Karlheinz Stockhausen
Opera for 13 musical performers
1 solo voice, 10 solo instrumentalists, 2 solo dancers
symphonic band, ballet or mimes
men's chorus with organ
1981-83
Saturday is Luzifer's day, the day of Death.
Short synopsis
Samstags Gruss / Saturday's Greeting (1984) for 26 brass instruments and 2 percussionists
From the four corners of the auditorium low brass instruments play a fanfare full of falling glissandi.
Luzifer's Traum / Lucifer's Dream (1981) for bass and piano
An extraordinary magical piano piece that seems frozen in space and time, though the music from which it is constructed is wilfully layered, distorted, and magnified. Luzifer (bass) sings of his desire to stop time itself, until his pianist-assistant bewitches him with part of the Eve melody. He dies an apparent death.
Kathinka's Gesang als Luzifer's Requiem / Kathinka's Chant as Luzifer's Requiem (1982) for flute and six percussionists
A black cat (flautist) plays a series of exercises for the soul of one who has died. She is accompanied by the six mortal senses, as six fantastic creatures whose costumes are festooned with homemade percussion instruments. The black cat ends the scene playing trombone sounds through the flute length-ways, and with a scream in the darkness.
Luzifer's Tanz / Lucifer's Dance (1983) for bass, piccolo trumpet, piccolo, symphonic band
An entire wind-band is arranged vertically to form a gigantic face. Luzifer appears as a towering figure on stilts who teaches the face how to dance. The wind music is very polyrhythmic; with pieces for all the instruments in turn, until the whole face is grimacing wildly. The scene is interupted by Michael as piccolo trumpeter, and the black cat playing piccolo who greets the audience "Greetings Children of Satan!" The scene ends abrubtly with the musicians staging a strike, arguing, and walking off stage..
Luzifer's Abschied / Lucifer's Farewell (1982) for men's chorus, organ, 7 trombones
39 hooded monks, (male chorus), sing "Lodi Delle Virtu" of St Francis of Assisi, and the scene very gradually builds from a mantric chant into a wild religious ritual. At the height of the exorcism coconuts are smashed and a black bird is released from a cage. Huge bells are heard ringing until the audience has left.