Felix Weingartner's rediscovered opera is a finalist in the "Rediscovered Work" category – CD release in June 2027
Felix Weingartner's opera "Cain and Abel," rediscovered at the Darmstadt State Theatre, has been nominated for the 2026 International Opera Awards. The Darmstadt production is among the finalists in the "Rediscovered Work" category. The awards ceremony will take place on November 21 at the MusikTheater an der Wien.
More than 100 years after its premiere, the opera was performed again for the first time in front of an audience on March 28, 2026. General Music Director Daniel Cohen had brought the long-unperformed work back to the stage from the music archives.
First performance in Darmstadt in 1914
Weingartner's one-act opera tells the Old Testament story of Cain and Abel. The opera premiered in Darmstadt in 1914, when the Austrian composer and conductor introduced himself as the city's new General Music Director.
To celebrate this rediscovery, the State Theatre presented a double bill entitled "Cain and Abel – From the Depths." Weingartner's opera was paired with Lili Boulanger's choral composition "Du fond de l'abîme," which was written around the same time. Kerem Hillel directed, and Daniel Cohen conducted.
“How wonderful that the magnificent musical and scenic power of our rediscovery of Weingartner’s ‘Cain and Abel’ has now been nominated for the International Opera Awards 2026,” says Artistic Director Karsten Wiegand.
CD will be released in June 2027
Under the direction of Daniel Cohen, the Darmstadt State Orchestra and the opera ensemble have also recorded "Cain and Abel" for a CD. The recording is scheduled for release on June 17, 2027, by the classical label cpo .
Cohen describes the opera as a work of remarkable power and imagination. He hopes that rediscovery, performance, and recording will help make the work, which has not been performed for more than a century, accessible to new audiences and contemporary musicians.
Award ceremony in November in Vienna
The International Opera Awards were established in 2012 and present awards in 20 categories. According to the State Theatre, the Darmstadt production is competing in the "Rediscovered Work" category against seven other finalists. These include productions from, among others, the Opéra de Paris, the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, and the National Theatre in Prague.
The winners of the International Opera Awards 2026 will be announced on November 21st at the MusikTheater an der Wien
(DARMSTADT RED/ST)
Featured image: Darmstadt State Theatre
