The soldiers (opera)

Work data
Original title:	The soldiers
Laura Aikin as Marie in Alvis Hermanis ' production, Salzburg Festival 2012
Shape:	thoroughly composed opera
Original language:	German
Music:	Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Libretto :	Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Literary source:	The soldiers (drama) by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz
Premiere:	February 15, 1965
Place of premiere:	Cologne Opera
Playing time:	about 2 hours
Place and time of the action:	Lille , French Flanders 1775, present, future (yesterday, today and tomorrow)
people
Wesener, haberdashery dealer ( bass ) Marie, his daughter (dramatic coloratura soprano ) Charlotte, his daughter ( mezzo-soprano ) Wesener's old mother (deep old ) Stolzius, cloth merchant in Armentières (youthful high baritone ) Mother of Stolzius (dramatic alto) Colonel, Count von Spannheim (bass) Desportes, a nobleman from Hainaut (very high tenor ) A young hunter (speaking role) Pirzel, a captain (high tenor) Eisenhardt, a field preacher (hero baritone) Haudy, captain (hero baritone) Mary, captain (baritone) Three young officers (very high tenors) Countess de la Roche (mezzo-soprano) The young count, her son (very high lyric tenor) Madame Roux, coffee house owner (silent role) Servant of the Countess (actor) The drunk officer (actor) Three captains (actors) 18 officers and ensigns (rhythmic speaking, operating an additional drum kit made from tableware , tables and chairs) Andalusian, maid and ensigns ( dancers )

The Soldiers is the only completed opera by the German composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann . The plot in four acts , put together by Zimmermann using collage technology , is based on the drama of the same name by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz . In his opera, composed using twelve-tone technology , Zimmermann used multimedia elements such as simultaneous scenes , film projections, playback tapes and loudspeakers on the stage and in the auditorium for the first time. The opera, which was initially considered “unplayable”, however, after its premiere on February 15, 1965, also caught on internationally and, despite the oversized cast and the difficulties in performance, was played on many larger theaters. Today, according to many music critics, the work is considered one of the most important operas of the 20th century.

Emergence

The literary model for the opera

Intentions

According to his own statements, Zimmermann had long been concerned with Lenz's Sturm und Drang drama The Soldiers , in which the classic three units of time, space and action are suspended and instead a “unit of inner action” is present. In this he saw an anticipation of James Joyce's Ulysses , in which several levels of action are layered on top of one another. Zimmermann believed he could realize these possibilities in a modern opera with simultaneous scenes.

On the occasion of a concert performance by the WDR on May 20, 1963, in which three scenes of the work were presented as a vocal symphony , Zimmermann explained his intentions: “So my opera does not tell a story, but depicts a situation, even more precisely said: the report submitted about a situation that threatens the past from the future [...] insofar as we are constantly involved in it, constantly encountering the present, past and future in the rotating ball of time. "

Zimmermann later described his further intentions as follows: “Not the piece of time, the class drama, not the social aspect, not also the criticism of the soldier's status (timeless the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow) formed the immediate point of reference for me, but the circumstance, like all people in 1774 –1775 soldiers written by Lenz inescapably find themselves in a forced situation, innocent more than guilty, which leads to rape, murder and suicide and ultimately to the annihilation of what already exists. "

Elaboration

After the city of Cologne had commissioned the then General Manager Herbert Maisch to compose a composition in 1958, Zimmermann began to set up the text and to compose the opera. He left the text of Lenz's play largely untouched, but reduced the number of people involved and compressed the officer scenes into collages. In addition, in the first scene of the first act, in the first scene of the second act and in the fifth scene of the third act, he added poems by Lenz, as well as some exclamations. He left out the commentary ending of the piece with the suggestion of a "nursery for soldiers' wives".

In September 1959 Zimmermann had completed the composition of the first act, the second act between Christmas and New Year 1959/60. Actually, the third act was supposed to arrive at the Cologne Opera in March 1960 and the work was to be premiered in June 1960, but a strong opposition formed. After the date of the premiere at the IGNM Festival had already been questioned on January 8, 1960 , the Schott publishing house stopped printing and production “until a binding date was given”. There are different statements about the progress of the composition. Zimmermann himself later said that the original version of the opera was completed in 1960 and that he had only created a simplified version in a second step. Heribert Henrich, on the other hand, based on a letter from Zimmermann from 1963, came to the conclusion that Zimmermann broke off the composition of the opera in the third act and only continued it in May 1963, adding the preludio of the first act and the intermezzo of the second act.

The Cologne Opera House, where the premiere took place in 1965

According to Michael Gielens , the conductor of the premiere, one reason for the strong opposition was that in the original version with seven tempo layers the opera would have required seven conductors, whereupon Wolfgang Sawallisch , Cologne's general music director at the time , refused to perform the work after the score was available perform. However, after Zimmermann had created “a version with bar lines across these layers”, the work was still “exorbitantly difficult”, but it could be performed under a single conductor. Zimmermann initially planned to conduct the premiere of Hans Rosbaud , to whom the work is dedicated, and, after his death, Winfried Zillig , who died the following year. Then in 1964 Zimmermann decided on the 37-year-old Michael Gielen. According to his own statements, he already recognized after studying the score of the first act "that it is a capital work, a work in the category of Wozzeck , Lulu and Moses and Aron ".

Even so, there was continued opposition to the performance. After Günter Wand , who was initially friends with Zimmermann, spoke out against the piece and claimed that “Zimmermann's development was evil”, he spoke out in favor of the Gürzenich Orchestra torpedoing the work . Another shortcoming was that the piano reductions of the third and fourth act were only available a few days before the premiere. Despite these difficulties, the premiere took place on February 15, 1965 in a production by Hans Neugebauer . The opera was supposed to end with a projected atom bomb explosion , while a scream rang out from the tape and the orchestra held the “d ¹ fortissimo diminuendo ” for a long time to symbolize the rape of everyone by everyone. Instead, the directing team had the idea of ​​turning headlights with maximum light power on the audience at the moment of the scream. The audience was terrified. The success of the work was marred by many subsequent boos .

action

first act

After a five-minute preludio (orchestral prelude), in which the Dies irae is quoted and varied for the first time , the first act begins.

1st scene ( Strofe ) . Wesener moved from Armentières to Lille with his two daughters . In Wesener's house in Lille, Marie writes a letter to the mother of her fiancé Stolzius, while her sister Charlotte is busy with some handicraft.

2nd scene ( Ciacona I) . In the house of the cloth merchant Stolzius in Armentières. Stolzius suffers from the separation from Marie. His mother hands him Marie's letter and admonishes him to finally measure the cloth that the colonel ordered for the regiments. After a short orchestral interlude ( Tratto I) follows the

3rd scene ( Ricercari I) . In the house of the Weseners, Baron Desportes, who serves in the French regiment, is courting Marie. Wesener steps in and forbids Marie from accompanying Desportes to a comedy. After Desporte's departure, he warns Marie that she could lose her good reputation if she interacts with soldiers.

4th scene ( Toccata I) . The colonel, the captains Haudy and Mary, the young count, the chaplain Eisenhardt, the captain Pirzel and three young officers meet at the moat of Armentières. Haudy defends comedy, claiming that comedy can do more than sermons. When the conversation turns to girls and whores, the field preacher Eisenhardt objects: “A whore will never become a whore if she is not made into it”, by which he means the many seduced “unhappy citizens' daughters”.

5th scene ( Nocturno I) . The setting is again Wesener's house in Lille. Wesener advises Marie to hold out her fiancé Stolzius, who has asked for her hand, because the baron is also in love with her and has dedicated a poem to her.

Second act

After a short introduction (Introduzione) the action begins.

1st scene (Toccata II) . In a coffee house in Armentières, three bored officers and ensigns sit at six different tables, some of whom are playing cards or reading the newspaper. According to the stage directions in the libretto, they are constantly in a "choreographic movement" and, in addition to their chanting, create an additional drum kit on stage by rhythmically clattering dishes, tables and chairs. A young ensign with an Andalusian woman in his arms offers her to a drunken officer to have sex with. After Eisenhardt and Pirzel have also joined, the talk comes to Stolzius.

Three ensigns (dancers) begin a rondeau à la marche , in which, according to the stage directions, they are supposed to generate noises like tap dancers with point, heel and whole foot and execute them with the precision of a percussion mechanism. In the following Couplet I, Refrain , Couplet II, Refrain , Couplet III, Refrain , Couplet IV and Couplet V , the young ensign, the young count and Mary sing about the freedom of the soldiers, “Gods we are!”, And everyone present screams at one another . After everyone has surrounded the dancing ensigns, a dance by the Andalusian woman ( Variations sentimentales ) begins , in which a jazz combo takes the stage. When the Colonel, Eisenhardt and Haudy appear, the Andalusian steals away. Pirzel begins a moralizing speech that nobody wants to hear. After Stolzius came in too, he was mocked with ambiguous allusions to Marie and Desportes. Stolzius leaves the coffee house excitedly. The scene ends in a tumult.

An intermezzo leads over to

2nd scene ( Capriccio , Corale e Ciacona II) , in which different storylines run simultaneously.

In Wesener's house in Lille . Weeping, Marie reads a letter from Stolzius, who asked for her hand when Desportes enters the room. Desportes gives her hopes by claiming, "And in short, you are not made for a citizen." He wants to answer Stolzius' letter himself immediately. When Marie refuses, he demands that he dictate the letter to her. Then both joke with each other and disappear into the next room, where they shout with "Ha ha ha!" And embrace each other.

Simultaneous scenes

• Marie and Desportes act as lovers in the background on the left.
• In the foreground on the right is Wesener's old mother, who knits, prays and sings a song: “Kindlein mein” about a “Rösel from Hainaut” that has found a husband. In this song, she anticipates that laughter will be followed by tears.
• The third location is Stolzius' apartment in Armentières. Stolzius sits at a table with a lamp and reads Marie's letter dejectedly. His mother, who sits next to him, insults Marie as a soldier whore. Stolzius tries to appease her and claims that Marie is innocent and that the officer Desportes has "maddened her head". (Meanwhile, Marie's grandmother sings the last lines of her song, goes into the next room, and the scene fades out.) Stolzius seeks revenge on Desportes.

Third act

1st scene ( Rondino ) . The setting is the city moat of Armentières, where Eisenhardt and Pirzel talk about how soldiers flirt with women during a walk . Everything goes mechanically, like the drill.

2nd scene ( rappresentazione ) . The setting is Mary's apartment in Lille. Stolzius, who wears a soldier's uniform, applies to Mary, the friend of Baron Desportes, as a servant.

3rd scene (Ricercari II) . The setting is Wesener's house in Lille. Desportes has left Marie. Charlotte reproaches her for dealing with Mary, Desportes' friend, and insults her as a "soldier". At this moment Mary enters, followed by the supposed servant Stolzius. Mary invites Marie for a ride. Charlotte wants to accompany her. At the sight of Stolzius, who is addressed by Mary as "Kaspar", Charlotte and Marie are startled because of the similarity, but do not recognize him.

After an approximately three-minute orchestral interlude ( romanza ) follows the

4th scene (Nocturno II) . The setting is the Countess La Roche's apartment. Marie, who is now in contact with the young count, is protected by him from his mother. He explains that Marie is a "good girl". In response to his mother's objection that she had a bad reputation but was probably betrayed, he emphasized once again that she was an "unhappy girl". The countess advises him to leave the city. The young count agrees and leaves Marie in the care of his mother during his absence.

5th scene ( tropi ) . The scene is again Wesener's house. Charlotte and Marie are talking about the young Count and Mary, who has since hooked up with another bourgeois daughter. Charlotte warns Marie that the young count is already engaged to another woman. A servant announces the countess. She describes herself as Marie's "best friend", but also says that Marie has both a bad and a good reputation. Her son has already been promised, but she offers to take Marie into her house in order to restore her honor. This is followed by a resigned trio, intoned by the Countess, based on a poem by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz:

Oh, your young wishes,
Be too good for this world!
Our most beautiful blossom falls,
our best part joins
the grave long before us.

When Countess Marie again offers to become her companion, Marie asks for time to think it over.

Fourth act

The fourth act begins with a short preludio .

1st scene (Toccata III) . In this scene in the form of a dream, which only lasts about three and a half minutes, 12 partial scenes run simultaneously. According to Zimmermann's directional instructions, the action takes place "detached from their space and time [...] simultaneously on the stage, in three films and in the loudspeakers." According to the directional instructions, the stage becomes "like a lightning bolt" from fractions of the various scenes lit up, flickering back and forth like in a dream ”.

The scenes on the stage are the coffee house with six tables as in the 2nd act, 1st scene, a dance hall in Madame Bischof's house and an imaginary tribunal made up of all participants. The action takes place in the past, present and future. Marie runs away from the Countess (Film II), Desportes does a current fashion dance ( Twist at that time ), anticipating the plot of the opera, he writes a letter to his hunter ((Film I), who is waiting for Marie with Desportes letter in hand (Film III) and then raped (film), Wesener is desperately looking for his daughter, Stolzius buys poison in a pharmacy.

According to Zimmermann, this scene is supposed to depict “the rape of Mary as a parable of the rape of all those involved in the plot”, as “brutal physical, psychological and emotional rape.”

After a short orchestral interlude ( Tratto II ) follows the

2nd scene (Ciacona III) . The location is Mary's apartment. Mary and Desportes sit undressed at a table and mock Marie, whom Desportes describes as a "whore from the beginning". He wants to leave her to his hunter (who raped her in advance in the previous simultaneous scene). Stolzius poisons Desportes. Mary wants to stab Stolzius, but Stolzius took poison himself. While Desportes is dying, Stolzius reveals himself. His last thoughts rush to Marie and the soldiers who dishonored Marie. “She was my bride. If you cannot live without making women unhappy […] God cannot condemn me. ”He sinks to the ground, dead.

3rd scene (Nocturno III) . In the background a transport train with tanks rolls on a railway bridge. Columns of sightless fallen soldiers in steel helmets stroll along an endless road lined with poplar trees on the banks of the Lys . In contrast, groups of living soldiers appear visiting Madame Bischof's establishment. Command calls in various languages ​​are played over loudspeakers.

Eisenhardt recites the pater noster in Latin . Wesener who goes for a walk is approached by a beggar ("woman"). He initially rejects her. Meanwhile, the Andalusian hurries into the street, the jazz combo and drunken officers hurry after her. The Andalusian dances around the beggar who is none other than Marie. Suddenly the dance music breaks off and the officers, confused and with extinguished faces, join the endless procession of the fallen. Wesener thinks of his lost daughter and hands the beggar, whom he does not recognize, a coin. Marie sinks to the floor crying with the words "O God". Eisenhardt recites the last verses of the pater noster , Wesener joins the procession of the fallen and moves to the background. While the stage darkens, the marching soldiers can be heard through loudspeakers. After a general pause there is an outcry (“screaming sound”) and the work ends in an orchestral manner.

music

occupation

In addition to a choir and a soloist ensemble with 16 singers, including six high tenors, and an additional ten speaking actors, the performance of the work requires an orchestra with around 100 participants, including 8–9 percussionists. There is also a percussion stage music, a jazz combo and playback tapes.

orchestra

4 flutes (also Piccolo 4, 3. Altflöte also in G), 3 oboe (also oboe d'Amore , 3rd also English horn ), 4 clarinets , alto saxophone in Es, 3 Fagotte (2nd and 3rd also Kontrafagott ), 5 Horns in F (also 5 tenor tubas in Bb, 5th also bass tuba in F), 4 trumpets , 4 trombones , bass tuba (also double bass tuba), timpani (also small timpani), percussion : (8–9 players), 6 crotals , counter strike block , 3 hanging cymbals , 4 gongs , 4 tamtams , tambourine , 3 bongos , 5 tomtoms , tumba , military drum, 4 small drums , Rummelpott , 2 large drums , 5 triangles , cowbells , steelsticks , 2 sets of tubular bells , 3 free-swinging railroad tracks , whips, castanets , Rumba wood, 2 wooden lid, 3 wooden drums, guiro , maracas , shaker , xylophone , marimba , vibraphone , guitar , two harps , bells , celesta , harpsichord , piano , organ (2 players), strings .

Incidental music

1. 3 triangles, 3 crotals, 2 cymbals, gong, tam-tam, snare drum, military drum, 2 bongos, stirring drum, bass drum (with cymbals), 3 timpani, cowbells, 2 tubular bells, maracas, temple block
2. 3 triangles, 3 crotals, 2 cymbals, 2 gongs, snare drum, 2 tom-toms, stirring drum, 3 timpani, cowbells, 6 tubular bells, maracas, temple block
3. 3 triangles, crotal, 2 cymbals, gong, 2 tam-tams, snare drum, tom-tom, stirring drum, 3 timpani, cowbell, 4 tubular bells, maracas, 3 temple blocks

Jazz combo

Clarinet in Bb, trumpet in Bb, guitar, double bass (electrically amplified).

Playback tapes

Playback tapes 1–11 with the names: “Bandkomplex I – IV”, “ Konkrete Musik I – V ”, “Marschtritte”, “Schreiklang”.

Stylistically

The opera is through composed preludes for the first, third and fourth act, various interludes and based on a Allintervall - twelve-tone , in the "all intervals of ½ tone to 5½ tone (indicated in whole tones)", the following in the sequence intervals occur: "4 - ½ - 3½ - 1½ - 5 - 3 - 1 - 4½ - 2½ - 5½ - 2". This series consists of four groups of three, from which Zimmermann developed a "series of scenes". In addition to the serial structure , the musical events are arranged in "time layers", which are embodied by up to 13 different instrumental groups in changing line-ups.

In addition, Zimmermann, like Alban Berg in Wozzeck before him, orientated himself on traditional musical forms, which are underlaid in the individual scenes, such as chaconne , ricercar , toccata , capriccio , choral , nocturne and rondo . Another characteristic of the work are quotations, collages and the "layering of heterogeneous elements" that have dramaturgical functions in opera.

In addition, Zimmermann worked with tapes, especially in the fourth act, in order to reinforce the musical expression and establish current references. According to Kontarsky, Zimmermann envisaged “a kind of total theater, with noises and concrete sounds that directly involve the listener. The band assemblies: marching steps, commands in many languages, engine noises, screams, the 'pater noster' over loudspeakers - the acoustic impression is overwhelming [...]. "

reception

After the world premiere, the opera was performed on many larger theaters, first in Kassel in 1968, Munich 1969, Düsseldorf 1971 and Nuremberg 1974. The first performance in Hamburg was in 1976, followed by performances in Frankfurt am Main , Stuttgart and Vienna .

The opera was also able to assert itself internationally. The US premiere took place on February 7, 1982 in Boston. Despite the inadequate performance by the Opera Company of Boston , the critic wrote John Rockwell in the New York Times that the Opera "is widely regarded as the most important German opera since Alban Berg's opera". 1991 followed a performance at the New York City Opera . The English premiere took place in November 1996 at the English National Opera in London , the Japanese premiere in May 2008 in Tokyo .

In the 21st century, with the Bochum staging of David Pountney at the Ruhrtriennale in 2006 and 2007, a renewed examination of the work began, along with the acceptance of the audience for the opera, which is now regarded as the "epochal work of the new music theater". One of the highlights in performance history was a production at the Salzburg Festival 2012 in the Felsenreitschule with the Vienna Philharmonic , conducted by Ingo Metzmacher , staged and equipped by Alvis Hermanis . In the 2013/14 season new productions took place in Zurich and at the Komische Oper Berlin (directed by Calixto Bieito ), as well as in Munich (directed by Andreas Kriegenburg , directed by Kirill Petrenko ). In 2016 the opera was brought out at the Hessian State Theater Wiesbaden as part of the May Festival and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, followed by productions at the State Theater Nuremberg (director: Peter Konwitschny ), at the Cologne Opera and at the Teatro Real in Madrid in 2018 . The peculiarity of the Cologne production was that it was not tied to an existing stage, but rather an oval stage that encircled the audience was built in the interim venue in the State House . The audience sat on swivel chairs and could freely turn to the various actions on the stage.

Bernhard Kontarsky , who in 1965, while still studying music, had contributed to the success of the premiere as a répétiteur and later conducted the work several times, was only finally convinced of the uniqueness of the opera since the 1980s. “That I would have been completely convinced from the start and would have recognized the importance of the» soldiers «, for example in the sense that the work is a central piece of this century - no, that took some time.” At first he was only “impressed of the density of the text and the musical structure. "

In 2005 Michael Gielen described the work in his memoirs as being on a par with Alban Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu , as well as Arnold Schönberg's Moses and Aron , whereby he stated: “Beyond these four, I know of no other work of the century in music theater of such power and impact . "

Discography

• Complete recording (abridged version) in the premiere cast with Edith Gabry (Marie), Zoltán Kelemen (Wesener), Helga Jenckel (Charlotte), Claudio Nicolai (Stolzius), Elisabeth Schärtel (mother of Stolzius), Anton de Ridder (Desportes), Liane Synek (Countess), Willi Brokmeier (The Young Count), Heiner Horn (Eisenhardt), Gerd Nienstedt (Haudy); Gürzenich Orchestra under the direction of Michael Gielen ; Recording 21. – 22. February and 2-3. March 1965 in the large broadcasting hall of the WDR , republished in 2007 in the edition Bernd Alois Zimmermann , CD Wergo 66982, mono
• Vocal Symphony The Soldiers for six vocal soloists (coloratura soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, two tenors, bass) and orchestra with Edith Gabry , WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne under Hiroshi Wakasugi , Harmonia Mundi
• Complete recording with the choir of the Stuttgart State Theater and the Stuttgart State Orchestra under the direction of Bernhard Kontarsky , sound design (playback tapes): Andreas Breitscheidt , recording 1988–1989, Teldec 1991
  • same recording on DVD with Nancy Shade (Marie), Mark Munkittrick (Wesener), Milagro Vargas (Charlotte), Grace Hoffman (Wesener's old mother), Michael Ebbecke (Stolzius), Elsie Maurer (mother of Stolzius), William Cochran (Desportes) , Alois Treml (Obrist), Guy Renard (Pirzel), Karl-Friedrich Dürr (Eisenhardt), Klaus Hirte (Haudy), Raymond Wolansky (Mary), Ursula Koszut (Countess de la Roche), Jerrold van der Schaaf (the young Count ); Choir of the Stuttgart State Opera , Stuttgart State Orchestra under the direction of Bernhard Kontarsky , Director: Harry Kupfer , 1989 (Arthaus) DVD
• Complete recording with Claudia Barainsky (Marie), Claudio Otelli (Stolzius), Frode Olsen (Wesener), Katharina Peetz (Charlotte), Hanna Schwarz (Wesener's mother), Kathryn Harries (mother of Stolzius), Andreas Becker (Obrist), Peter Hoare ( Desportes), Robert Wörle (Pirzel), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Eisenhardt), Adrian Clarke (Haudy), Robert Bork (Mary), Helen Field (Countess de la Roche), Adrian Thompson (The Young Count); Bochum Symphony Orchestra ; Conductor Steven Sloane , Staging: David Pountney , Set Designer: Robert Innes Hopkins ; DVD of the live performance on October 5, 2006 as part of the Ruhrtriennale , performance in the Jahrhunderthalle (Bochum)
• Complete recording (DVD) with Laura Aikin (Marie), Alfred Muff (Wesener), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Charlotte), Cornelia Kallisch (Wesener's old mother), Tomasz Konieczny (Stolzius), Renée Morloc (mother of Stolzius), Gabriela Beňačková (Countess de la Roche), Matthias Klink (The Young Count), Daniel Brenna (Desportes), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Pirzel), Boaz Daniel (Eisenhardt), Vienna Philharmonic , conductor: Ingo Metzmacher , director: Alvis Hermanis . A recording of the Salzburg Festival from August 2012, Unitel Classica

literature

• Götz Friedrich : On the Hamburg premiere , in: The soldiers, program of the Hamburg State Opera, November 1976
• Michael Gielen : Definitely music. Memories , Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-458-17272-6 , pp. 142–145
• Heinz Josef Herbort: Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers , essay on the occasion of the release of the LP in 1967, printed in: Supplement of the CD in the premiere cast, Edition Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Wergo 66982, 2007
• Heribert Henrich: Authentic sound document. On the republication of the opera Die Soldiers , in: Supplement to the CD in the premiere cast, Edition Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Wergo 2007
• Wulf Konold : Bernd Alois Zimmermann. The composer and his work , DuMont, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-7701-1742-5
• Hans Zender : Thoughts on Zimmermann's soldiers , in: Program of the Hamburg State Opera, November 1976
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Between tomorrow, yesterday and today , article in a program booklet of the WDR 1963, printed in: The soldiers, program booklet of the Hamburg State Opera, November 1976

Web links

• Sources and documents , pdf from Schott Music
• Table of contents at Klassika
• Work data for The Soldiers based on the MGG with discography at Operone
• The story of The Soldiers (Opera) at Opera-Guide landing page due to URL change currently unavailable
• Staging of "The Soldiers" at Operabase (productions, cast, calendar)
• Work information from Schott Music
• Michael Denhoff : Silence and conversion, reflections on the phenomenon of time
• Walter Eigenmann: The sacrifice of the uncounted: Bernd A. Zimmermann's «The Soldiers» . Glarean Magazine on February 15, 2008, accessed February 4, 2014

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Heribert Henrich: Authentic sound document. On the republication of the opera Die soldiers , in: CD supplement in the premiere cast Wergo 2007, p. 9, “Zimmermann's […] requirement for a highly dramatic coloratura soprano”.
2. ↑ According to Meyer's Handbuch über die Musik , Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim, Wien und Zürich 1971, p. 953, Zimmermann left an unfinished opera Medea after Hans Henny Jahnn .
3. ↑ ^{a b} See for example Götz Friedrich, in: Program booklet of the Hamburg State Opera , 1976, without page number.
4. ↑ For example Karl Löbl and Robert Werba: Hermes Handlexikon. Operas on records . Volume 2, Econ Taschenbuch, Düsseldorf 1983, ISBN 3-612-10035-1 , p. 235: “The drama, which here is the basis for one of the most important operas of the 20th century , can be considered known. [...] "
5. ↑ ^{a b} "Widely Regarded as the most significant German Opera since Alban Berg's" quotation from John Rockwell: Boston Opera. The Soldiers has its US premiere . In: The New York Times . February 8, 1982 ( nytimes.com [accessed March 24, 2010]).
6. ^ Wulf Konold: Bernd Alois Zimmermann , DuMont, Cologne 1986, p. 53.
7. ↑ Quote from Bernd Alois Zimmermann from: Between tomorrow, yesterday and today , article in a program booklet of the WDR 1963, printed in: The soldiers , program booklet of the Hamburg State Opera, November 1976.
8. ↑ Quotation from Zimmermann, printed in: Program booklet of the Hamburg State Opera , November 1976.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Heribert Henrich: Authentic sound document. On the republication of the opera Die soldiers , in: CD supplement, Wergo 2007, pp. 5–6.
10. ↑ Quotes and evidence from Michael Gielen: Unbedingt Musik , 2005, p. 142.
11. ↑ Heribert Henrich: Authentic sound document. On the republication of the opera Die Soldiers , in: CD supplement, Wergo 2007, pp. 7–8.
12. ↑ ^{a b} Quote from Michael Gielen: Unbedingt Musik , 2005, p. 142.
13. ↑ Quote from Michael Gielen: Unbedingt Musik , 2005, p. 143.
14. ↑ Bernhard Kontarsky: Thoughts on Zimmermann's soldiers , printed in the CD booklet, Teldec 1991, p. 15.
15. ↑ Michael Gielen: Absolutely Music , 2005, pp. 144–145.
16. ^ Letter from Bernd Alois Zimmermann to Thomas Kohlhase dated February 26, 1967, printed in the program The Soldiers , Salzburger Festspiele 2012, p. 114
17. ↑ According to Heinz Josef Herbort: Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers 1967, in: CD supplement, Wergo 66982, 2007, p. 31 "a" route "that one walks towards the goal."
18. ↑ Heinz Josef Herbort: Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers , article 1967, printed in: Supplement to the CD Wergo 66982, 2007, p. 32.
19. ↑ ^{a b c} Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers , supplement CD Teldec 1991, libretto, pp. 194–195.
20. ↑ Detailed cast at Operone ( Memento from May 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ).
21. ↑ ^{a b work} information from Schott Music , accessed on April 6, 2018.
22. ↑ ^{a b} Quoted from Heinz Josef Herbort: Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers , essay on the occasion of the publication of the LP in 1967, printed in the booklet of the CD Wergo 66982, 2007, p. 20.
23. ↑ Analysis by Heinz Josef Herbort: Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers , essay on the occasion of the publication of the LP in 1967, printed in the booklet of the CD Wergo 66982, 2007, p. 20.
24. ↑ Analysis by Heinz Josef Herbort: Bernd Alois Zimmermann: The soldiers 1967, in: Supplement to the CD Wergo 66982, 2007, pp. 26-27.
25. ↑ These forms are mentioned in the libretto, which u. a. is reproduced in the recording under Bernhard Kontarsky, pp. 64–230.
26. ↑ Bernhard Kontarsky: Thoughts on Zimmermann's soldiers , printed in the CD booklet, Teldec 1991, p. 16.
27. ↑ Bernhard Kontarsky: Thoughts on Zimmermann's soldiers , printed in the booklet of the CD, Teldec 1991, pp. 17-18.
28. ↑ Program of the Hamburg State Opera, November 1976.
29. ^ Detlef Brandenburg: Music theater criticism. In der Opernfalle , contribution in: The German stage
30. ↑ Die Welt: Here you can feel all the power of this score. , August 21, 2012
31. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel: Too good for this world , August 21, 2012
32. ^ Markus Schwering: Cologne Opera: Successful premiere of Zimmermann's "Soldiers" . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . ( ksta.de [accessed on November 11, 2018]).
33. ↑ Quotes from an interview with Bernhard Kontarsky: Thoughts on Zimmermann's soldiers , printed in the booklet of the CD, Teldec 1991, p. 16.
34. ↑ Hermann Beyer, Siegfried Mauser (Ed.): Philosophy of Time and Sound Shape. Studies on the work of Bernd Alois Zimmermann , Schott Mainz, London, New York, Tokyo 1986, ISBN 3-7957-1795-7 , p. 113 and p. 143.