On February 21, world stage première of opera „Raoul“ by american composer Gershon Kingsley took place at Theater Bremen. The performance runs under the baton of choirmaster and conductor of theatre, Tarmo Vaask. Opera’s libretto by Michael Kunze is based on the same subject that Erkki-Sven Tüür’s „Wallenberg“. „Raoul“ is rather a choir opera – more than 20 soloists are choir singers, performing with Bremer Philharmoniker. Good press echoes to Vaask’s work as a musical director were published in several German newspapers. In spring season Tarmo Vaask conducts ten evenings of „Raoul“.
Born in Germany, Gershon Kingsley arrived to United States 1946 via Palestine (Israel). He is popular in many genres, has some religious scenic cantatas and musical theatre performances as „Cristóbal“, „Tierra“, „Voices from the Shadow“ (on the poems of holocaust authors). „Raoul“ had the first performance in concert at Goethe Institute in New York in 2004.
Tarmo Vaask graduated from Tallinn Conservatory and Musikhochschule Stuttgart. He has conducted many orchestras and choirs in Estonia and Germany. Presently he is working as a chief conductor at Schwäbisch Gmünd Philharmonie, choirmaster and conductor of Altenburg-Gera, Heidelberg and Bremen (since 2007) opera companies. In this season he prepares theatre choir for 12 premières and conducting besides „Raoul“ also Kálmán’s „Csárdásfürstin“.
Priit Kuusk