The process (opera)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The process |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Gottfried von One |
| Libretto : | Boris Blacher and Heinz von Cramer |
| Literary source: | Eponymous novel by Franz Kafka |
| Premiere: | 17th August 1953 |
| Place of premiere: | Salzburg |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Somewhere, 1919 |
| people | |
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The trial is an opera in two parts (nine pictures) by Gottfried von Eine . Boris Blacher , the composer's former teacher , wrote the libretto together with Heinz von Cramer . It is based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka . The work had its world premiere on August 17, 1953 at the Salzburg Festival .
orchestra
Three flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, a timpani, a percussion, a piano and strings
action
First part
First picture: The arrest - two rooms
One morning the bank clerk Josef K. was declared arrested by two men - like a bolt of lightning out of the blue - without knowing the reason for this measure. He is also told that he can still pursue his job until further notice and move around freely. From then on, Josef K. suffered from mental agony because he did not realize what he could have done wrong.
Second picture: Miss Bürstner - two rooms
After work, Josef K. visits his neighbor, Fraulein Bürstner, and informs her about his strange arrest. He sits down at the table and begins to take notes. When there was a knock at the door, Miss Bürstner tried to get her uninvited guest to leave the room. He presses her a passionate kiss on the lips.
Third image: The summons - street
At night Josef K. goes for a walk in the street. He feels threatened by invisible forces. A stranger walks past him without a word, but then turns around and explains that there will be a small investigation into his matter next Saturday. Under no circumstances should he miss the appointment.
Fourth picture: First examination - attic
Josef K. finds the court, which is sitting in an attic, with great difficulty and an hour late. The audience eagerly awaits the start of the negotiation. Josef K. protests angrily that the court is treating him only very superficially. Among the audience is a student who suddenly approaches the bailiff's wife in an immoral manner. The examining magistrate then interrupts the hearing and withdraws with his assessors. The harassed woman assures Josef K. that she will do everything in her power to help him. No sooner has she said it than the student walks up to her again and carries her away. When the investigation into the case is to be continued, Josef K. curses the High Court and runs away.
Second part
Fifth picture: The beating man - hallway
From the hallway, in a poorly lit room, Josef K. discovers the two men who recently informed him of his arrest. A whipping punishment is carried out on both of them. Josef K. believes that this is the result of his complaint about these men. Suddenly the passerby from the other day comes down the stairs and orders him to go to the court office immediately.
Sixth picture: The lawyer - two rooms
Josef K. is led by his uncle Albert to an old lawyer who has a good reputation throughout the city and beyond. But instead of asking Josef K., the lawyer prefers to chat with his uncle. In the meantime, the protagonist is talking to Leni, the attorney's maid, in the next room. The two get closer, hug and kiss.
Seventh picture: The manufacturer - office in the bank
Once again Josef K. tries to do his job as an authorized signatory in the bank, but the process weighs so heavily on his conscience that he is unable to concentrate. This does not remain hidden from the customer he is currently serving. This, a factory director, advises him to go see the painter Titorelli and ask for help. Titorelli portrayed almost all of the city's dignitaries and therefore has important relationships.
Eighth picture: The painter - studio
In front of Titorelli's house, Josef K. has to squeeze through a group of girls who are screaming violently to get into the studio. The painter is a real boor who overestimates himself immensely. He records three possibilities for Josef K. how the trial could end: by real acquittal, by apparent acquittal or by procrastination, the latter being better for him than apparent acquittal. He must carefully assess the possibilities and must not lose any time. - Josef K. is more confused than before.
Ninth picture: In the cathedral and in the quarry
The defendant is so desperate that he hopes for help from the Church as a last resort. But even talking to a chaplain gives him no consolation. On the contrary. The clergyman accuses him of seeking too much help from strangers, especially women, and that he is unable to see two steps for himself.
The set turns into a quarry. Two elegant men with top hats take the desperate man into their midst. One of them pulls a huge butcher's knife from his frock coat, sharpened on both sides. With extreme courtesy, he hands it to the other man over Josef K's head. After that it will be completely dark.
music
The opera completely dispenses with a choir. The voices of the soloists move strongly declamatory in a moderately modern harmony with many ostinati, partly in the range of twelve-tone technique . Every now and then you can hear the rhythms of dance music from the early 1950s.
literature
- Hertha Bauer: Pocket Lexicon "Opera - Operetta - Ballet" (= Humboldt Pocket Book No. 27).
- Steger / Howe: Opera guide (= Fischer paperback no. 49).