WOLFGANG RIHM
Jakob Lenz
Chamber Opera
| Lenz | Joachim Goltz, baritone |
| Oberlin | Patrick Zielke, bass |
| Kaufmann | Raphael Wittmer, tenor |
| Voice | Josefin Feiler • Rebecca Blanz, sopranos
Marie-Belle Sandis • Maria Polanska, altos
Serhii Moskalchuk • Marcel Brunner, basses |
| Children | Members of Children Choir of the Nationaltheater
|
Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim
Franck Ollu, conductor
Wolfgang Rihm’s opera Jakob Lenz, which received its world premiere at the Hamburg State Opera’s Opera stabile
on 8 March 1979, can be understood as a palimpsest. Resembling a parchment on which writings of different ages
overlap but always remain translucent, this opera is also the result of multiple layering: we see the historical figure of
the Sturm und Drang poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz from the second half of the 18th century through the eyes of
Georg Büchner, who wrote his Lenz novella around 1835. The story is mirrored once again in Michael Fröhling’s libretto
version, on which Rihm’s opera is based. This recording is of the opening night performance of the opera’s staging at
the Nationaltheater Mannheim in December 2021, conducted by Franck Ollu.