The world première of Cristóbal Halffter’s latest opera Schachnovelle, an opera in one act based on Stefan Zweig’s novella [The Royal Game], at the Kiel Opera House on 18 May 2013 was a resounding success, as exemplified by the audience’s applause and various positive reviews from Deutschlandfunk, Merker and the nmz (which makes an interesting comparison of Halffter’s Schachnovelle and Berg’s Lulu). Wolfgang Haendeler’s excellent libretto should also be highlighted at this point, especially when one considers the original text’s lack of spoken dialogue.

Cristóbal Halffter at the world première of Schachnovelle: