Nicholas Lens, Nick Cave, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, Koen Kessels - Lens: Shell Shock (2016)

Shell Shock is an opera by Nicholas Lens set to an English-language libretto by Nick Cave. The opera has been published by Mute Song, London and the world premiere recordings have been distributed by Universal Music Group.

The protagonists in this opera are besides the terrifying Angels of Death ("We drink breath") mostly the silent victims of war like the mother, the orphans, the unknown soldier, the colonial soldier, the fallen, the missing, the deserter, the survivor etc. The characters mutate into different characters and help each other in telling their individual story.

With Shell Shock it is the first time that the artist Nick Cave writes the libretto for an opera.[9][10] The libretto has been described sometimes as highly explicit with in opera highly unusual text phrases like (in Canto of the Mother) 'Fuck God - Fuck the Flag'.' ~wikipedia

Tracklist:
1.01 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: I. Canto Of The Colonial Soldier (8:02)
1.02 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: II. Canto Of The Soldier (7:25)
1.03 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: III. Canto Of The Nurse (8:27)
1.04 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: IV. Canto Of The Deserter Pt. 1 (3:43)
1.05 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: V. Canto Of The Deserter Pt. 2 (2:42)
1.06 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: VI. Canto Of The Deserter Pt. 3 (3:09)
1.07 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: VII. Canto Of The Deserter Pt. 4 (7:47)
1.08 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: VIII. Canto Of The Survivor Pt. 1 (4:00)
1.09 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: IX. Canto Of The Angels Of Death (4:43)
2.01 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: X. Canto Of The Survivor Pt. 2 (6:15)
2.02 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: XI. Canto Of The Fallen (6:27)
2.03 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: XII. Canto Of The Missing (6:52)
2.04 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: XIII. Canto Of The Unknown Soldier (7:11)
2.05 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: XIV. Canto Of The Mother (6:34)
2.06 - Nick Cave, Nicholas Lens, Koen Kessels, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra - Shell Shock: XV. Canto Of The Orphans (10:56)