The dictator (opera)
| Opera dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The dictator |
| Shape: | Tragic opera in one act |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Ernst Krenek |
| Libretto : | Ernst Krenek |
| Premiere: | May 6, 1928 |
| Place of premiere: | State Theater Wiesbaden |
| Playing time: | approx. 35 minutes |
| Place and time of the action: | Above Montreux on Lake Geneva |
| people | |
The dictator is a “tragic opera ” in one act (two pictures). Text and music are from Ernst Krenek . The opera presents its Op. 49 from 1926 and belongs to a triptych with Krenek's short operas The Secret Kingdom and Heavyweight or The Honor of the Nation .
layout
Benito Mussolini is the model for the main character of the opera.
Krenek set the short operas of the triptych to music in different musical styles:
- the dictator as a veristic "tragic opera",
- The Secret Kingdom as dazzling " fairy tale opera " in the style of Franz Schreker and
- the heavyweight as “burlesque operetta” with fashion dances of the time.
An orchestral interlude is played during the change of image, which takes place with the curtains closed.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwind : two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : horn , trumpet , trombone
- Timpani , percussion : pool , bass drum , snare drum , tenor drum, tam-tam , Triangle
- Strings : violin 1, violin 2, violas , cellos , double basses
Work history
The three operas in the triptych were premiered on May 6, 1928 in the Hessian State Theater Wiesbaden as part of the Wiesbaden International May Festival. Joseph Rosenstock was the musical director. Directed by Paul Bekker . Viorica Ursuleac sang the role of Charlotte .
Since Krenek had to leave Europe after the National Socialists came to power in Germany in 1933 and in Austria in 1938, the performance history of his works in Europe experienced an absolute turning point. It was not until the late 1970s that a timid renaissance of Krenek works began in Europe. The dictator was presented on May 1, 2017 at the Frankfurt Opera as part of the entire triptych and on April 13, 2018 - together with Viktor Ullmann's Zerbrochnem Krug - at the Cuvilliés Theater in Munich.
admission
- German Symphony Orchestra Berlin , conductor: Marek Janowski , with Urban Malmberg (dictator), Celina Lindsley (Charlotte, his wife), Robert Wörle (the officer), Gabriele Ronge (Maria, his wife), Ernst Krenek: The dictator, Op .49 (1926)
Web links
- Action by Der Dictator (Opera) on Opera-Guide landing page due to URL change currently unavailable
- Work information in the Universal Edition
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Winfried Kirch: The dictator. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , p. 331.
- ↑ May 6, 1928: “The Dictator”. In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ↑ Bernhard Uske: The dictator keeps fit , Frankfurter Rundschau , May 1, 2017