# The Book Collector - an opera premiere this weekend



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

_The Book Collector_ is a new one-act opera by composer Stella Sung and librettist Ernest Hilbert. It is an operatic murder mystery that helps explain how the bawdy medieval texts on which _Carmina Burana_ is based could have found their way to the German monastery in which they were discovered. The dramatic plot is set in 1920s Bavaria and revolves around two men who are competing to own a rare medieval book. One is a wealthy baron, a book collector; and the other is a young book dealer. The third main character in the opera is the baron's beautiful daughter.

What is so amazing about the opera, says Sung, is that her librettist is actually a rare book dealer. As a senior specialist at Bauman Rare Books in Philadelphia, Hilbert has 15 years of experience as an antiquarian book dealer.

_I understand the physical properties of books as well as the ways in which they are created and go on to change hands over the centuries. Also, I bid for books at auction houses like Sotheby's and Christies, so I am familiar with the showroom, its practices and idiosyncrasies. The auction house is really an 18th century form of commerce, and much of the language and practices from that era persists down the the present day. I envisioned the auction that begins the opera as a duel between two strong-willed men. Bidding at auction can quickly become an irrational pursuit as egos and expectations tangle and adrenaline flows._

***
I am not in this production, but I will be in the audience for the premiere Friday night in the front row (of the very highest balcony) cheering on my friends in the chorus!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Lunasong said:


> _The Book Collector_ is a new one-act opera by composer Stella Sung and librettist Ernest Hilbert. It is an operatic murder mystery that helps explain how the bawdy medieval texts on which _Carmina Burana_ is based could have found their way to the German monastery in which they were discovered. The dramatic plot is set in 1920s Bavaria and revolves around two men who are competing to own a rare medieval book. One is a wealthy baron, a book collector; and the other is a young book dealer. The third main character in the opera is the baron's beautiful daughter.
> 
> What is so amazing about the opera, says Sung, is that her librettist is actually a rare book dealer. As a senior specialist at Bauman Rare Books in Philadelphia, Hilbert has 15 years of experience as an antiquarian book dealer.
> 
> ...


I take a wild guess, you are from the U.S.A


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