Nico.Sphinx aus Eis

(Text:Werner Fritzsch)
Chamber Opera by Ari Benjamin Meyers


WP June 2005, Kleine Szene der Semperoper Dresden // Commissioned by the Semper Opera Dresden

Musical Director: Ari Benjamin Meyers
Director: Nina Gühlstorff
Scenic Design/Costumes: Volker Thiele
Libretto: Werner Fritsch, Nina Gühlstorff, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Hans-Georg Wegner

Nico: Sabine Brohm
Dionysos/Jim Morrison: Martin Wölfel
Aphrodite/junge Nico: Stefanie Jonas
Persephone/Diva Nico: Barabara Hoehne

Orchestration:

Sop, Mez, Alt, Ct-Ten // Geige, Cello, Klav/Harm, E-Guit

Duration:

74 Minuten //

Language:

Deutsch, English translation in progress

Preview material and CD/DVD:

available from Immediate Response Music


Nico (born Christa Päffgen) is without doubt one of the most fascinating female figures of the recent past. For Andy Warhol she was his beloved “moon goddess” from “Nazi Germany.” Her husky voice and unique singing style influenced rock music and her beauty made her legendary: Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Alain Delon and many others all fell under her spell. With 17 she was the world’s first super model, working for Coco Channel in Paris. She went on to appear in Fellini's La Dolce Vita and other films. Her interest in acting brought her to America, Andy Warhol, and eventually The Velvet Underground. But it was her affair with rock legend Jim Morrison that motivated her to start writing her own songs. She began to search for her true self and in doing so began to systematically destroy her own beauty, her heroin addiction greatly helping this along. She died as the result of a bicycle accident on Ibiza in 1988.
-taken from the program notes, Semperoper Dresden

Nico. Sphinx aus Eis (opera)- excerpt 2

Nico. Sphinx aus Eis (opera)- excerpt 3

more music from the opera here...