There are seven operas, each named for a
day of the week, whose subject matter reflects attributes associated in traditional
mythologies with each day. These attributes in turn rest on the seven
planets of
Antiquity (and their associated deities) from which the day-names are derived: • Monday = The
Moon • Tuesday =
Mars • Wednesday =
Mercury • Thursday =
Jupiter • Friday =
Venus • Saturday =
Saturn • Sunday = The
Sun Stockhausen sought to fashion the subjects for each opera through absorption in the traditions of this planet and immersion into the intuitive meaning of each day of the week—meanings of which most people are not aware. The cycle has neither a "beginning" nor an "ending"; like the days of the week, each opera leads to the next one, so that the conflict of Tuesday is followed by the reconciliation of Wednesday, and the mystical union of Sunday prepares the way for the new life of Monday. "In this way there is neither end nor beginning to the week. It is an eternal spiral". Each opera is composed from an elaborated form of the corresponding day-segment of the superformula, made by superimposing one or more complete lines from the superformula, compressed to the length of the day-segment. These are named for the day in question (e.g.,
Mittwoch-Formel.) The separate acts and scenes often involve further superimpositions of formula material. For example, "Luzifers Traum", the first scene of
Samstag, has a total of five layers. Each day is also assigned a principal (or "
exoteric") colour, as well as one or more secondary (or "
esoteric") colours.
Monday (1984–1988) Montag, composed between 1984 and 1988, is dedicated to
Eve. It features an orchestra with synthesizers (called a "modern orchestra" by Stockhausen), backing 21 performers (14 voices, 6 instruments and an actor), as well as adult and children's choirs. The opera is in three acts, framed by a "greeting" and a "farewell." (This framing applies, with variation, to each opera in the cycle: a "greeting" either in the foyer of the opera house or in the auditorium, and a "farewell" after the performance, played either in the auditorium or outside the theater.)
Monday's exoteric colour is bright green; its esoteric colours are opal and silver. The scenes and subscenes are as follows: •
Montags-Gruß (Monday's Greeting) • Act 1:
Evas Erstgeburt (Eve's First Birth-giving) • scene 1:
In Hoffnung (Expecting) • scene 2:
Heinzelmännchen • scene 3:
Geburts-Arien (Birth Arias) • scene 4:
Knaben-Geschrei (Boys' Hullaballoo) • scene 5:
Luzifers Zorn (Lucifer's Fury) • scene 6:
Das große Geweine (The Great Weeping) • Act 2:
Evas Zweitgeburt (Eve's Second Birth-giving) • scene 1:
Mädchenprozession (Girls' Prozession) • scene 2:
Befruchtung mit Klavierstück—
Wiedergeburt (Conception with Piano Piece—Rebirth) • scene 3:
Evas Lied (Eve's Song) • Act 3:
Evas Zauber (Eve's Magic) • scene 1:
Botschaft (Message) • scene 2:
Der Kinderfänger (The
Pied Piper) [literally, "The Child-Catcher"] • scene 3:
Entführung (Abduction) •
Montags-Abschied (Monday's Farewell) 445 photos of
Montag aus Licht at La Scala, Milan,
Google Arts & Culture Tuesday (1977–1991) After having composed the three "solo" operas (Thursday, Saturday and Monday), Stockhausen proceeded to explore all combinations of the characters.
Dienstag is the day of conflict between Michael and Lucifer. After the opening greeting, two acts follow:
Jahreslauf (Course of the Years) and
Invasion-Explosion mit Abschied (Invasion-Explosion with Farewell).
Dienstag is an opera for 17 performers (three solo voices, ten solo instrumentalists, and four dancer-mimes), actors, mimes, choir, a "modern orchestra" (29 to 32 instruments including synthesizers) and, in the second act,
electronic music (titled "Oktophonie") projected in eight channels, with loudspeakers arranged at the corners of a cube shape around the audience. Since it is a "layer," this taped
octophonic electronic music may be heard by itself.
Tuesday's colour is red. The opera falls into the following sections and subsections: •
Dienstags-Gruß, Nr. 60 (1987–88) • Willkommen • Friedens-Gruß • Act 1:
Jahreslauf (Course of the Years), Nr. 47 (1977/1991) • Act 2:
Invasion-Explosion mit Abschied (Invasion-Explosion with Farewell), Nr. 61 (1990–91) • Erste Luftabwehr (First Air-defense) • Erste Invasion (First Invasion) • Zweite Luftabwehr (Second Air-defense) • Zweite Invasion (Second Invasion) • Pietà • Dritte Invasion (Third Invasion) • Jenseits (Beyond) • Synthi-Fou • Abschied (Farewell)
Wednesday (1992–1998) Mittwoch is characterized by the cooperation of Eve, Michael and Lucifer. Composed between 1992 and 1998, the opera consists of four scenes:
Welt-Parlament (World Parliament),
Orchester-Finalisten (Orchestra Finalists),
Helikopter-Streichquartett (Helicopter String Quartet), and
Michaelion. The third scene, which has acquired a certain celebrity, is scored, as its name implies, for four stringed instruments and four helicopters, the latter used both as a performatic device and a sound source. The greeting for
Mittwoch is the electronic part of scene 4; the farewell is the electronic music from scene 2. The latter, like the electronic music for act 2 of
Dienstag, is projected octophonically through speakers arranged at the corners of a cube surrounding the audience.
Wednesday's colour is bright yellow. The main divisions and their subdivisions are: •
Mittwochs-Gruß • Scene 1:
Welt-Parlament • Scene 2:
Orchester-Finalisten • Oboe • Violoncello • Klarinette • Fagott • Violine • Tuba • Flöte • Posaune • Viola • Trompete • Kontrabaß • Horn • Orchester-Tutti • Scene 3:
Helikopter-Streichquartett (1993) • Scene 4:
Michaelion • Präsidium • Luzikamel •
Kakabel • Shoe-Shine Serenade • Taschen-Trick (Pocket Trick) • Kamel-Tanz (Camel Dance) • Stierkampf (Bullfight) • Operator • Thinki • Bassetsu Trio (Karussell) (Carousel) • "Menschen, hört" (Raum-Sextette) ("Listen, People"—Space-Sextet) •
Mittwochs-Abschied Thursday (1978–1980) Donnerstag is an opera for 14 performers (three voices, eight instrumentalists, three dancers) plus a choir, an orchestra, and tapes. Though not the first part of
Licht to be started, it was the first opera in the cycle to be completed, having been written between 1978 and 1980. Thursday is the day of the archangel
Michael, and the story is centered on this character. It opens in the foyer with a "greeting" for an ensemble of brass and percussion, followed in the theater by three acts, and ends outside the theater with a "farewell", played from the surrounding rooftops by five trumpeters. The 16-channel tape composition
Unsichtbare Chöre (Invisible Choirs, 1979) is incorporated into act 1, and again into act 3, scene 1. Stockhausen's
Klavierstück XII is an arrangement of act 1, scene 3, and a number of other segments were arranged by the composer for separate performance.
Thursday's exoteric colour is bright blue. It is made up of the following parts: •
Donnerstags-Gruß (Thursday's Greeting) • Act 1:
Michaels Jugend (Michael's Youth; employs
Unsichtbare Chöre) • scene 1:
Kindheit (Childhood) • scene 2: Mondeva (Moon-Eve) • scene 3:
Examen (Examination) • Erstes Examen (First Examination) • Zweites Examen (Second Examination) • Drittes Examen (Third Examination) • Act 2:
Michaels Reise um die Erde • Eingang und Formel (Entrance and Formula) • Erste Station (First Station): Germany • Zweite Station (Second Station): New York • Dritte Station (Third Station): Japan • Vierte Station (Fourth Station): Bali • Fünfte Station (Fifth Station): India • Sechste Station (Sixth Station): Central Africa • Siebte Station (Seventh Station): Jerusalem • Mission • Verspottung (Derision) • Kreuzigung (Crucifixion) • Himmelfahrt (Ascension) • Act 3:
Michaels Heimkehr (Michael's Homecoming) • scene 1:
Festival (employs
Unsichtbare Chöre) • scene 2:
Vision •
Donnerstags-Abschied (Thursday's Farewell) 286 photos of
Donnerstag aus Licht, Google Arts & Culture
Friday (1991–1994) Freitag, written between 1991 and 1994, portrays Eve's temptation by Lucifer. The whole is divided into two acts, and has a novel structure: apart from the greeting and farewell, it is composed of two layers of scenes: ten "real scenes" with live performers on stage and twelve "sound scenes" with electronic transformations of familiar sounds, both performed simultaneously over a third layer of abstract electronic music. It is a complex production headed by five acting musicians (soprano, baritone, bass, flute,
basset horn) as well as 12 couples of dancer-mimes, children's orchestra, children's choir, 12 choir singers, synthesizer player, electronic music with sound scenes.
Friday's colour is orange. The ten "real scenes" are: •
Antrag (Proposal) •
Kinder-Orchester (Children's Orchestra) •
Kinder-Chor (Children's Choir) •
Kinder-Tutti (Children's Tutti) •
Zustimmung (Consent) •
Fall •
Kinder-Krieg (Children's War) •
Reue (Repentance) •
Elufa •
Chor-Spirale (Choir Spiral)
Saturday (1981–1983) Samstag is an opera for 13 solo performers (one voice, ten instrumentalists, and two dancers) plus a symphonic band (or symphony orchestra), ballet or mimes, and male choir with organ. It was composed between 1981 and 1983. Saturday is
Lucifer's day; its exoteric colour is black. The opera opens with the
Samstags Gruß for four spatially separated brass ensembles with percussion, which is followed by four scenes: •
Samstags-Gruß (Saturday's Greeting) • Scene 1:
Luzifers Traum (Lucifer's Dream) (
Klavierstück XIII), for bass voice and piano • Scene 2:
Kathinkas Gesang als Luzifers Requiem (Kathinka's Chant as Lucifer's Requiem), for flute and six percussionists • Scene 3:
Luzifers Tanz (Lucifer's Dance), for symphony band (or orchestra), bass voice, solo piccolo, solo piccolo trumpet, solo dancer, stilt-dancer, and dancer-mimes •
Linker Augenbrauentanz (Left-Eyebrow Dance) •
Rechter Augenbrauentanz (Right-Eyebrow Dance) •
Linker Augentanz (Left-Eye Dance) •
Rechter Augentanz (Right-Eye Dance) •
Linker Backentanz (Left-Cheek Dance) •
Rechter Backentanz (Right-Cheek Dance) •
Nasenflügeltanz (Wing-of-the-Nose Dance) •
Oberlippentanz (Upper-Lip Dance) •
Protest •
Zungenspitzentanz (Tip-of-the-Tongue Dance) •
Kinntanz (Chin Dance) • Scene 4:
Luzifers Abschied (Lucifer's Farewell), for male choir, seven trombones, and organ 256 photos from
Samstag aus Licht, Google Arts & Culture
Sunday (1998–2003) Sonntag, written between 1998 and 2003, is centered on the mystical union of Eve and Michael, from which the new life of Monday is produced. It is an opera with five scenes and a farewell. The absence of Lucifer from scene 1 is explained by Stockhausen's description of an accessory scene, called
Luziferium, intended to be performed simultaneously with
Sonntag, but in a different place, symbolizing the imprisonment of Lucifer, away from Eve and Michael;
Luziferium was sketched but never written. Scene 4 expands on the
multimedia nature of opera—with its music, dance, action and scenery—by involving another human sense: fragrances are released toward the audience. Scene 5 is actually two scenes in one, and consists of two parts:
Hoch-Zeiten for five choirs and
Hoch-Zeiten for five orchestral groups. (These components are performed simultaneously in two separate auditoriums. At various points acoustical "windows" are opened, through which the music from the other auditorium is "piped in" through loudspeakers. The scene is performed twice. After the interval, either the choir and orchestra change halls, or the divided audience does, in order that each group of listeners may experience the scene from both perspectives.) The Farewell is an adaptation for five synthesizers of the choral part of
Hoch-Zeiten, and it also exists in two further versions: one for solo percussionist with tape,
Strahlen; the other as
Klavierstück XIX for synthesizer and tape. The opera falls into the following parts: • Scene 1:
Lichter-Wasser (Sonntags-Gruß) (Lights-Waters—Sunday's Greeting), for soprano, tenor, and orchestra with synthesizer • Scene 2:
Engel-Prozessionen (Angel-Processions), for seven choral groups • Scene 3:
Licht-Bilder (Light-Pictures), for tenor, ring-modulated flute, basset horn, and ring-modulated trumpet • Scene 4:
Düfte-Zeichen (Scents-Signs), for 7 solo voices, boy soprano, and synthesizer • Scene 5:
Hoch-Zeiten (Weddings, but literally: High-Times), for choir and orchestra •
Sonntags-Abschied (Sunday's Farewell), for five synthesizers ==Auxiliary works==