Le Grand Macabre
Le Grand Macabre (completed 1977, revised 1996) is the third and only major stage-work by Hungarian composer György Ligeti, following his Absurdist sung "mimodramas" Aventures (compl. 1962) and Nouvelles aventures (1965).
| Le Grand Macabre | |
|---|---|
| Opera by György Ligeti | |
György Ligeti in 1984 | |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | German |
| Based on | La Balade du Grand Macabre by Michel de Ghelderode |
| Premiere | 12 April 1978 (in Swedish) Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm |
The "anti-anti-opera" has two acts and lasts about 100 minutes. Its libretto, based on Michel de Ghelderode's 1934 play La balade du Grand Macabre, was written by Ligeti himself in collaboration with Michael Meschke, director of the Stockholm Puppet Theatre. The language was German, the title Der grosse Makaber. But for the first production, in 1978, it was translated into Swedish by Meschke under the French title by which it has been known ever since, and under which it was published. Besides these two languages, Le Grand Macabre has been performed in English, French, Italian, Hungarian and Danish, with only a few notes needing to be changed in order to adjust.
The piece contains a dual role for a coloratura soprano that is considered exceptionally difficult; in its premiere the roles were sung by different singers.