Trans­at­lan­tic

Lukas Foss [1922–2009]
Introductions and Good-Byes, Libretto: Gian Carlo Menotti

Paul Hindemith [1895–1963]
Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

Sven Daigger [*1984]
New work, commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin (World premiere)

Samuel Barber [1910–1981]
Symphony Nr. 1 op. 9

James Gaffigan makes his debut as the General Music Director of the Komische Oper Berlin with a program between two continents, with four composers of the 20th century and of the present, located between the cultural centers of New York and Berlin: Berlin-born Lukas Foss masterfully casts the conventions of an American cocktail party into an absurd short comic opera; Paul Hindemith's Metamorphosis, written in the U.S.; American composer Samuel Barber, whose first symphony was written in Europe, and yet carries the sound of America within it; and a world premiere by composer Sven Daigger, commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin. What unites them all is the fact that, regardless of continent, they cannot be easily categorized.