Luther Opera Premiered in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
The premier of an opera dedicated to Martin Luther was staged May 22 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. The 70-minute performance depicts the important stages in the life of Reformer Martin Luther. Its leitmotiv is Luther’s famous citation, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
The opera is an ecumenical project, with actors drawn from the Orthodox, Roman and Greek Catholic churches in the Slovak Republic, and from the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Slovak Republic (ECAC-SR). The performance was put together by Slovak music professor Vitazoslav Kubicka.
“The objective is to generate interest for Martin Luther among the current generation,” said Eva Bachlétova, ECAC-SR media consultant, the project’s main initiator. Stage lighting and video projections are synchronized to portray the historical context. A performance is planned in June in Prague, the capital of neighboring Czech Republic, during a major meeting of Christians drawn from four nations namely Germany, Poland, Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. The opera will then be staged in church congregations in the Slovak Republic and in a theater in Nitra town, western Slovakia.
An opera about Martin Luther was performed for the first time in December 2000 at the National Opera of Finland in Helsinki. “Luther’s” composer and librettist Kari Tikka, was awarded the year 2000 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland cultural prize. (228 words)
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