Ubu Rex is an opera by composer Krzysztof Penderecki

Krzysztof Penderecki

Krzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...

.

The opera's German language libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Penderecki and Jerzy Jarocki is based on Alfred Jarry

Alfred Jarry

Alfred Jarry was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother's side....

's 1896 surrealist

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....

 play Ubu Roi

Ubu Roi

Ubu Roi is a play by Alfred Jarry, premiered in 1896. It is a precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd and Surrealism. It is the first of three stylised burlesques in which Jarry satirises power, greed, and their evil practices — in particular the propensity of the complacent bourgeois to abuse the...

. The work was premiered by the Bavarian State Opera

Bavarian State Opera

The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...

 on July 8, 1991 for the opening of the annual Munich Opera Festival

Munich Opera Festival

The Munich Opera Festival, , is an opera festival located in Munich, Germany and presented annually at the National Theatre by the Bavarian State Opera...

. The cast was led by tenor Robert Tear

Robert Tear

Robert Tear, CBE was a Welsh tenor and conductor.Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK, the son of Thomas and Edith Tear. He attended Barry Boys' Grammar School and during this period sang in the chorus of the first Welsh National Opera's production of 'Cavalleria Rusticana' in April 1946...

 in the title role, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

 Doris Soffel

Doris Soffel

Doris Soffel is a German mezzo-soprano.Doris Soffel first played the violin, then switched to singing at the Munich Conservatory. She was member of the Stuttgart Opera ensemble from 1973 to 1982. Her international breakthrough was as Sesto in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito at the Royal Opera House,...

 as Mother Ubu, soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 Pamela Coburn as Queen Rosamunde, and conductor Michael Boder.