The premiere will be recorded by German radio broadcaster NDR and broadcast at 7pm on April 21. The performance can also be heard online.
The opera, based on a dramatic rendition of an Aldous Huxley novel by John Whiting, is ?a social policy drama about how to get rid of somebody in a small town?, Kovalik says.
The story, based on historical facts, centres on Bishop Urbain Grandier, who comes under scrutiny because of the visions of a demon-possessed nun. But Grandier?s eventual death sentence is also politically motivated by his opposition to Cardinal Richelieu and the destruction of the city of Loudun?s fortifications.
?The structure of the piece is very interesting, as is the fact that it premiered during the student movement uprisings in Hamburg in 1968,? Kovalik said. ?It would be interesting to show the piece in Hungary, where it has never been performed,? he added.
Kovalik said the piece was chosen to offer German audiences something other than the standard fare of Puccini and Verdi.
?The audiences in German take their education seriously. The audience goes to the theatre because they?re curious about what will happen. They don?t expect something they already know,? he explained.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
