Dresden, 3 September 2024. The opera Die Jüdin von Toledo (The Jewess of Toledo) was enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike at its premiere on 10 February 2024. Now it is in the running for the best world premiere of the year 2024 at the International Opera Awards.
The focus of much discussion due to its highly topical subject matter, this work was one of the most eagerly awaited highlights of the 2023/24 opera season. Saxon State Opera commissioned Detlev Glanert to write the score to a libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel. Together the two artists created a truly extraordinary work of music theatre. The premiere, conducted by Jonathan Darlington, featured a brilliant roster of singers lead by Heidi Stober as the Jewess Rahel and Christoph Pohl as the King of Castile, ably supported by Lilly Jørstad, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, Markus Marquardt and Aaron Pegram. Canada’s Robert Carsen, one of today’s most sought-after stage directors, made his Dresden debut with this production.
Loosely based on the 19th-century historical tragedy by Austrian writer Franz Grillparzer, Die Jüdin von Toledo tells of the love affair between King Alfonso VIII of Castile and the beautiful Jewess Rahel during the Spanish Reconquista of the 13th century. In the turbulent city of Toledo, under siege by the Moors, unfolds a tragic tale of adultery and passion across religious and class boundaries. In the end, La Fermosa Rahel, together with the Jewish community, fall victim to socio-political prejudice and hostility.
Glanert’s score for Die Jüdin von Toledo features musical elements borrowed from the three great monotheistic religions. For instance, the premiere audience enjoyed the sounds of the Middle-Eastern oud, which is the traditional instrument of Persian and Arabic music. Played by Nassib Ahmadieh, a member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, this was the first time the oud was heard in opera performance.
Established in 2012, the International Opera Awards recognise the most outstanding opera performances around the world in each year, with the aim of raising the profile of opera as an art form and spotlighting exceptional achievements and upcoming talents in this field. The nominations are decided by a prestigious international jury of opera critics and industry professionals and performers, chaired by John Allison, the editor of the UK’s Opera magazine. The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 2 October 2024, at the Prinzregententheater in Munich.