Das verratene Meer (The Betrayed Sea) is an opera in two parts and 14 scenes, with music by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel, after Yukio Mishima's novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Composed between 1986 and 1989, it was Henze's ninth opera, his third that he wrote for the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 5 May 1990, when it was conducted by Markus Stenz and produced by Götz Friedrich. The US premiere was at San Francisco Opera on 8 November 1991. The opera was revised by the composer. The second version, called the Japanese version, was presented in a concert performance on June 19, 2004 at the Suntory Hall of Tokyo. It was also the national premiere of this opera, it was conducted by Kazuyoshi Akiyama. This version, revised by conductor Gerd Albrecht, was then presented at the Salzburg Festival of 2006 in a concert version. For the first time, the opera was performed in Japanese language and with an all-Japanese cast. It was dedicated to the 80th birthday of the composer. The Viennese version, presented in December 2020 at the Vienna State Opera, is based on the Japanese version but includes several parts of the original version, mainly orchestra interludes. It stems from conductor Simone Young.

Roles

Synopsis

Part I: Summer Part II: Winter

Recordings