The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto was written in 1958 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang while they were students at the Shanghai Conservatory and was first performed in May the following year. Musically the concerto is a synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions, although the melodies and overall style are adapted from traditional Chinese opera. The solo violin is used in a way that recalls the playing technique of the erhu, the Chinese two-string fiddle. It is a one-movement programmatic concerto with three sections that correspond to the three phases of the story - Falling in Love, Refusing to Marry and Metamorphosis.
The Yellow River Concerto was based on the famous Yellow River Cantata by Xin Singhai, a work dating from the period of the Sino-Japanese War, and devised by the committee of composers then found advisable for such a task, Yin Chengzong, Liu Zhuang, Chu Wanghua, Sheng Lihong, Shi Shucheng and Xu Feisheng.
Written in 1998, Petitgirard's opera differs from David Lynch's cult film in offering an entirely different perspective on the tale of Joseph Merrick, born in 1863 with horrific deformities, exhibited as a freak at the circus, taken in by Dr. Treves at the London Hospital and subsequently afforded celebrity status. Where the film is based largely on Dr. Treves' memoirs, the opera is based on biographies of Joseph Merrick giving his character a more central focus than in the film.
Der Kobold (The Goblin), the first filmed production of an opera by Siegfried Wagner, was recorded at the Stadttheater Fürth, Germany from 8 November to 3 December 2005, and at Stadthalle Bayreuth, Germany on 21 November 2005.
Bonus features:
- The Making of Der Kobold – a film by Stephan Kelch (in German only)
- 3D animated version of the set model by Achim Bahr
