Saxton's epic opera merges Christian and Jewish tradition in the myth of the eternal outsider, the Wandering Jew.
The action shuttles through space and time, beginning in a Nazi death camp, going back to Jerusalem during the Roman occupation, then forward to Córdoba in the 11th century and to the Venice carnival in the 18th, and including confrontations with Faust, Mephistopheles, Odin and Kundry en route. Guardian
Commissioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 3, the work features soloists including Roderick Williams, Tim Mirfin, Teresa Cahill and Brindley Sherratt; the BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andre de Ridder; and post-production from Antony Pitts.
Cast:
Wandering Jew Roderick Williams baritone
Jesus/Beggar Tim Mirfin baritone
Widowed Mother Teresa Cahill soprano
Fortune Teller Hilary Summers mezzo-soprano
Kundry Louise Winter mezzo-soprano
Faust Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts tenor
Mephistopheles Brindley Sherratt bass
Odin Graeme Danby bass
Old Man Jeremy White bass
Actors
Showman Simon Paisley Day
Widowed Mother (spoken) Jennie Stoller
Child 1 Lydia Kalian
Child 2 Rudi Goodman
Solo roles (members of BBC Singers)
Cantor Stephen Charlesworth
Old Man Andrew Murgatroyd
Young Woman Rebecca Lodge
Guard Robert Johnston
3 Roman Soldiers Michael Bundy, Charles Gibbs, Adrian Peacock
Angels of Conscience Elizabeth Poole, Olivia Robinson, Alison Smart
Sound design Antony Pitts, Artem Vassiliev
AUDIO
REVIEWS
'This project blew me away ... Saxton's tonal (or modal) musical language ranges from the cinematic spectacular to rapt spirituality' The Times (*****)
'The action shuttles through space and time, beginning in a Nazi death camp, going back to Jerusalem during the Roman occupation, then forward to Córdoba in the 11th century and to the Venice carnival in the 18th, and including confrontations with Faust, Mephistopheles, Odin and Kundry en route. … the performance is first rate … a major undertaking that has been realised with great care' The Guardian
'The performance is first rate … a major undertaking that has been realised with great care' The Guardian
'Baritone Roderick Williams is impressive in the title role' BBC Music Magazine
"His considerable technique and imagination make for writing of compelling melody (though not always in the conventional sense) and of richly organic background texture." The Observer
'delicately coloured and lyrical, more meditation than opera' The Observer
'A near-exemplary presentation of a work that offers much of the substance in it's treatment of an age-old yet continually relevant narrative, and which anyone at all interested in English-language opera needs to hear' International Record Review
Catalogue No.: NMCD170
Released: June 2011