Viktor Ullmann
When the Austrian composer Viktor Ullmann was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944, he had just finished the libretto of an opera with the title Der 30. Mai 1431, dedicated to Jeanne d’Arc. In two acts it stages the most famous moments of Jeanne’s life until she died on the stake. The text was published in German by Schott. Now, composer Hélios Azoulay used the two pages of sketches for a score based on a French translation of Ullmann’s text. He is currently recording the work in Caën, France. Azoulay says it was not in his intention to write music « in the style of Viktor Ullmann » nor to compose an opera, but to show the poetic text by UIllmann in an independent score for narrator, one singer (Joan of Arc), string quartet and piano. The new work will be premiered on Janaury 12, 2017 in Paris.
