Rumor

Christian Jost's libretto of Rumor is based on the famous novel A Sweet Scent of Death by the Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga. The writer, scriptwriter and director is also well-known for his films 21 Grams or Babel.

The girl Adela is found dead in a secluded Mexican village. Her family has moved to this place only recently. The villagers take the investigations into their own hands as there is no other moral authority. At once, rumours start to circulate, one being that Adela was involved with the young landlord Ramón who, though having known Adela only briefly, was head over heels in love with her and therefore does not deny these rumours. When it comes out that Adeal had an affair with a married man, Ramón becomes more and more involved in this matter. Although the murder cannot be solved, the alleged killer is found very quickly. The itinerant dealer Gitano is said to have been seen with a woman. Ramón declares himself willing to kill him in order to avenge the murder of his supposed lover.

Jost heavily adapted this work with the author's permission and gave his own emphases to the libretto, centring on questions concerning the importance of reality, the power of rumours and of revenge, above all else. To him, Rumor is 'an opera in which illusion becomes truth, rumours become facts, pleasure and desire lead to a witch-hunt, an angel of death has to die again, and love can defy the limits of time and space'. (Christian Jost)
Jost adds an electric bass, vibraphone, celesta and marimbaphone to the classical orchestra. With its very subtle differences in tone and harmony, the music paints an impressive profile of the characters' psychological and emotional depths which inevitably draw them into the maelstrom of tragic entanglements. The vocal parts are rewarding as well as demanding and full of effect.