Bach's last opera
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| Title: | Bach's last opera |
| Shape: | Opera in two acts |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Stanley Walden |
| Libretto : | Jess Ørnsbo |
| Premiere: | December 21, 2002 |
| Place of premiere: | Theater Erfurt |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Bach's life stages, 1695–1750 |
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Bach's last opera is an opera in two acts by the American composer Stanley Walden . The libretto is by Jess Ørnsbo , Anne Refshauge translated it from Danish into German. The opera premiered on December 21, 2002 in the "KuppelTheater", the alternative venue of the Erfurt Theater, directed by Flemming Weiss Andersens .
action
Bach's last opera tells the life of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach in a chronological series of historically documented and fictional episodes . In the key scene at the beginning, the ten-year-old in Ohrdruf is caught by his brother copying notes from great composers. He anticipates his later stages in life in the form of visions. After the failed eye operation, which may have led to his death, the opera again closes in Ohrdruf with the young Bach.
first act
Scene 1. Ohrdruf. Johann Sebastian Bach's future wife Maria Barbara sings from one of his cantatas. The orphaned Johann Sebastian finds accommodation with his brother Johann Christoph at the age of 10 . As an organist in Ohrdruf he only has a low salary and is reluctant to take his brother in. Already on the first night Johann Sebastian stole notes by Pachelbel and Buxtehude in order to copy them for his own purposes. Mythical creatures from Handel's opera Tamerlano scoff at his early attempts at composition. Johann Christoph catches his brother copying and destroys the notes. The scene ends with Maria Barbara's singing.
Scene 2. Arnstadt . There is a church trial against Bach. His superior accuses him of the complicated style of his music, the overdraft of his vacation on his trip to Buxtehude in Lübeck and the seduction of women in his apartment. Bach refuses an apology to the community. He calls Maria Barbara over to sing with her.
Scene 3. Mulhouse . Bach and his young alter ego meet Georg Friedrich Händel in an elegant inn , who is on an opera tour. After a turbulent binge drinking and dancing, Bach demands calm. He and Handel start a game of dice. They are interrupted by a clairvoyant who sees parallels between their lives.
Scene 4. In a competition, Bach and Handel take turns playing variations on the Goldberg theme . When the cathedral music director announced his resignation as organist, the potential successor was ordered to marry his ugly daughter. Handel flees, and Bach refuses on the grounds that he is already married. Soon afterwards he received news of the death of his wife Maria Barbara. Her spirit and the young Bach accompany Johann Sebastian's funeral aria.
Second act
Scene 5. Weimar. After an argument with his superiors, Bach is serving a prison sentence. The young Bach and the fantasy characters in the first scene make fun of him. They drive out the guard and a doctor who is supposed to rid Bach of his bad humor. His second wife Anna Magdalena brings food and music paper. The guard takes on the food with some of the visitors. The ghosts turn into wild animals and attack them. Bach leaves prison.
Scene 6. Koethen . Bach is now Kapellmeister with Prince Leopold and is supposed to teach his untalented wife “Amusa” to play the piano. In doing so, she faints.
Scene 7. Potsdam. Bach visits his son Carl Philipp Emanuel in Potsdam. He introduces him to Frederick the Great . He also meets Voltaire and again Handel, who, after going blind, is waiting for eye surgery by the oculist John Taylor . On Friedrich's orders, Bach improvises over a fugue based on a theme given by him . During the performance, he suddenly goes blind. He is led out by the young brook.
Scene 8. Leipzig. Bach is now blind. His heavily pregnant wife Anna Magdalena complains about her fate. She gives birth to a number of children, only a few of whom survive. The devil appears in disguise and describes himself to Bach as his successor in Leipzig. Bach personally chases him away.
Scene 9. The operation. The devil appears again - this time in the guise of John Taylor. He claims to be able to operate on Bach's eyes. In the presence of the young Bach and the fantasy characters of the first scene, he leads Bach to the operating table. Bach almost does not survive the failed operation. The young Bach calls for Maria Barbara. You and Anna Magdalena appear. Bach sings.
Scene 10. Finale. Dark figures sing music from a Bach cantata . Towards the end the young Bach appears as in the first scene. He copies notes and sings: "I want to learn ... learn!"
layout
The opera contains a total of 27 quotations from the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, including chorales such as O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden from the St. Matthew Passion , organ works, The Well-Tempered Clavier and The Art of Fugue . Further motifs come from Georg Friedrich Händel , Johann Pachelbel and Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel .
The orchestra needs almost 50 musicians with a lot of drums and some exotic instruments such as a grated cat's intestine to represent the “lion's roar” or a hose whirled through the air at the “Freeka”.
Work history
Bach's last opera is based on an idea by the librettist Jess Ørnsbo from 1992. The suggestion to turn it into an opera libretto came from the director Flemming Weiss Andersen, who also made contact with the composer Stanley Walden . From the beginning it was planned to perform the opera in Germany. Therefore, the Danish text was translated into German by Anne Refshauge before the composition began. Nevertheless, initial plans were based on a world premiere in 2000 at Danske Opera, which was canceled for financial reasons. The work was finally performed by the Erfurt Theater on December 21, 2002 - as the opera house was closed due to structural defects, in the “Dome Theater ” on the southern edge of the city. The musical director was Karl Prokopetz , the production was done by Flemming Weiss Andersen and the set by Vladimir Poznanovic. It sang u. a. Susanne Serfling (the young Bach), Peter Dittmann (Johann Sebastian Bach), Nadja Stefanoff (Maria Barbara), Kelly God (Anna Magdalena), Albert Pesendorfer (brother Johann Sebastian Bach) and Britta Ströher (princess, daughter of the cathedral music director, Amusa) .
Individual evidence
- ^ "Bach's last opera" in Erfurt. MDR contribution on nmz.de , accessed on February 27, 2016.
- ^ A b c Klaus Umbach : Barock goes Broadway. In: Der Spiegel 52/2002 , accessed on February 27, 2016.
- ^ Program booklet for Bach's last opera. Theater Erfurt, season 2002/03.
- ↑ Bach's last opera (premiere December 21, 2002) at the Erfurt Theater ( memento from March 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).