Kepler
Copyright: Norbert Artner
Johannes Kepler lived and worked in Linz from 1612 to 1627. This world premiere opera, however, has less to do with biographical details than with the great questions that man wrestled with throughout his life. Political upheavals and the Counter-Reformation shaped the world into which the astronomer/mathematician was born in 1571. Amidst war and religious strife, Kepler carried on his research “in the book of nature,” seeking to use science to discover clues in the unshakeable belief that the incomprehensible could indeed be known. “God created everything out of numbers”—on the basis of this theory, Kepler designed a new order for the universe.
Philip Glass, one of the best known composers of our time, based his approach to Kepler on the astronomer’s conviction that “without true knowledge, life is dead.” The opera’s libretto is by Austrian writer Martina Winkel. Director, set designer and video artist Peter Missotten created the mise-en-scène. This production carried on the long-term collaborative relationship between Philip Glass and Dennis Russell Davies that has resulted in several world and European premieres in Linz in recent years.
In November 2009, the Bruckner Orchestra gave three concerts featuring this music at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. The production was featured in another world premiere in October at seven selected Cineplexx cinemas—this was the first time that an opera was screened at Austrian theaters live via satellite in HD quality and with 5.1 Surround Sound. The live broadcast was coordinated by renowned opera/TV director Felix Breisach. A recording of this event was televised in December by the ORF – Austrian Broadcasting Company.
WHAT // Music theater
WHEN // Premiere on September 20, 2009
WHERE // Landestheater Linz
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