Fabrice Bollon, the conductor of this recording, served as general music director/chief conductor at Germany's Theater Freiburg from 2009 to 2021, overseeing numerous recordings for Naxos.
Instruments
The opera features electric violin played by Friederike Hess-Gagnon, electric cello by Dina Fortuna-Bollon, and electric drums by Tilman Collmer.
Compositional Technique
The music of "The Folly" incorporates early 16th-century compositions, such as Josquin's motet "Tu solus qui facis mirabilia," to merge past and present and comment on the stage action.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The opera "The Folly" explores questions of neutrality and decision-making in a divided society, drawing parallels between the time of Erasmus of Rotterdam and contemporary issues.
Composition History
Fabrice Bollon's opera, "The Folly - Tragedy of Erasmus of Rotterdam," was composed in 2021 and is based on texts by Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, Ulrich von Hutten, and the Bible.
Compositional Technique
The opera uses multiple languages, including Dutch, English, French, Basel German, German, Greek, Italian, and Latin, to evoke the multilingual world of cosmopolitan humanist Erasmus.
Recording & Production
This recording of "The Folly" was captured live during performances on July 7 and 8, 2022, at Theater Freiburg, Germany.
