G’harne : little survives, even by way of legend, of this most mysterious of ancient civilisations. Some indigenous peoples in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa have stories of a prehistoric race of people known as the Tcho-Tcho, whose city was destroyed by a mighty creature that rose from beneath the earth, levelling the entire city, and dragging the survivors deep below. The English explorer Sir Amery Wendy-Smythe (1872-1919) claimed to have discovered the location of the city during travels in southern Africa, but his claims were widely ridiculed.

Gilmour, James Michael: (1940 - ). Born Boston, USA. Brilliant, if controversial, director and designer. Gilmour studied design at the University of Heidelberg, West Germany in the early 1960s, followed by a junior commission at Essen Opera where he worked on a number of imaginative productions with conductor Nicholas Lehnsherr. Returning home at the end of the 1960s, Gilmour has worked extensively throughout the USA. His design work is characterised by striking geometric sets, and unusual use of perspective to create strange, distorted tableaux. Initially praised for his work, Gilmour has, in later years, been criticised for a lack of development. Currently at Boston Opera, the renewal of his partnership with Lehnsherr is eagerly awaited.

Lehnsherr, Nicholas Jacob : (1925 - ). Born Hermanus, S Africa. A respected, if occasionally controversial figure, Lehnsherr has established himself as one of the world’s prominent Wagnerian conductors. Following the death of his family in the Hermanus earthquake of 1955, Lehnsherr travelled to Europe, where he worked for over a decade at Essen Opera, West Germany. Since 1967, has been based in the United States, including work at Chicago Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera of New York. Ill-health has restricted his work since the mid 1970s, although in 1997 he moved to Boston Opera to collaborate with old colleague James Gilmour.

‘I lay alone for almost 3 days. The shouting and the screaming faded. All that remained in my head was the sound, the endless crashing sound, deep within my head. Then that too ceased. I felt I was dying. But suddenly, I felt a great feeling of peace come upon me. God, I knew, was with me. He told me I was going to live. He told me I would do great things…

‘Yet I constantly live with the memory of that day. Every night, as I sleep, the sound comes back to me, the unbearable sound of the earth crashing against itself, metal against metal, rock against rock, like great voices reaching down into my mind…’

- Nicholas Lehnsherr, talking with Susan Elliot

Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris

Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris

Ph’nglui Mglwnafh G’harne Shudde M’ell wahgahnag’l ftagn

Ph’nglui Mglwnafh G’harne Shudde M’ell wahgahnag’l ftagn

Ia! Ia! Shudde M’ell Ftagn!

Ia! Ia! Shudde M’ell Ftagn!

Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris!

On the 17^th of the month, great excitement was stirred amongst the good citizens of Genoa by the performance of Signor Brodighlieri’s opera. I sat amazed throughout the first act, horror-struck by a catalogue of such blasphemies and depravities I have never seen upon the stage. The audience too, showed their displeasure at this cacophony of dreadful noise. Indeed, during the final scenes, the very earth did shake and rumble as if the Almighty Himself was angered at this Torrent of Filth, and, I confess, I was afraid and did pray for my Life.

The Orchestra of the Boston Opera Company

Conducted by Nicholas Lehnsherr

Directed and Staged by James Gilmour