Sweeping around St. Stephan

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Opera dates
Title: Sweeping around St. Stephan
Shape: Satire with music in two parts
Original language: German
Music: Ernst Krenek
Libretto : Ernst Krenek
Premiere: December 6, 1990
Place of premiere: Ronacher Theater , Vienna
Playing time: approx. 2 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: In and near Vienna,
November 13, 1918
people
  • Othmar Brandstetter, Rittmeister in the former Austro-Hungarian Army ( tenor )
  • Sebastian Kundrather, winemaker ( baritone )
  • Ferdinand, his son, later called Ferry Conradi (tenor)
  • Maria, his daughter, also Mizzi, later called Ria Conradi ( soprano )
  • a hall guard (baritone)
  • Alfred Koppreiter, industrialist, first lieutenant in the reserve (baritone)
  • Moritz Fekete, initially under the name Schwoistaler, then called Erich Atma Rosenbusch (baritone)
  • Emmerich von Kereszthely, Honvédmajor a. D. (tenor)
  • Elisabeth Torregiani, formerly Countess ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Nora Rittinghaus, friends with Elisabeth (mezzo-soprano)
  • Mr. Kabulke from Berlin, industrialist (baritone)
  • Oberwachmann Sachsl (baritone)
  • Tobias Lämmergeier, a Tyrolean
  • Pepi, a Pülcher
  • a tango singer
  • a walker
  • Pülcher, workers, coffeehouse guests, colporteurs, Missen and people ( choir )
  • A servant, a security guard, a messenger, an Arab, a spider woman, a cashier, two telephone operators, photographers (extras)

Kehraus um St. Stephan is an opera (original name: "Satire for Music", Op. 66) in two parts by Ernst Krenek (music and libretto ). It was created in 1930. A performance planned for Leipzig that year was canceled. The world premiere took place on December 6, 1990 in the Ronacher Theater in Vienna.

action

First part

The action of the opera begins in Vienna on November 13, 1918, the day after the proclamation of the Republic of German Austria .

Scene 1. On their search for firewood, the winemaker Sebastian Kundrather and his children Ferdinand and Maria find the officer Othmar Brandstetter who had tried to hang himself from a tree. With the help of his children, Kundrather saves him at the last second. Othmar explains to him the reason for his suicide attempt: He has lost a lot in the war and no longer sees any meaning in his life. Nor does he dare to approach his beloved, the former Countess Elisabeth Torregiani. He finally collapses. At this moment, the head guard Sachsl appears, who thinks Brandstetter is dead and takes down his personal details. The body is supposed to be removed later. After Sachsl left, Othmar wakes up again. Kundrather takes him into his apartment.

Scene 2. Kundrather and some of his friends collect rank badges from the k. u. k. Army. There they meet the former lieutenant Alfred Koppreiter, who was deployed in the driver's company during the war and was unable to take care of his own business. He wants to get it going again. In the company, however, the Jewish trade unionist Schwoistaler has gained a lot of influence. Unable to talk to his workers himself, Koppreiter hires his former comrade Emmerich von Kereszthely as head of personnel. Emmerich is a Hungarian major who no longer dares to go home because he is being investigated there for mistreating a soldier.

Scene 3. Elisabeth lives with her friend Nora Rittinghaus in a rich palace. In the newspaper she discovers the obituary notice of her admirer Othmar, whose affection she had returned. In order to distract Elisabeth from her gloomy thoughts, Nora points out Koppreiter, who had already announced a visit. Then Alfred appears and makes court to Elisabeth.

Scene 4. Sachsl and a colleague look in vain for Brandstetter's body in a suburban street.

Scene 5. Sebastian and Ferdinand Kundrather are setting up the tables for their wine tavern . Ferdinand explains that he is not interested in taking over his father's job. He should sell the vineyard. Othmar returns from a shopping trip and complains about his miserable life. Ferdinand admits that he earns money by demonstrating for different parties at rallies. Sebastian persuades Othmar to work in the vineyard instead of Ferdinand.

Scene 6. Kereszthely finds out that the trade unionist Schwoistaler is wanted by the Budapest police under his real name Moritz Fekete. However, because of his influence over the workers, he cannot do anything against him. Othmar meets his former friend Alfred, who wants to show him the factory. It so happens that Elisabeth is also on her way there. She bought shares in Alfred's company and wants to tell him about it. On this occasion she meets her admirer who is believed to be dead. To his disappointment, Othmar learns of her new relationship with Alfred. The Berlin industrialist Kabulke, who also wants to invest in the company, announces a visit. Alfred offers Othmar work, but Othmar is too busy in the factory.

Scene 7. Elisabeth still loves Othmar. She prays in St. Stephen's Cathedral to meet him and asks the Madonna for forgiveness for her relationship with Alfred.

Scene 8. Sachsl is still looking for the missing body of Othmar in Vienna.

Scene 9. In the viticulture, Othmar talks to Maria about his meeting with Elisabeth. He would like to leave the area so that he is not always reminded of them - but he needs money to do that. Maria gives him cards with erotic photos that he can sell. Fekete tries in vain to get information against Alfred or Kereszthely from Othmar. Instead, he makes an appointment with Ferdinand for a joint venture. Alfred, Elisabeth and Nora come to the Heuriger with the Kabulke, who has since arrived. Elisabeth feels repulsed by Kabulke's behavior and thus annoys Alfred. Fekete becomes aware of the group through the dispute and confronts Alfred, who in return suspects him of espionage. Since Fekete can't do anything about it, he leaves the restaurant. Alfred flirts with Maria and thus drives Elisabeth and Nora away. The rest of the party celebrate. Kereszthely pays the bill.

Second part

Scene 10. In a coffee house, Fekete, who now calls himself Erich Atma Rosenbusch, and Ferdinand plan an intrigue to destroy Koppreiter. Ferdinand is supposed to claim at a meeting of the works council that Koppreiter bribed Schwoistaler to stop workers' strikes. Othmar tries to sell the two erotic cards. He is repulsed by their shameless speeches and gives them a loud moral sermon. Fekete calls a policeman who arrests Othmar and brings him to the police station.

Scene 11. When Sachsl records Othmar's personal details at the station, he discovers that he is the body he is looking for. He confiscated the photos and found him a new position as a crier in Vienna's Prater .

Scene 12. Alfred and Maria are now a couple, and he financed a fashion salon for her. But there you court the even richer Kabulke. When he is at Maria's one morning, Koppreiter's car pulls up. Kabulke has to hide. However, the jealous Alfred discovers his walking stick in the locker room. When Kabulke left, Maria ponders her life, but decides to carry on as before.

Scene 13. Kundrather reports to Elisabeth that Othmar has disappeared. He confirms her feelings for him, especially since she knows about Alfred's new relationship with Maria.

Scene 14. Newspaper hawkers announce bad dealings in Alfred's company. There Kereszthely has to take a number of phone calls with order cancellations and the like. Since the loans have also burst, Koppreiter already sees himself bankrupt. Kabulke promises help. He is ready to take over the company - on the condition that he also receives the fashion salon including its owner Maria. But Alfred recognizes Kabulke's suspicious walking stick from the salon and angrily throws it out. Workers incited by Fekete threaten Alfred, but Alfred reveals to them the machinations of the alleged unionist. One of the workers kills Fekete. Alfred has no choice but to flee abroad. Kereszthely promises him a passport.

Scene 15. After Kabulke reports Alfred, the colporteurs announce that an arrest warrant has been issued against him.

Scene 17. Colporteurs proclaim the upcoming election for “Miss Vienna” in the Prater.

Scene 16. Elisabeth, worried about Alfred, reproaches herself. Othmar visits her to give her moral support. She assures him that she never really loved Alfred. But when Alfred comes to their garden seeking help and declares that Maria has left, they hide him in his booth on the Prater.

Scene 18. Othmar puts make-up on Alfred beyond recognition. With the support of Kabulke and Ferdinand, Maria has been named "Miss Vienna". She is now called Ria Conradi, is celebrated and photographed. During the whole mess, Alfred discovers Maria at Kabulke's. He is now completely desperate, draws a pistol and shoots himself. Othmar tries in vain to prevent the crime. He's getting hurt too. Kabulke withdraws his complaint against Alfred. Kabulke and Kereszthely try to get the "hero" Othmar for selfish reasons.

Scene 19. Finally, Othmar and Elisabeth are united. Since Kundrather donated his vineyard to Othmar, they no longer need to fear any financial problems. The newspaper colporteurs report on the beginning of spring. Ferdinand and Kabulke moved to Berlin.

layout

Krenek subsequently gave his opera Kehraus um St. Stephan the subtitle “ Volksstück ”, probably alluding to the works of Ödön von Horváth , but rightly called it “Satire with music” for the much later premiere. In fact, it contains various distancing stylistic devices such as satirical elements , Allegories or addressing the audience directly.

At the same time, like Krenek's better-known work Jonny alludes to the genre of the “Zeitoper” of the Weimar Republic . Krenek presents the difficulties and problems of the different social classes after the First World War and deals with the different methods with which the individual characters deal with them.

Kehraus is stylistically and musically characterized by a great variety, which also contains echoes of popular music such as operetta, Schlager, Schrammeln and jazz and serves not only to characterize the people, but also to serve the purpose of the satire itself. For example, the music of the revolutionary supporters sounds like a happy hunter's song, or a kind of carnival whistle sounds when the Berlin investor appears. The satire becomes particularly clear in the scene in the Heuriger at the end of the first part, when the partying transforms into a roaring crowd. The musicologist Claudia Zenck differentiates between three different "style and representation levels" in the work: a "stylistically broken", a "naive Schrammel folk music" and a normal level that is oriented towards the respective situation.

Instrumentation

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

Work history

Krenek wrote the work back in 1930, and the conductor Gustav Brecher planned it for a performance in Leipzig. Brecher had previously premiered Krenek's operas Jonny plays and the life of Orestes there . He probably liked the time-sensitive theme of the new opera. Problems arose after the premiere there of Brecht's and Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny on March 9, 1930, when the National Socialists were violently disrupted. The Leipzig city council initially decided against the removal of the sweep. When Brecher presented the libretto to the critic Adolf Aber and other people, its explosive nature was noticed. The figure of the industrialist Kabulke in particular was viewed as critical. This should first carry the Jewish name Goldstein and had forward-looking texts about the National Socialist war plans such as “And as far as politics is concerned, first knock the Poles together […] and then we want to defeat France victoriously.” The cultural-political pressure became too big and the performance was canceled.

The first performance took place shortly before Krenek's death in his presence on December 6, 1990 in the Ronacher Theater in Vienna. It was a co-production of the Vienna State Opera with the Wiener Festwochen , the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien and the Volksoper Wien as part of the Wien Modern festival . The stage orchestra of the Austrian Federal Theaters and members of the opera studio of the Vienna State Opera were under the musical direction of Peter Keuschnig . The production was done by Markus Weber, the set by Herbert Kapplmüller , the costumes by Alice Maria Schlesinger and the masks and figures by Manfred Deix . It sang Herbert Lippert (Othmar Brandstetter), Rudolf Mazzola (Sebastian Kundrather), Peter Jelosits (Ferdinand), Lotte Leutner (Maria), Hans Christian (hall monitor), Hans Helm (Alfred Kopp tab), Gottfried Hornik (Moritz Fekete) Heinz Zednik (Emmerich von Kereszthely), Dalia Schaechter (Elisabeth), Renate Holm (Nora Rittinghaus) and Alfred Werner (Mr. Kabulke).

A co-production of the Bregenz Festival with the Vienna Volksoper and the Lucerne Theater , which premiered on July 30, 2008 in the Bregenz Theater on Kornmarkt, had a great success in 2008/2009 . There John Axelrod directed the Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra . Michael Scheidl and Nora Scheidl were responsible for the production and equipment . Production was listed together with Krenek also Brengenz opera Charles V in the Opera house of the year voted "Rediscovery of the Year" of the 2008/2009 season. A video recording was released on DVD.

The German premiere was on May 16, 2015 in the Stadttheater Gießen . It took place in the presence of Krenek's widow. The conductor was Florian Ziemen, the production was done by Hans Hollmann and the set by Lukas Noll.

Recordings

literature

  • Matthias Habrich: "Kehraus um St. Stephan" by Ernst Krenek. Diploma thesis of the University of Vienna, 2010 ( online )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Claudia Zenck: A social panopticon. Work information and performance review at takte-online.de, accessed on April 19, 2017.
  2. ^ A b Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich: Greetings from Karl Kraus - Krenek: Kehraus to St. Stephan Gießen / City Theater. In: Opernwelt from July 2015, p. 38.
  3. ↑ Work information from Bärenreiter, accessed on April 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. The 20th Century I. From Verdi and Wagner to Fascism. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1436-4 , p. 573.
  5. ^ A b Wilhelm Roth: Fascinating contemporary document. Review of the Giessen performance. In: Die Deutsche Bühne on May 18, 2015, accessed on April 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ Performance details on krenek.at, accessed on April 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Medium details on krenek.at, accessed on April 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ a b Bernhard Doppler: A little contemporary piece - Karl Krenek's "Kehraus um St. Stephan" at the Bregenz Festival. Report from July 30, 2008 in Deutschlandradio Kultur , accessed on April 19, 2017.
  9. ↑ Wolfgang Willaschek: Fire and Ice. In: Opernwelt Jahrbuch 2009 , p. 42.
  10. ↑ DVD information from Naxos , accessed April 19, 2017.