Poul Ruders

A Fairytale Opera In Two Acts-The Thirteenth Child - A Fairytale Opera In Two Acts by Poul Ruders (2014-15). Libretto by Becky Starobin and David Starobin. Scenario by Becky Starobin. Suggested by 'The Twelve Brothers' by the Brothers Grimm. SYNOPSIS Act 1 Scene 1 The neighboring Kingdoms of Frohagord and Hauven are in crisis. Following a warning by his embittered cousin Drokan Regent of Hauven King Hjarne of Frohagord is convinced that his twelve sons are plotting to overthrow him. The twelve princes oblivious to their father's paranoia play in the courtyard. The enraged King threatensthe safety of his sons telling his pregnant wife Queen Gertrude that she must provide him with a female heir  as 'only she shall wear the crown'.  Gertrude calms Hjarne and they sing of the Lilies of Frohagord magical flowers that protect the kingdom.  When Benjamin the youngest prince innocently plucks a lily from the garden Hjarne flies into a mad rage and strikes Gertrude.  Drokan observing the encounter  admits his love for Gertrude and feels 'the trembling of the earth'. Act 1 Scene 2 Eighteen years have passed and King Hjarne has just died. At Hjarne's funeral Frederic Drokan and the mourners tell of the mysterious disappearance of the King's thirteen children and the shadows that haunt the kingdom. Queen Gertrude now mortally ill and her daughter Princess Lyra enter the Royal Chapel. Gertrude is repelled by the sight of Drokan  while Frederic is drawn to Lyra. Drokan plots to usurp the Kingdom of Frohagord and Frederic dreams of the day when Lyra will be his. Act 1 Scene 3 Queen Gertrude is on her deathbed attended by Princess Lyra.  Lyra asks her mother why she was sent away.  Gertrude has Lyra open a secret drawer where Lyra finds twelve shirts

Men Der Skyder En Kvist was expertly composed in 2013 by Poul Ruders for SATB choir and Organ.  

Opera-Poul Ruders' opera Tycho in 3 Acts was premiered May 15 1987 by Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Kaare Hansen (conductor) at Helsingør Theater in Aarhus Denmark. Libretto in Danish by Henrik Bjelke. Full score: WH31457 Synopsis: In 1597 the famous Danish astronomer and astrologist the nobleman Tycho Brahe flees his castle cum observatory Uraniburg on one of the small islands off the Danish coast. The newly coronated King Christian the Fourth has a grudge against Tycho who in 1572 discovered a new star Stella Nova by using his naked eye only; the telescopewasn’t invented yet. This discovery gained Tycho tremendous fame among his contemporaries within the European scientific circles. The now weakened and embittered old man moves together with his wife Christina whom he raped when she was an adolescent and Jeppe the Dwarf his fool-servant whose life Tycho once saved to the plague-infested city of Prague. There at the Benatky Castle Tycho encounters the main reason for his departure from Denmark: the young German mathematician Johannes Kepler the only scientist among his contemporaries Tycho acknowledges - Tycho is in severe need of intelligent challenge. Which he gets and with a disastrous result for himself. The encouraging encounter with Kepler turns into Tycho's scientific and earthly death verdict. Slowly Tycho realizes that his own conception of the Earth as the indisputable axes of the Universe is shattered by Kepler s theory about Earth encircling the stationary Sun. The ancient picture of the Universe collapses Tycho feels deceived by Kepler who leaves the castle shaken by Tycho's wrath. But they meet again and reunite in a Romanza a Due at Tycho’s death bed. The opera hovers above immense sadness and extreme ridicule - the cast is most peculiar indeed - so in many ways 'TYCHO' may be described at the best as a 'Tragic Operetta'

Poul Ruders' opera Tycho in 3 Acts was premiered May 15 1987 by Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Kaare Hansen (conductor) at Helsingør Theater in Aarhus Denmark. Libretto in Danish by Henrik Bjelke. Vocal score: WH31457C Synopsis: In 1597 the famous Danish astronomer and astrologist the nobleman Tycho Brahe flees his castle cum observatory Uraniburg on one of the small islands off the Danish coast. The newly coronated King Christian the Fourth has a grudge against Tycho who in 1572 discovered a new star Stella Nova by using his naked eye only; the telescopewasn’t invented yet. This discovery gained Tycho tremendous fame among his contemporaries within the European scientific circles. The now weakened and embittered old man moves together with his wife Christina whom he raped when she was an adolescent and Jeppe the Dwarf his fool-servant whose life Tycho once saved to the plague-infested city of Prague. There at the Benatky Castle Tycho encounters the main reason for his departure from Denmark: the young German mathematician Johannes Kepler the only scientist among his contemporaries Tycho acknowledges - Tycho is in severe need of intelligent challenge. Which he gets and with a disastrous result for himself. The encouraging encounter with Kepler turns into Tycho's scientific and earthly death verdict. Slowly Tycho realizes that his own conception of the Earth as the indisputable axes of the Universe is shattered by Kepler s theory about Earth encircling the stationary Sun. The ancient picture of the Universe collapses Tycho feels deceived by Kepler who leaves the castle shaken by Tycho's wrath. But they meet again and reunite in a Romanza a Due at Tycho’s death bed. The opera hovers above immense sadness and extreme ridicule - the cast is most peculiar indeed - so in many ways 'TYCHO' may be described at the best as a'Tragic Operetta'