Three Scenes from the Opera Penthesilea after Heinrich von Kleist
Libretto
World Premiere: Suntory Hall, Tokyo, August 2014
As librettist of the opera Penthesilea, I adapted the first three scenes for a female voice.
The title is based on a quotation that gives its name to this version, but which originally comes from the prologue of the opera Penthesilea, with slight changes in the text:
“If you
want to listen to the wind that blows from the mountains,
you hear the thunder‑call of the armies,
the clash of drawn weapons, stamping, rumbling,
steel tempests, the roar of battle,
the whole brazen voice of war.”
In the original, this passage is put into the mouth of the main female commander and reads:
“If you
want to listen to the wind that blows from the mountains,
you can hear the thunder‑call of the Queen
the clash of drawn weapons, horses neighing
trumpets, tubas, cymbals and trombones
the whole brazen voice of war.”
Wenn du dem Wind … is frequently included in concert programs in larger and smaller venues, for example:
• Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Ariane Matiakh, April 2025
• The work has also been recorded on CD:
At the invitation of the Institut Français of Japan / Tokyo, a panel discussion took place in 2014, at which the composer and the librettist were asked to report on their collaboration. Participants in the discussion included various experts, among them the composer Toshio Hosokawa.
