The pivotal point of the plot is a permanent humming sound that exists as a physical phenomenon in the real world. In “The Listeners” it is the main protagonist Claire (sung by soprano Betsy Horne) who causes this hum to cause sleepless nights and drive her crazy. With her student Kyle (Aljoscha Lennert), who also notices this noise, she visits the house of Howard Bard (Heiko Trinsinger), a charismatic philosopher who is said to have helped other people suffering from it. Claire is warmly welcomed by Howard and the group of “Listeners”: finally a family that understands and listens to her. And Claire learns to accept the inexplicable hum and its ever-growing powers. But as soon as the encounter between the “Listeners” took on a cult-like character, the situation gradually spiraled out of control.
“The Listeners” is a contemporary piece by the opera and drama director Anna Sophie Mahler who most recently worked at the Thalia Theater Hamburg and the Stuttgart State Opera, among others. Together with the stage designer Katrin Connan she designed a space for the humming sound itself and for Claire's emotional state. For the stage design, Connan was inspired by the different feelings that the humming sound can trigger in the “Listeners”, while the exciting videography by Georg Lendorff plays a central role. The general music director takes over the musical direction Andrea Sanguineti.
Musical direction Andrea Sanguineti/Wolfram-Maria Märtig | Directed by Anna-Sophie Mahler
stage Katrin Connan | Costumes Pascale Martin | Light Paul Grilj | Video Georg Lendorff
Choir rehearsal Klaas Jan de Groot | Choreography Ivan Estegneev | Dramaturgy Savina Kationi
Occupation:
Claire Devon Betsy Horne | Paul Devon Mandla Mndebele | Ashley Devon Lisa Wittig
Kyle Harris Aljoscha Lennert | Howard Bard Heiko Trinsinger | Angela Rose Deirdre Angenent
Thomas Tobias Greenhalgh | Dillon Karel Martin Ludvik | coyote Ivan Estegneev
Aalto Theater Opera Choir | Essen Philharmonic Orchestra
premiere Saturday, January 25, 2025, 7:00 p.m., Aalto Theater
More ideas February 1st, 9th, 28th; March 8, 22, 2025
Introduction 45 minutes each of the performance
Introductory matinee Sunday, January 12, 2024, 11:00 a.m., Aalto Theater
It's tea time Friday, January 17, 2025, 4:30 p.m., Aalto Cafeteria
Public rehearsal Monday, January 20, 2025, 7:00 p.m
Follow-up conversation Saturday, February 1st, 2025, Aalto Cafeteria
Blue hour Monday, January 24, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Aalto Theater, foyer
Cards (Premiere: € 17.00-80.00; further performances: € 11.00-57.00) are available at the TUP TicketCenter, II. Hagen 2 (Mon 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; Tue-Fri 10 :00 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.), at the box office of the Aalto Theater, Opernplatz 10 (Tues-Sat 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.), by telephone on 0201 81 22-200 and online at www.theater-essen.de.
Biography Missy Mazzoli:
Missy Mazzoli has been called “one of the most consistently original and surprising composers currently working in New York” by The New York Times. Her music has been performed worldwide by the Kronos Quartet, the Eighth Blackbird, Opera Philadelphia, Scottish Opera, LA Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Detroit Symphony, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, BBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, violinist Jennifer Koh, mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo and many others. In 2024 she was nominated for two Grammys for her album “Dark with Excessive Bright”, released in 2023, and has already received her second composition commission from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Her most recent opera “The Listeners” (commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, Norwegian National Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera) was created in collaboration with her long-time collaborator Royce Vavrek and playwright Jordan Tannahill and premiered in Oslo in 2022. Her third opera, Proving Up, with a libretto by Vavrek, was described as “shattering and powerful” by The Washington Post. Mazzoli's second opera, Breaking the Waves, has been described as “one of the finest operas of the 21st century to date” (Opera News) and as “dark and daring” (The New York Times), and has already premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Adelaide Festival , performed at the Paris Opéra Comique, the St. Gallen Opera, the Vadstena Academy and the Bremerhaven City Theater. Her critically acclaimed first opera, “Song from the Uproar,” premiered in 2012. From 2018 to 2021, Mazzoli Mead was Composer in Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 2012 to 2015 she was Composer in Residence at Opera Philadelphia, Gotham Chamber Opera and Music Theater-Group. She is currently Composer in Residence at Bard College Conservatory of Music and was previously an adjunct professor at Mannes College of Music.
Recent highlights include the premieres of the ballet music “Orpheus Alive” and the violin concerto “Procession” with violinist Jennifer Koh and the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Proms, the US premiere of her double bass concerto ” Dark with Excessive Bright” with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as performances of her works by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. Her music has been released on labels such as BIS, Deutsche Grammophon, New Amsterdam, Pentatone, Cedille and Innova. Artists who have recorded Mazzoli's music include Eighth Blackbird, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, violist Nadia Sirota, NOW Ensemble, Newspeak, pianist Kathleen Supové and violinist Joshua Bell.
Mazzoli has received Musical America Composer of the Year (2022), Grammy nominations in 2019 and 2024, the Music Critics Association of America Inaugural Award for Best Opera (2017), and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award (2015), among others. Along with her frequent collaborator Royce Vavrek, she received the 2023 Marc Blitzstein Award for Musical Theater and Opera, presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
