Synopsis
Four boys from the shadows steal the moon and take it back home to shine on them. Once they become adults, they split it into four parts, which they take with them to the underworld when they die. But this light makes all hell break loose. So, Saint Peter recovers the moon and hangs it onto a star, to illumine dreams and soothe the fear of darkness.
A luminous show
Carl Orff, who was keen on musical theatre, because it allowed him to reach a broad public, decided to set to music The Moon, a tale by the Brothers Grimm. This rather naïve story of a stolen moon which is cut into four parts, and which creates havoc in hell, before being put back into the sky by Saint Peter, stimulated the composer’s imagination. Completed just before the Second World War, this work is a barely concealed criticism of egoists who put their own interests first. This “little world theatre in one act” premiered on 5th February 1939, in Munich, conducted by Clemens Krauss and directed by Rudolf Hartmann. Merging music, words and dramaturgy, The Moon is of a great rhythmic and vocal modernity.
In this new version, the Opéra de Lyon has turned to the wonderful Grégoire Pont, whose animations remain just as magical.
Der Mond, by Carl Orff
Little world theatre in one act
Libretto by the composer, after a tale by the Brothers Grimm, 1939
Version for two pianos, organ and percussions by Friederich K. Wanek
