Hans Abrahamsen: The Snow Queen

Barbara Hannigan (Gerda), Rachael Wilson (Kay, Katarina Dalayman (Grandmother / Old Lady / Finn Woman), Peter Rose (Snow Queen / Reindeer / Clock)

Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Cornelius Meister, Andreas Kriegenburg

Kriegenburg’s production, cleanly shot by Christoph Engel, suggests it was all in the mind anyway. His is not a show for kids, even if Abrahamsen’s opera might be – getting close to Andersen’s... — Gramophone Magazine, March 2022 More…

Release Date: 14th Jan 2022
Catalogue No: BSOREC2002
Label: BSO Recordings

Gramophone Awards

2022

Winner - Contemporary
International Classical Music Awards

2023

Winner - Video: Opera

Abrahamsen: The Snow Queen

Barbara Hannigan (Gerda), Rachael Wilson (Kay), Katarina Dalayman (Grandmother / Old Lady / Finn Woman), Peter Rose (Snow Queen / Reindeer / Clock), Caroline Wettergreen (Princess), Dean Power (Prince), Kevin Conners (Forest Crow), Owen Willetts (Castle Crow), Cornelius Meister, Andreas Kriegenburg
Bayerisches Staatsorchester

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The Snow Queen is Hans Abrahamsen’s first opera, composed to a self-penned libretto, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s eponymous fairy tale. Following an in-depth study of the topic of snow and a life-long obsession with Andersen’s fairy tales, Abrahamsen composed the opera between 2014 and 2018. The plot follows that of the well-known fairy tale: Two children, Gerda und Kay, are extremely close and seemingly made for one another. Something pierces Kay in the heart and eye, causing the two to become emotionally distant, as if living in two different worlds. Kidnapped by the Snow Queen, Kay then vanishes from Gerda’s life physically as well. She begins a long search for her friend until she finds him again in the midst of snow and ice. As Gerda weeps, her tears extract the demonic splinters from Kay’s heart. Having learned valuable lessons from these many experiences, the two friends are now ready to become adults. Hans Abrahamsen’s music, with its smooth transitions and subtly modified repeats, lends the lyrics both depth and lightness. He is keen to point out the range of avenues for interpretation available. 'It’s possible to read the fairy tale in a variety of ways. It contains many mysteries which are open to numerous interpretations.' Accompanying Barbara Hannigan is a top-class ensemble of singers, including Peter Rose, Katarinya Dalayman and Rachael Wilson. Cornelius Meister is the musical director, currently general music director at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. Director Andreas Kriegenburg’s production of The Snow Queen is a touching story by adults, for an adult audience, offering a journey into the innermost regions of the human soul. Recorded during the premiere run in the presence of the composer and in close collaboration with him, this release captures an important work of new musical theatre.

Reviews

March 2022

Kriegenburg’s production, cleanly shot by Christoph Engel, suggests it was all in the mind anyway. His is not a show for kids, even if Abrahamsen’s opera might be – getting close to Andersen’s genius in recounting big ideas with little tales.

International Classical Music Awards 2023

The winter music of Hans Abrahamsen finds in the tale of Hans Christian Andersen the appropriate framework for a writing torn between complexity and simplicity...The orchestra, conducted with great inspiration by Cornelius Meister, allows us to hear the icy sound of music with an elusive character, while the filming of Christoph Engel shows us the very beautiful scenography of Harald B. Thor.

Hans Abrahamsen: The Snow Queen

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