Commission to Salvatore Sciarrino

Our present time is often described as a time of crisis, in which conventional territorial wars such as those in Ukraine are being waged again – as if we had not learned from history. The resulting injuries and traumas are already impossible to ignore. In many areas, old, archaic structures are becoming visible again. The significance of myth, as Hans Blumenberg described it as a constant ‘labour’, is reasserting itself. The actual acts of war are one thing: the consequences, especially with regard to the traumatisation of combatants and/or refugees, will become an increasingly pressing issue in the years to come. So even two thousand years after they were written, the Greek tragedies still have a lot to tell us about our human existence and our present day, revealing the very foundations of human existence. Aeschylus’ Oresteia in particular is often used as an anchor point when it comes to describing how a culture comes to terms with war.

On behalf of the Bern Opera, the leading contemporary Italian opera composer Salvatore Sciarrino is creating a new music theatre piece entitled Agamennone. This commission is supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Salvatore Sciarrino wants to continue his work on the myth and use his sensitive and delicate sounds to build a bridge from the ancient material to our here and now. Sciarrino has always been a composer of silence, who, in his overtone-rich timbres, spreads out a spectrum that resembles sensitive human synapse connections. In recent years, the composer has been increasingly preoccupied with the relationship between Clytemnestra and Agamemnon because he sees in it the fundamental psychological wounds of lost human love – and these fine gradations of a cooled relationship are captured by the chamber music-like arrangement.

The opera is deliberately conceived for a small ensemble of singers and deals with the family relationship triangle of the parents Clytemnestra and Agamemnon and the seer Cassandra – who acts as a hinge between the private catastrophe and the public, and therefore always focuses on the audience. Otherwise, there is no further personnel except for a herald and a servant. This makes it clear that the composer is attempting to distil the essence of a myth here. The central roles are also written for the powerful voices of the Bern Opera ensemble, including mezzo and baritone.

Further information:
buehnenbern.ch

Dates

May 30, 2026
June 2, 6, 12 and 14, 2026
Stadttheater Bern