DomStufen-Festspiele in Erfurt 1999
With great lamentation, the nine Sibyls proclaim the end of time, the terrors of the Last Judgment, and the eternal fire reserved for the godless. The nine anchorites reject the prophecies of the Sibyls. They do not believe in eternal damnation. Not even Lucifer, they claim, is forever barred from heavenly joy; only God knows the true end of all human existence. And so, the anchorites pray to the Almighty, begging for divine enlightenment.
Out of the darkness of night appear the last of humankind – unprepared for death, lost and wandering, pleading for mercy. Then the miracle occurs: Lucifer rises from the depths of hell, confesses and repents his guilt. Forgiveness is granted, and he is allowed to return to the light.
A new dawn breaks the night vigil. The universe is bathed in growing light. Music begins to play. As foretold by the Church Father Origen, the forgetting of all guilt has become reality.
Premiere / July 24, 1999
Cast
Sibyllen: Soprano Susanna von der Burg, Talia Refeld, Astrid Weber | Mezzo-soprano Gabriele Erhard, Bettina Weichert, Annette Stricker | Alto Bettina Denner-Brückner, Renée Morloc | Anchorites: Tenor Udo Scheuerpflug | Baritone Frank Schiller, Peter Dittmann, Willem Laakmann, Joachim Schwarzwald, Sigitas-Alfonso Dirse | Bass Liudas Norvaisas, Michael Dries