By Othmar Schoeck. An ancient statue of the goddess Venus comes to life, with tragic consequences for the young couple Simone and Horace. This opera by a Swiss composer sets a German libretto by Schoeck's lifelong friend Armin Rueger and is based, like Bizet's Carmen, on a story by Prosper Mérimée . It also shares with Wagner's Tannhauser an exploration of the conflict between the two faces of love: sensual versus spiritual, pagan versus Christian. But Schoeck, composing in the throes of one of many passionate love affairs, came to rather different conclusions.
And his music, while influenced by Richard Strauss , has a beauty and haunting atmosphere all of its own.
According to his biographer, Venus is Schoeck's artistic credo, a work which reveals more of him than any other.
Chorus of the Grand Theatre, Geneva, Maftrise du Conservatoire Populaire, Swiss Romande Orchestra, conductor Mario Venzago