Royal Palace (Opera)
| Work data | |
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| Title: | Royal Palace |
| Shape: | One act |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Kurt Weill |
| Libretto : | Yvan Goll |
| Premiere: | March 2, 1927 |
| Place of premiere: | Berlin State Opera |
| Playing time: | about 45 minutes |
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Royal Palace (op. 17) is a one-act ballet opera with a female choir in 13 scenes, which was created in the winter of 1925/26 in collaboration with the composer Kurt Weill and the librettist Yvan Goll . The world premiere took place on March 2, 1927 at the Berlin State Opera under the artistic direction of Erich Kleiber . The orchestral score and with it the original instrumentation was lost during the Nazi era and was reconstructed in 1971 by Noam Sheriff and Gunther Schuller from a piano reduction with orchestration notes.
With four ballet scenes and a film sequence, this opera is a multimedia work with a concise but expressive libretto.
action
The wealthy Dejanira and her husband reside in the Royal Palace , a luxury hotel on an Italian lake. Dejanira is tired of wealth and idleness. The husband, the lover of yesterday and the lover of tomorrow reproach Dejanira for forgetting their love. Dejanira protests that she is just tired. The three men woo them with their visions of what life together with them would look like. Tomorrow's lover shows that he wants to own Dejanira. The husband wants to buy the lake for Dejanira and asks her which of the three men she loves most. Yesterday's lover makes his proposal with nautical metaphors. Dejanira accuses all three of not understanding women. A young fisherman and an old fisherman enter and describe the harsh conditions on the lake. The old fisherman announces that one of the four must die. All three men continue to confess their desire for Dejanira, but she rejects them. But they continue to insist in their suits and offer her extravagant gifts. Dejanira replies that she will shake hands with anyone who understands her. First of all, the husband promises her all the comforts that Europe has to offer, for which he plays a film (film scene). Next, yesterday's lover promises her sexual happiness. Finally, the lover of tomorrow promises her the wonders of nature, symbolized by an Orphic dance. In the end, Dejanira rejects all three gentlemen and explains her desire for independence and her unwillingness to continue in this world, since no one understands her. When the women's choir and the fishermen sing their names, Dejanira throws herself into the lake. The husband calls for help for the drowning woman when she turns into a mermaid. (Curtain falls)
Individual evidence
- ^ Kurt Weill, Royal Palace - piano reduction. Universal Edition AG, accessed July 20, 2017 .
- ^ Royal Palace, Op. 17 (1925-26). The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, accessed July 20, 2017 (English, with audio samples).
- ^ Royal Palace, Op. 17. Schott Music Group, accessed July 20, 2017 .