Charles V (opera)

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Work data
Title: Charles V
Karl V. 2019 at the Bavarian State Opera (Karl: Bo Skovhus) in the production of Carlus Padrissa

Karl V. 2019 at the Bavarian State Opera (Karl: Bo Skovhus ) in the production of Carlus Padrissa

Shape: Stage work with music in two parts
Original language: German
Music: Ernst Krenek
Libretto : Ernst Krenek
Premiere: June 22, 1938
Place of premiere: New German Theater , Prague
Playing time: about 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Monastery of San Geronimo de Yuste in Estremadura, 1558; Scenes from the past of Emperor Charles V in Tordesillas, Worms, Pavia, Seville, Madrid, Rome, Schmalkalden, Wittenberg, Innsbruck and Vienna
people

Karl V (op. 73) is an opera by Ernst Krenek . Krenek himself described the work as a "stage work with music in two parts". The premiere took place on June 22, 1938 in the New German Theater in Prague in the production of Friedrich Schramm. It is the first full-length opera that was composed entirely using the twelve-tone technique . The work is about the last days of Charles V , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. After his abdication, he retired to a Spanish monastery and recalls the most important stages in his life. His confessor Juan de Regla should judge whether he acted in God's favor.

content

The plot is based on the life of Charles V , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation . Krenek uses historical figures and events from the life of the emperor and relates them to his present. In his work he focuses on the failure of Charles V to create a Christian world empire. Krenek stays close to the historical model in his treatment of the material. Almost all people, except for the clocks, the ghosts and minor characters (such as Soliman's court astrologer) are historically documented.

First part

Charles V has abdicated and is hoping for a peaceful retirement in the monastery of San Geronimo de Yuste. The voice of God sounds from the image of Titian in the background. This reminds him that he should unite the world in God's sign. He will have to justify his actions before God's judgment. Karl then doubts his actions and calls the young monk Juan de Regla to him, who, as God's representative, is supposed to examine Karl's actions. Karl then tells the most important events of his life.

His memories appear to him as visions.

The first memory shows Karl's mother Juana . Juana thinks her dead husband is alive, which is why she is thought to be insane. She gives Karl a worm-eaten apple. This is like life, in the innermost of which always sits death.

Next, Martin Luther appears to him in front of the assembled Reichstag in Worms . Luther criticized the Pope and was condemned by the clergy as a heretic and rebel. They demand Luther's death, but Karl releases him. But he is no longer allowed to preach.

Juan accuses Karl of having endangered Christian unity by pardoning Luther.

The third memory shows how Francis I , King of France, out of captivity with the help of his ally Frangipani, seeks help from Sultan Soliman . He was captured by Karl after the battle of Pavia between the Habsburg troops and Franz's soldiers.

Juan de Regla interrupts Karl's memory. He criticizes Karl's costly warfare. This triggers the memory of Pizarro :

Karl remembers Pizarro's entry into Seville. The Spanish people are blinded by the treasures that have been conquered in America. Karl remarks that the gold came into Pizarro's possession with a “bloody hand”, but since it was used to fight the unbelievers, Pizarro's cruelty would be atoned for. The people are dismayed when they hear that they should not have any of the treasures, but that they will be used entirely for Karl's wars.

Franz appears again, now in custody in Madrid. Karl protests that it was not possible for him to make peace with the French king, because he refused everything that Karl offered him. Franz puts the well-being of his people above the unity of the world that Karl strives for. The Spanish ladies are delighted with Franz and regret his imprisonment. Including Eleonore , who fell in love with Franz. Karl gives in and allows her to marry Franz. As a dowry he got back Burgundy, which Franz had lost to Karl. The marriage was supposed to bring peace, but Franz betrayed Karl after the wedding with Eleonore by breaking all agreements.

In the next memory, Pope Clement and a cardinal appear. They talk about Charles, whose plan to unite Christians in an undivided empire they see as threatening. They are interrupted by German mercenaries who invade Rome and plunder it because they were not fairly rewarded by Karl.

Karl appears to his wife Isabella on his deathbed. The memory of the death of his wife causes Karl to feel weak. He collapses. Juan de Regla calls for his personal physician, Henri Mathys.

Second part

Lost in dreams, Karl appears again to Luther, who tells of the Reformation and its consequences. Meanwhile, the Jesuit Francisco Borgia , Juan de Regla and Eleonore exchange information about Karl's condition. Eleonore tells of her suffering at the Paris court. When Karl wakes up, he remembers the events of the Battle of Mühlberg .

In this battle, Charles triumphed over the Protestants. Karl announced that now all people will live together peacefully in a Christian world empire. But the Germans reject Catholicism and are preparing to counterattack. With the chorus "We want to be Germans, not citizens of the world [...]", they respond to the imperial desire. They turn to Moritz von Sachsen to free them. In Innsbruck, Karl barely escapes capture by the troubled people. The end of Karl's empire is announced by the choir.

Sultan Soliman and his court astrologer appear to him. Soliman talks to him about the end of Karl's empire. He is happy that no unified empire has come about in Europe and that the peoples are fighting each other.

In his last memory, Karl flees from Innsbruck to Vienna. His brother Ferdinand tells him that he has entered into negotiations with the Protestants and that they are willing to compromise. Karl leaves the succession over his empire to Ferdinand. "This world, which has fallen from one hand of God [...], splits into ever more and deeper foreign parts and disintegrates into sad confusion." This is the last memory.

Borgia accuses him of giving up his mission too quickly. Karl rejects the charge. He wanted to hold the globe in his hand and crown it with the cross of Christ, but like the worm-eaten apple it was eaten away from the inside. Borgia sticks to his point of view: it is Charles's sole fault that the assignment was not fulfilled.

Karl is dying. With him are Borgia, Eleonore and Juan. In addition, there are four clocks that symbolize the past life of Karl. While Juan wonders whether Karl could have acted otherwise, Borgia asks the dying Karl to regret his actions. Karl replies with the words “Always on! To God! This is the moment! Jesus! "And Juan remarks:" His work is unfinished. "

music

In the musical elaboration Krenek takes up the theme of the opera, the "unity in multiplicity". This idea should also be reflected in the music. In search of a suitable musical form, he came across the twelve-tone technique . The twelve-tone technique was viewed as a symbol of unity, since all twelve tones are treated equally.

The twelve-tone row of Charles V characterizes the entire piece. It can be found in countless variations in the music of the opera.

{\ set Score.tempoHideNote = ## t \ tempo 4 = 120 \ omit Staff.TimeSignature \ time 12/1 c '' es' des' ges' d 'bes' a' gis' b 'g' f 'e' }

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Work history

Origin and historical classification

In the early 1930s, Clemens Krauss , director of the Vienna State Opera , proposed to Krenek to compose an opera about a historical person. Krenek chose the life of Emperor Charles V for his next opera, as this has inspired him since his school days. In the years 1931/32 Krenek dealt with historical studies on the person of Charles V and his empire. He began composing the work as early as July 1932, which he completed in May 1933. The first performance was planned for February 1934 at the Vienna State Opera. Krauss was enthusiastic about the work and planned a multiple premier together with several large German theaters. This plan was shattered when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. Vienna remained the only city that continued to plan the premiere of the work. But even here, the increasingly stronger right-wing extremist tendencies should endanger the performance. The bassoonist of the Vienna State Opera and member of the Heimwehr Hans Burghofer influenced his orchestra colleagues to boycott the world premiere of the work. At the same time, the composer and publicist Joseph Rinaldini, also a member of the Heimwehr, put pressure on the artistic director Clemens Krauss and incited the media against the work. In the end, Krauss gave in and canceled the premiere. Officially, he blamed the short rehearsal time and the difficult playability of the work for his decision.

Krenek has been on the National Socialists' black lists since Adolf Hitler came to power at the end of January 1933.

On June 22, 1938, the opera premiered in the New German Theater in Prague. Intendant Paul Eger , conductor Karl Rankl and director Friedrich Schramm were responsible for this , who wanted to set a political example by performing the work. Krenek stayed away from the premiere, as it is said for organizational reasons. Less than two months later he went into exile in the USA.

Performance history

Karl V. 1965 at the Bavarian State Opera in the production of Hans Hartleb

After the unsuccessful premiere in 1934 and another failed attempt in Zurich in 1936, the following performances took place:

Web links

Commons : Karl V. (Krenek)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Claudia Maurer Zenck: Karl V. In: Piper's Enzyklopädie des Musiktheater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , pp. 336–339.
  2. ↑ Information about the works of the Universal Edition , accessed on February 10, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b Matthias Henke : The stifled warning: About the genesis of Ernst Krenek's stage work Karl V at Issuu.