Król Roger

In 12th-century Sicily, the Christian King Roger has troubled dreams: visions of his own death, and stories of a mysterious Shepherd who has appeared in his kingdom, preaching a new and intoxicating faith. Persuaded by his queen, Roxana, Roger agrees to give the newcomer a fair hearing: but the Shepherd’s powers are far beyond rational explanation. As his wife, his court and his own instincts succumb to the Shepherd’s seductive teachings, Roger must choose whether embrace or defy a truth that threatens to transform the very nature of his world. Szymanowski’s King Roger (1924) is less a conventional drama than a sumptuous allegory of life and love, drenched in the Mediterranean radiance that the composer adored, and expressed in some of the most sensuous music of the 20th century. King Roger was a historical figure but here he’s a mythic everyman, forced to choose between earthly responsibility and the liberation preached by a figure who—it becomes clear, over three ritual-like acts—might possibly be the god Dionysus. For decades after its premiere in Warsaw in 1926, King Roger was viewed as a cult piece, and it’s certainly no ordinary opera. More recently it has found champions including Simon Rattle and Antonio Pappano, drawn to its heady atmosphere, its enigmatic story and a score that’s ravishing even by Szymanowski’s own remarkable standards.