Ligeti wrote Le Grand Macabre in Stockholm in 1978, after he had left Hungary. The libretto was written by Michael Meschke and is based on the surrealist writer Michel Ghelderode's play, set in Breughelland.
The cast is international and includes the Canadian soprano Barbara Hanningan, the Norwegian Frode Olsen and the American Chris Merrit. It is conducted by Leo Hussain, who studied in Britain and is currently a musical director in Salzburg.
The opera will travel to Rome in June. It will be performed by the English National Opera in London in September, and in 2011, it will open at the Liceu Opera in Barcelona.
A production of Le Grand Macabre by Balázs Kovalik was shown in Hungary in 1998. Ligeti attended the premiere of the production.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
Photo: culturevulture.net
