In the Penal Colony (Opera)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Opera dates
Title: In the penal colony
Original title: In the Penal Colony
Rehearsal for a production in Zurich, May 2011

Rehearsal for a production in Zurich, May 2011

Shape: Chamber opera
Original language: English
Music: Philip Glass
Libretto : Rudy Wurlitzer
Literary source: Franz Kafka : In the penal colony
Premiere: August 31, 2000
Place of premiere: A Contemporary Theater, Seattle
Playing time: about 80 minutes
people
  • Visitor ( tenor )
  • Officer ( bass )
  • Convict (actor)
  • Guardian (actor)

In the Penal Colony (German: In der Strafkolonie ) is a chamber opera for tenor , bass and strings in a prologue, sixteen scenes and an epilogue by Philip Glass (music) with a libretto by Rudy Wurlitzer based on Franz Kafka's short story In der Strafkolonie . It premiered on August 31, 2000 at A Contemporary Theater (ACT) in Seattle.

action

short version

A convicted man is about to be executed in a penal colony. A visitor should observe them at the request of the new commandant.

The executioner, an officer, gives the visitor a detailed description of the execution machine that he introduced with the previous commanding officer. It is a very brutal method, but the officer is convinced that it is correct. He believes that the machine has the power to bring about a moment of transfiguration in the condemned, in which he can fully understand his crime and its falsehood. The current prisoner, who has been sentenced to nullity, is unaware of his impending execution.

The visitor is increasingly appalled by the procedure, but sees no opportunity to intervene. Finally, the execution fails due to a machine failure. The officer tries to persuade the visitor to stand up for his convictions with the new commandant. Since the latter is not ready for this, the officer himself gets into the machine to be killed. The apparatus collapses. The officer does not experience the longed-for moment of transfiguration. The visitor leaves.

Table of contents

Prolog. The visitor is in the middle of the stage. A large photo behind him shows the former commander of the penal colony in military uniform. Behind it, a long ladder leads up to a hill shaped like a volcano. When a soldier listlessly shows the bound prisoner in front of him, the visitor explains that he has little interest in the execution. He only agreed to watch her out of courtesy.

Scene 1. The prisoner, who has fallen asleep in the meantime, is rudely awakened by the guard. The visitor wonders if he knows what to expect.

Scene 2. A perfectly uniformed military officer appears with a staff and a rolled up architectural drawing and declares that the preparations have been completed. He washes his hands in a water basin and explains the importance of every detail to the visitor. In his opinion, this strengthens the connection to the home country.

Scene 3. The officer explains the three-part execution machine to the visitor in detail using the drawing. It consists of a specially shaped bed, a harrow with needles and a drawing device with which the judgment is written on the body of the convicted person during the execution. The officer is proud to have participated in the tests himself with the previous commanding officer. He confirms to the visitor that the prisoner is not yet aware of his conviction.

Scene 4. The visitor is outraged that the prisoner did not have a chance to defend himself. He hopes the new commander will change this approach.

Scene 5. The officer presents the visitor with a large-format model of the machine. He tells him that he has helped the old commandant in all criminal matters since he was a boy. His most important principle as a judge of the penal colony is that the guilt is always unequivocal. This prisoner had the task of sleeping in front of his captain's door and saluting at the door every hour on the hour. But last night at two o'clock the captain opened the door and found him sleeping. Instead of pleading for forgiveness, the prisoner screamed in shock. He was of course arrested immediately. A questioning was unnecessary because he would have lied anyway.

Scene 6. The officer explains the exact sequence of the execution and the difference between the two types of needles. The judgment is written with the long needles, while the short needles spray water to wash off the blood and keep the writing legible. The visitor watches in horror as the prisoner laboriously and uncomprehendingly looks at the apparatus until he is knocked down by the guard.

Scene 7. The officer praises the old commandant's many skills and shows him his extensive drawings. He explains that the device does not kill immediately, but takes a total of twelve hours. The actual writing is only a narrow band around the body, while the rest of the skin is intended for decorations.

Scene 8. The visitor has to climb the ladder to take a look at the machine itself. The officer further explains: During the first six hours, the convict stays awake and is only in pain. Then he is given warm porridge to strengthen himself. It is at this point that he will experience his enlightenment when he begins to read the scriptures on his body. This process takes another six hours. The guard cuts the condemned person's clothes and leads him up the ladder together with the officer. All three disappear in the crater of the hill. From its edge, the visitor describes how the convict is strapped down. Suddenly the machine stops because an armcuff has torn.

Scene 9. The officer reappears and apologizes for the occasional machine failure. Under the old commanding officer there was an unlimited budget for repairs, but now it takes ten days for spare parts to arrive. The visitor is appalled by the procedure, but cannot intervene. He continues to hope for the new commander.

Scene 10. The officer admits that this method of execution has no supporters in the colony other than himself. He asks the visitor whether one can really just give up the life's work of the previous commandant. To his disappointment, the visitor merely points out that as a stranger he cannot judge the process.

Scene 11. The officer remembers the wonderful old days when everything still went according to plan and after six hours all those present waited eagerly for the convicts to be enlightened.

Scene 12. Despite the reluctance of the visitor, the officer begs him to intercede with the new commandant. He wants to preserve tradition at all costs.

Scene 13. As a last attempt, the officer asks the visitor to give the new commandant only a very short, neutral report on the execution of the execution, without mentioning the machine fault. He himself then wanted to "force him to his knees" with a passionate speech.

Scene 14. The visitor firmly refuses the officer's request. Instead, he wanted to personally communicate his opinion to the new commanding officer. The officer then mysteriously declares that the time has come.

Scene 15. The officer asks the visitor to climb into the crater with him. He calls out to the convict that he is free. The guard loosens his chains and they both climb out of the crater. Then the officer shows the visitor a text: "Be fair". The soldier hands the prisoner the rags of his clothes. He falls down in front of the officer and begins to laugh. The officer washes his hands again and hands the prisoner two handkerchiefs - a "present from the ladies". Then he angrily tosses the individual parts of his uniform from himself until he is completely naked. The prisoner and the guard playfully fight over the handkerchiefs. Meanwhile, the officer climbs the ladder again and waves to the visitor to follow him.

Scene 16. The officer asks the visitor to visit the old commandant's grave before he leaves. The inscription, written by himself, refers to the prophecy that he would one day be revived and lead his followers to the reconquest of the colony. The visitor watches as the officer descends into the pit and prepares his own execution. He asks the prisoner and the guard to help him. However, the visitor calls them back. The defective machine starts up and soon disintegrates into its components. She doesn't write anything, but still kills the officer. The visitor calls in vain to the others to stop the machine, because that was not the officer's wish.

Epilogue. After the visitor has regained his composure, he climbs back onto the stage with the other two. He explains that, unlike the previous victims, the officer evidently did not achieve enlightenment. The soldier shows the visitor the grave of the old commandant. A steamboat arrives and the visitor departs.

layout

Philip Glass described his interest in Kafka's story as follows:

“What fascinates me in this story is the moral inversion that takes place. The officer, having started as all-powerful, becomes the victim, and he takes on the role with a kind of joy. He's done everything he can to convince the Visitor of the virtue of the Machine, and, when he fails, he realizes it's over and only The Visitor makes the right judgment, but we can't admire him because he does this by refusing to be engaged at all. He suffers no inconvenience, whereas we end up warming to the Officer more because he sacrifices everything for his principles. "

“What interests me about this story is the moral inversion that takes place in it. The officer who appeared omnipotent at the beginning becomes the victim, and he takes on the role with a kind of joy. He has done everything to convince the visitor of the value of the machine, and when he fails with it he realizes that it is over and only the visitor judges correctly, but we cannot admire him because he refuses to participate in the process. He does not suffer from any inconvenience, while in the end we can warm ourselves more to the officer because he sacrifices everything for his convictions. "

- Philip Glass

The instrumental ensemble of the chamber opera consists of just five instruments: two violins , viola , cello and double bass .

The music of this opera corresponds to Glass' own description of his way of composing as "a kind of sonic weather that twists, turns, surrounds, develops". There are only a few arias or ensemble pieces, but rather resembles a sung drama.

Work history

Philip Glass ' chamber opera In the Penal Colony is a commission from A Contemporary Theater (ACT) in Seattle. Rudy Wurlitzer wrote the libretto . It is based on Franz Kafka's short story In der Strafkolonie . It is an allegorical text which outwardly deals with the death penalty and in the background it deals with various themes of humanism , idealism and “transfiguration”.

The staging of the world premiere on August 31, 2000 at ACT Seattle was by JoAnne Akalaitis. Alan O. Johnson directed the Metropolitan String Ensemble. The stage was by John Conklin, the costumes by Susan Hilferty and the lighting design by Jennifer Tipton. The vocal soloists were John Duykers (visitor) and Herbert Perry (officer).

Other productions were:

  • 2000: Chicago; Takeover of the world premiere production.
  • 2001: New York; Takeover of the world premiere production by the Classic Stage Company.
  • 2001: Autumn Music Days Bad Urach ; reduced version for voice and piano.
  • 2002: Berlin Chamber Opera ; scenic German premiere; Director: Kay Kuntze , conductor: Peter Aderhold .
  • 2002: Pocket Opera Company Nuremberg; Director: Peter Beat Wyrsch , Ensemble Klangkonzepte Nürnberg, Conductor: Andrea Molino ; minimalist staging with slide projections as part of a project week on the subject of the death penalty.
  • 2003: Hypo-Alpe-Adria-Zentrum Klagenfurt; Austrian premiere as part of the theater festival “20 + 4” with the Klagenfurt ensemble.
  • 2009: Opéra National de Lyon ; Production: Richard Brunel; Conductor: Philippe Forget.
  • 2010: Linbury Theater, Royal Opera House Cardiff; Music Theater Wales production; UK premiere; Director: Michael McCarthy; Conductor: Michael Rafferty; further performances in various British cities.
  • 2011: Theater of the Arts Zurich; Zurich Chamber Orchestra, conductor: Andrea Molino.
  • 2011: Brooklyn; semi-staged performance at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church; with string orchestra; Conductor: Eli Spindel.
  • 2012: Sydney, production by the Sydney Chamber Opera.
  • 2012: National Theater Szeged; as part of the Armel Opera Festival ; Production by the Josef Kajetán Tyl Theater in Pilsen (Czech Republic).
  • 2015: Theater Kiel ; First performance of the German text version by Cordula Engelbert and Bettina Rohrbeck.
  • 2016: Onassis Cultural Center, Athens; Director: Paris Mexis; Armonia Atenea under George Petrou .
  • 2018: Carmel-by-the-Sea , California; Production by Opera Parallèle (San Francisco Contemporary Opera) as part of the annual Philip Glass Festival there.
  • 2019: Long Beach Opera, California.
  • 2019: Operadagen Rotterdam; Production: Clara Pons, videos: Claudia Rohrmoser.
  • 2019: Theater Hof; German version of the text by Cordula Engelbert and Bettina Rohrbeck. Musical direction: Clemens Mohr, production: Lothar Krause

Recordings

  • 27./28. November 2010 - Michael Rafferty (Conductor), The Music Theater Wales Ensemble.
    Michael Bennett (visitor), Omar Ebrahim (officer).
    Studio shot.
    Orange Mountain Music OMM0078.
  • October 10, 2012 - Petr Kofroň (conductor), Viktorie Čermáková (director), Chamber Orchestra of the Josef Kajetán Tyl Theater Opera Ensemble in Pilsen.
    Miroslav Kopp (visitor), Jiři Hájek (officer), David Steigerwald (convicted), Dominik Peřina (guard).
    Video; Competition entry for the Armel Opera Festival 2012; live from the National Theater Szeged (Hungary).
    Transmission on the Arte Live Web.

Web links

Commons : In the Penal Colony (opera)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Eric A. Gordon: “In the Penal Colony”: A Philip Glass opera based on Franz Kafka. In: People's World, April 30, 2019, accessed June 14, 2019.
  2. ↑ Work information from the Sikorski music publishers , accessed on June 12, 2019.
  3. ↑ Work information on the composer's website , accessed on June 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ Seattle's ACT Goes In the Penal Colony w / Glass-Akalaitis World Premiere Aug. 31-Oct. 1 on playbill.com ( memento of November 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ).
  5. ↑ a b Sounding Penal Colony. Report on the production in New York 2001. In: Der Spiegel , 28/2001 of July 9, 2001, p. 153, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  6. ↑ Stephen Kinzer: Arts in America; A Pocket-Size Opera From a Harrowing Kafka Story. In: The New York Times , December 6, 2000, accessed June 14, 2019.
  7. ↑ Only guilt is certain - Berlin Chamber Opera - "In the Penal Colony": an opera by Philip Glass based on Franz Kafka's story "In der Strafkolonie". In: Berliner Zeitung , October 25, 2002, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  8. ↑ Irene Binal: The Nuremberg Pocket Opera makes music theater against the death penalty. Review of the production in Nuremberg 2002. In: Deutschlandfunk , November 8, 2002, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ The Penal Colony - the death machine. Review of the production in Nuremberg 2002. In: Neue Musikzeitung , 10/2002, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  10. ^ Klagenfurt Ensemble: Kafka Opera by Phil Glass. In: Neue Musikzeitung , July 17, 2003, accessed June 14, 2019.
  11. ↑ Information on the performance in Lyon 2009 on david-debrinay.com, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  12. ↑ Information about the 2010 Music Theater Wales production , accessed on June 14, 2019.
  13. ↑ Michael Church: In the Penal Colony, Music Theater Wales, Linbury Theater. In: The Independent , September 16, 2010, accessed June 14, 2019.
  14. ↑ Information on the performance in Zurich 2011 on the website of the Zurich University of the Arts , accessed on June 14, 2019.
  15. ^ Sean Piccoli: A neglected Glass opera grows in Brooklyn with "In the Penal Colony". Review of the 2011 Brooklyn performance. In: The Classical Review, October 4, 2011, accessed June 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ Peter McCallum: Redemption, through Glass, darkly. Sydney 2012 performance review. In: The Age, April 9, 2012, accessed June 14, 2019.
  17. ^ Review of the performance in Szeged. In: OperaJournal, October 15, 2012, accessed June 14, 2019.
  18. ↑ Christian Strehk: Kafka's penal colony as an opera. Information on the performance in Kiel 2015. In: Kieler Nachrichten , April 24, 2015, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  19. ^ Ingo Starz: Athens / Onassis Cultural Center. In the Penal Colony by Philip Glass. New staging. Review of the performance in Athens 2016. In: Online Merker, January 31, 2016, accessed on June 14, 2019.
  20. ↑ Chloe Veltman: At Philip Glass' Festival, "In The Penal Colony" Opera Contemplates Justice on kqed.org, September 25, 2018, accessed June 14, 2019.
  21. ^ Regine Müller: Women's life, men's torments. In: Opernwelt , July 2019, p. 66.
  22. ↑ Supplement to CD OMM0078.
  23. ↑ Glass - In The Penal Colony. Review of the performance in Szeged 2012. In: Operajournal, October 15, 2012, accessed on June 13, 2019.