Die Geisterinsel (The Ghost Island) by Ming Tsao, styled after the eponymous singspiel by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, Kapellmeister at the Württemberg court and a contemporary of Mozart, is a chamber opera for singers and actors.

Unlike in Mozart’s 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail' or Strauss’ prologue to 'Ariadne auf Naxos', the purpose of this combination of forces is not to set up a contrast. Here, the text spoken by the two actors who play Caliban is of a fragmented character and interlocks with the rhythmical and metric structure - thus seeming to arise directly from the kaleidoscope of sounds and noises in a more or less onomatopoetic way.

The singers, in the context of this work’s music, hardly ever manage an actual sung line, but instead respond to the complex world of sounds around them with speech-like musical lines that are quite peculiarly shaped indeed.

Contents:
- Die Geisterinsel [60:36]
chamber opera based on works by William Shakespeare and Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg

- Serenade [12:24]
for mezzosoprano and 12 musicians

- If ears were all that we needed... [2:26]
for guitar solo