A cappella opera for 12 singers or vocal ensemble
The Blind
Mysterium. A one-act a cappella opera by Lera Auerbach, based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s Les Aveugles.
Origin
Not commissioned. Completed in 2001, the work later received its world premiere in Berlin with Vocalconsort Berlin under Philip Mayers.
Structure
A one-act a cappella opera for twelve solo voices or vocal ensemble.
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One Act
- Mysterium for 12 singers or vocal ensemble
- After Maurice Maeterlinck’s Les Aveugles
- Conceived for an audience plunged into darkness
Work Information
Abbreviations PDF
Dramatis Personae
- Blind Woman ISoprano
- Blind Woman IIMezzo-soprano
- Blind Woman IIIAlto / contralto
- Blind Woman IVSoprano
- Blind Woman VMezzo-soprano
- Blind Woman VIAlto / contralto
- Blind Man ITenor
- Blind Man IIBaritone
- Blind Man IIIBass
- Blind Man IVTenor
- Blind Man VBaritone
- Blind Man VIBass
- A Dead PriestMute role
- A Little ChildMute role
Synopsis
Twelve blind people wait in an ancient forest for the priest who led them there to feel the last rays of the sun before winter. As he fails to return, their waiting turns into fear, then into the recognition that they are lost and powerless.
The sound of the nearby sea intensifies the sense of abandonment. When they discover the priest’s cold body, they understand that the figure who guided them can no longer save them.
Gathered around the dead priest, they pray for forgiveness and salvation. Footsteps approach. The only one among them who can see — a child — begins to cry. The opera leaves the listener suspended between rescue, death, faith, fear, and the human need for light.
Productions & Regional Premieres
Selected world and regional premieres of The Blind, tracing the work’s productions across Europe and the United States.
- World Premiere · Germany · 2011 Berlin — Konzerthaus Berlin / Berliner Kammeroper Vocalconsort Berlin, conducted by Philip Mayers. Directed by Cornelia Heger.
- Russian Premiere · 2012 Moscow — Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre Presented as part of a contemporary-opera diptych with Elena Langer’s Songs at the Well. Directed by Dmitry Belyanushkin.
- U.S. Premiere · 2013 New York — Lincoln Center Festival / American Opera Projects Sensory-immersive production directed by John La Bouchardière, with music direction by Julian Wachner. The audience experienced the work blindfolded.
- Austrian Premiere · 2015 Vienna — Theater an der Wien / Kammeroper Production at the Kammeroper with the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Musical direction by Erwin Ortner and Jordi Casals.
- New Orleans Premiere · 2019 New Orleans Opera — Marigny Opera House Presented by New Orleans Opera during Auerbach’s New Orleans residency. Conducted by Lera Auerbach.
World Premiere
2011
Berlin Premiere
- Berlin
- Konzerthaus Berlin / Berliner Kammeroper
- Vocalconsort Berlin
- Philip Mayers — conductor
- Cornelia Heger — director
Publisher and Materials
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. Score and rental materials are available through Zinfonia.
