Donnerstag aus Licht (Thursday from Light) is an opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen in a greeting, three acts, and a farewell, and was the first of sev­en to be composed for the opera cycle Licht: die sieben Tage der Woche (Light: The Sev­en Days of the Week). It was written be­tween 1977 and 1980, with a libretto by the compos­er.

On June 25^th, 2016, a new production of Stockhausen's first opera, DONNERSTAG AUS LICHT (Thursday from Light) pre­miered at the Basel The­atre in Switzer­land, with stage di­rection by the American-born, Eu­rope-based Lydia Stei­er (with sets designed by Barbara Ehnes, costumes by Ursula Kudrna, and video ef­fects by Chris Kondek).

The­ater Basel and sonostream.tv would like to thank the Stockhausen Foundation for Mu­sic for consent­ing to a one-time stream of Lydia Stei­er's production.

The mag­a­zine Opernwelt has se­lected the Basel 2016 production as “Aufführung des Jahres” (opera staging of the year 2016).

Pe­ter Tantsits, Michael – tenor 1
Rolf Romei, Michael – tenor 2
Paul Hübner, Michael – trum­peter
Emmanuelle Grach, Michael – dancer
Anu Komsi, Eva – sopra­no
Merve Kazokoğlu, bas­set horn
Evelyn An­gela Gugholz, Eva – dancer
Michael Lei­bundgut, Luzifer – bass
Stephen Menotti, trombone
Eric Lamb, Luzifer – dancer
Ansi Verwey, Beglei­t­erin Michaels im Examen
David Dias da Silva, Clowneskes Schwalbenpaar Per­son 1 (clar­inet)
Markus Forrer, Clowneskes Schwalbenpaar Per­son 2 (clar­inet / bas­set horn)
Romain Chaumont, Zwei Knaben Per­son 1 (sopra­no saxo­phone)
Em­i­lie Ch­abrol, Zwei Knaben Per­son 2 (sopra­no saxo­phone)

Lydia Stei­er, Stage Di­rector
Barbara Ehnes, Stage Design
Ursula Kudrna, Costume Design
Chris Kondek, Video Designer
Olaf Freese, Light­ing Design
Pav­el B. Jiracek, Dramaturgy

Chor des The­ater Basel
Studierende der Hochschule für Musik FHNW / Musik-Akademie Basel
Henryk Po­lus, Cho­rus Mas­ter
Sinfonieorchester Basel
Statis­terie des The­ater Basel

Ka­thinka Pasveer, Mu­sical prepa­ration and Sound di­rection
Titus En­gel, Mu­sical Di­rection