Solar Eclipse (Sonnenfinsternis)

The world premiere of this German-language opera by József Sári (1935-) took place in 2000, in the German city of Pforzheim. Based on the life of Arthur Koestler, the work's title refers to the writer's famous novel Darkness at Noon. Explaining the text, librettist Elisabeth Guthahr wrote, “Rather than setting the novel to music, our opera is much more about following the writer's own individual fortunes, thereby also tracking the dramatic history of the 20th century, one that began so full of hope.” The 11 scenes unfold cinematically with episodes from Koestler's life from between 1914 and 1983. „Documentary theatre – in the guise of an opera,” is how one writer described it before the Opera's 2009 premiere, which was directed by Balázs Kovalik.

Hungarian-language discussion programme