Esther: The Lost Opera (Vol. 2) [World Premiere Recording]

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kirill Karabits, joined by an outstanding cast led by Corinne Winters, present the world premiere recording of Thomas de Hartmann’s lost opera Esther. Often written by candlelight during the Nazi occupation of Paris, Esther was composed as de Hartmann—a non-Jewish Ukrainian expatriate—lived through the unfolding horrors of the Holocaust. He perceived profound parallels between those events and the Biblical story of Esther as dramatized in Jean Racine’s play, from whose text he adapted the libretto. Esther is perhaps the only major musical work composed contemporaneously as a direct artistic response to the Holocaust.

Bringing this long-neglected work to life has been a rewarding undertaking, involving extensive engagement with the composer’s handwritten score and the preparation of
a new modern performing edition. This process required close study of de Hartmann’s orchestral writing and stylistic language.

Esther is a distinctive work that bridges opera and oratorio, its dramatic momentum shaped through extended monologues, choral commentary, and a triumphant final ensemble. Richly orchestrated, it reflects the full breadth of de Hartmann’s artistic development—from his early training in Saint Petersburg and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, and Taneyev, to later creative periods in Munich and France, and his search for a deeply personal musical language. Esther, the composer’s largest and most ambitious later work, stands as a summation of his eclectic, polystylistic approach and a compelling rediscovery for today’s performers and listeners.

This album marks the next chapter of the Thomas de Hartmann Project, bringing the composer’s music back to the listening audience.