of language and bring to bear his almost unlimited spectrum of tonal-dynamic gradations in the intonation. The poet Lenau speaks most directly from the sounds and notes..."

The 2-CD set, in a slipcase, is accompanied by an extensive 120-page German-English booklet. The booklet includes the full libretto by Händl Klaus and synopses of each of the opera's 23 scenes. Additionally, there is a liner essay by Roman Brotbeck, a performer's note by Christian Gerhaher, score fragments, performance photography, and more.