The world premiere "Gjergj Kastrioti - Skënderbeu, Kryezot i Arbër" based on the work of Fan Noli and composed by Vasil Tole brings Albanian opera back to the stage

The opera "Gjergj Kastrioti - Skënderbeu, Kryezot i Arbër" by the composer Vasil Tole will be performed this evening at the National Theater of Opera and Ballet. The composer created the work on the occasion of the 550th anniversary of the death of Skenderbeu, to show the life and eternity of the national hero in a work that speaks Albanian. The motive of staging this work for the composer and musicologist Vasil Tole, is to aim to restore the tradition of Albanian opera and ballet, which has been forgotten for more than 30 years. Composer Vasil Tole spoke the other day about the media and the lack of Albanian works on our stage. According to him, the state should have plans for major works in the field of music. "The reason why there are so few works, which you calculate in 30 years, are about 3 Albanian works, it is because what I call state mercenarism is missing. So the state should have plans for works that require such commitments. We must have progress in certain musical elements as well, such as these great genres such as opera or ballet", said Tole. "Gjergj Kastrioti - Skënderbeu, Lord of Arbër", which marks the world premiere this evening, is staged at the National Theater of Opera and Ballet on the occasion of the 555th anniversary of the death of the national hero. The libretto of the solemn opera and the spirit of its composition are based on some motifs of the well-known work of Fan S. Noli "Skënderbeu - the ruler of Albania". The figure of Skenderbeu comes under the interpretation of soloists Gerald Murrja and Artur Vera. Soprano Eva Golemi and mezzo-soprano Amelda Papa are soloists in the work. TKOB Symphony Orchestra and Choir, as well as the Choir of the Kosovo Philharmonic are under the direction of conductors Sieva Borzak, Dritan Lumshi and Hajrullah Syla. The concertmaster is Etrita Ibrahimi and Thanas Paskali.

Opera in two parts

In a material of the Academy of Sciences, it is said that in essence, solemn opera is the union of the genre of Dramatic Opera with the Solemn Mass, i.e. Solemn Opera. The opera is conceived in two parts, two acts, which respond to the life and eternity of Gjergj Kastriot in the Albanian world, namely the hero and the era of Arbër in the centuries of European humanism and the anti-Ottoman center. "These two parts, which complement each other in change, fit both the word (narration) and the musical register. There is a symmetry between the two parts as far as their subdivisions are concerned: four arias (life) sung by Skanderbeg in the first versus 5 chorales in the second (eternity). The difference between them lies in the relationship between individual-era, life-eternity, hero-myth. As a whole, the opera overcomes this distinction, which is formal and conceptual, in accordance with the wisdom carried by the Latin saying et pluribus in unum, one and many, many in one, or, as Fan Noli himself expressed it in another work, but earth. Together, both parts give the opera a double character: heroic and solemn. This opera also unites the traditional musically (which will have more place in the first act, where all Albanian motifs will appear) and the world classic (in the second act, where the polyphony of the requiem or mass will be dominant), the material says. The text sung in the arias will be in Albanian, based on Skenderbeu's confessions according to Fan S. Noli, while the text sung in the "Solemn Mass" will be in Latin, based on the universally accepted musical tradition of masses and requiems. as Fan Noli himself expressed in another work, apart from earth. Together, both parts give the opera a double character: heroic and solemn. This opera also unites the traditional musically (which will have more place in the first act, where all Albanian motifs will appear) and the world classic (in the second act, where the polyphony of the requiem or mass will be dominant), the material says. The text sung in the arias will be in Albanian, based on Skenderbeu's confessions according to Fan S. Noli, while the text sung in the "Solemn Mass" will be in Latin, based on the universally accepted musical tradition of masses and requiems. as Fan Noli himself expressed in another work, apart from earth. Together, both parts give the opera a double character: heroic and solemn. This opera also unites the traditional musically (which will have more place in the first act, where all Albanian motifs will appear) and the world classic (in the second act, where the polyphony of the requiem or mass will be dominant), the material says. The text sung in the arias will be in Albanian, based on Skenderbeu's confessions according to Fan S. Noli, while the text sung in the "Solemn Mass" will be in Latin, based on the universally accepted musical tradition of masses and requiems.