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THE BLIND
A cappella opera for 12 singers

Composer: Auerbach, Lera
Lyricists: Maeterlinck, Maurice
Playing time: 35:00
Opus/Year: 58 (2001)
Genre: Opera
Instrumentation: 2 Soprane, 2 Mezzosoprane, 2 Alte, 2 Tenöre, 2 Baritone, 2 Bässe (6 Hauptstimmen und unterstützender Chor)
Premiere performance: 13.10.2011 / Berlin / D / Kammeroper Berlin

Content:

At a lonely clearing in a wood, a group of blind people await the return of a priest who led them there in order to enable them to enjoy the last rays of the sun before the beginning of winter. Only the sound of the nearby sea can be heard. The longer they wait, the more restless the blind people become; in their desperation they realise that they are helpless and cannot move from their place. Their fear escalates to naked terror when they discover the corpse of the priest. The blind people form a circle round the dead man and begin to pray for forgiveness and salvation. Steps become perceptible during the prayer. The presence of something mysterious makes the blind people panic; they pray ever more fervently. In his mother’s arms, the small child, the only person in the group who can see, breaks out sobbing. What does the child see? Is it rescue, the rescue so ardently hoped for, or is it death?