Der Mieter
History. Topor's 1964 novel "Der Mieter" ("Le locataire chimérique") was filmed as "The Tenant" by Roman Polanski in 1976, dealing with the conflict of the self and the stranger. Händl Klaus wrote the libretto, commissioned by the Oper Frankfurt. Arnulf Herrmann composed the music between 2012 to 2017. For the leading woman, Johanna, he composed three songs ("Gesänge") which were premiered already in 2014, titled "Drei Gesänge am offenen Fenster" (Three Songs at the Open Window) in the "" concert series. Anja Petersen stepped in as the singer and received critical praise. The opera was first performed in  Frankfurt on 12 November 2017, directed by Johannes Erath in a stage design by . Kazushi Ōno conducted the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester and the . Reviewer of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" saw the danger of rivalry to both the eloquent novel and the film powerful in images, and located the opera between Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and Sartre's "No Exit". Reception. The Frankfurt premiere was reviewed mostly with acceptance. A reviewer of the "Financial Times" warned "If you are feeling unstable, stay away.", and summarised that the production made "this a journey to the blackest regions of an anguished psyche  in a hostile world". After praising all who made the performance possible, she concluded: The Japanese conductor Kazushi Ōno was seen by a reviewer of "Die Deutsche Bühne" as a highly competent advocate of the multilayered score ("als hochkompetenter Anwalt von Herrmanns vielschichtiger Partitur"). Andreas Bomba of the "Frankfurter Neue Presse" reported strong applause for an extraordinary ensemble performance for a work described as suggestive, depressing and intense. The opera was nominated for the Opera Awards 2018.