Sigrid Neef

Sigrid Neef (born October 10, 1944 in Fraureuth ) is a German music and theater scholar .

Live and act

From 1972 to 1993 she worked at the German State Opera Berlin . Like her late husband, the musicologist Hermann Neef , she is an expert on Russian and Soviet music and had personal contacts and many more. a. on Alfred Schnittke , Rodion Schtschedrin , the Shostakovich biographer Solomon Wolkow and the chief director of the Bolshoi Theater Boris Pokrowski . Neef had been the long-time dramaturge of the director Ruth Berghaus since 1979 .

In addition, developed Neef translations or, adaptations of numerous Russian and Hungarian operas, so by Mikhail Glinka ( Ruslan and Lyudmila, together with Jörg Leipold ), Dmitri Shostakovich, Rodion Shchedrin, Cyril Wokow, Gleb Sedelnikow, Igor Rogaljow Gennady Banschtschikow, and Sándor Balassa .

Later on, Sigrid Neef was mainly involved in animal welfare (cats).

Books

• Sigrid Neef (with Hermann Neef ): Handbook of Russian and Soviet opera . Henschelverlag Art and Society, GDR-Berlin, 1985, ISBN 3-362-00257-9 and Bärenreiter, Kassel 1989, ISBN 3-7618-0925-5 .
• Sigrid Neef: The theater of Ruth Berghaus , Henschelverlag Art and Society, GDR-Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-362-00356-7 and Fischer-Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1990.
• Sigrid Neef: Paul Dessau's contribution to a new type of opera. Dissertation. Hall 1989.
• Sigrid Neef (with Hermann Neef): German opera in the 20th century GDR 1949–1989 . Publishing house Peter Lang, Berlin [i. e.] Schöneiche near Berlin [ua] 1992, ISBN 3-362-00257-9 .
• Sigrid Neef: The Russian Five: Balakirew - Borodin - Cui - Mussorgsky - Rimsky-Korsakov . Monographs - documents - letters - programs - works. Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-928864-04-1 .
• Sigrid Neef: Sergei Prokofiev's operas (= Prokofiew-Studien 7 and Studia slavica musicologica 45). Verlag Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-936637-17-5 .
• Sigrid Neef: The operas of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (= music specifically 18). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-936637-13-7 .
• Sigrid Neef: The operas of Dmitri Shostakovich (= Shostakovich Studies Volume 8 and Studia slavica musicologica 47). Verlag Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 2010 ISBN 978-3-936637-20-5 .

Articles, book chapters

• Sigrid Neef: In the field of tension between Felsenstein and Brecht . Thoughts on the GDR opera. In: Theater der Zeit 34. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1979, pp. 6-8.
• Sigrid Neef: Interview with directors. A conversation with Ruth Berghaus. In: Theater der Zeit Berlin. No. 6, 1983.
• Sigrid Neef: A Discourse About Bertolt Brecht and Opera. In: Music and Society 26. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1985, Issue 6, pp. 302–308.
• Sigrid Neef: Ruth Berghaus and Michael Gielen - asked about the possibilities of opera at this time. In: Sense and Form. Volume 4, Berlin 1987.
• Sigrid Neef: About the creation and disappearance of images. For example “Moes and Aron” by Arnold Schönberg. In: Horst Seeger and Wolfgang Lange (eds.): Oper heute, an almanac 11. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1988.
• Sigrid Neef: Vladimir Stassow and the Mighty Heap. In: Wladimir Stassow: My friends Alexander Borodin and Modest Mussorgsky. The biographies (= music specifically 4). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-928864-06-8 .
• Sigrid Neef: Realism without banks? On some necessary corrections in the Mussorgsky picture (1995) . In: Modest Mussorgsky. Access to life and work. Appreciations - criticism - self-portrayals - memories - polemics. (= Music specifically 8) Verlag Ernst Kuhn Berlin 1995 ISBN 3-928864-11-4
• Sigrid Neef: False consciousness authentically fixed - Interesting insights into unknown documents. In: "Ideologically degenerate elements". Documentation on the expatriation of Mstislaw Rostropowitsch and Galina Wischnewskaja from the former USSR (1974–1978) (= opyt 2) Verlag Ernst Kuhn Berlin 1996 ISBN 3-928864-25-4
• Sigrid Neef: Opera in the GDR. Open work of art with a closed border. In: Opera in the 20th Century. Developments and composers. Edited by Udo Bermbach. Verlag J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2000, ISBN 3-476-01733-8 .
• Sigrid Neef: The compositional work of Rimsky-Korsakov - representations and documents. In: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Access to life and work. Monographs - publications - diaries - directories. (= Music specifically 12, source texts and treatises on Russian music of the 19th and 20th centuries) Verlag Ernst Kuhn Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-928864-15-7
• Sigrid Neef: "Glory" or "gorje" - The Jewish element in Shostakovich's operas (including Fleischmann's "Rothschild's violin" ). In: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Jewish musical heritage. (Shostakovich Studies, Volume 3) (= studia slavica musicologica 18) Verlag Ernst Kuhn Berlin 2001 ISBN 3-928864-75-0
• Sigrid Neef: The string quartets as a diary of inner development (overview and stations) . In: Shostakovich's string quartets - An international symposium (= Shostakovich studies, Volume 5) (= Studia Slavica musicologica 22) Verlag Ernst Kuhn Berlin ISBN 3-928864-80-7
• Sigrid Neef: Roman Carnival and sacred opera. Jewish impulses in Russian opera from the 18th to the 20th century . In: "Samuel" Goldenberg and "Schmuyle". Jewish and Anti-Semitic in Russian Musical Culture Jewish an Anti-Semitic Elements of Russian Musical Culture. An international symposium (= Studia slavica musicologica 27). Verlag Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-928864-87-4 .
• Sigrid Neef: Questioning: The artist and power - that can't have been everything, or only the others die. In: Dmitri Schostakowitsch - composer and contemporary witness (= Schostakowitsch Studies Volume 2 and Studia slavica musicologica 17). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 3-928864-70-X .
• Sigrid Neef: Dialogues with Shostakovich - For example Rodion Shchedrin. In: Shostakovich and the consequences. Russian music between adaptation and protest. An international symposium (= Studia slavica musicologica 32). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-928864-93-9 .
• Sigrid Neef: Resist everything that does not mean spirit. Prokofiev and the Soviet power. In: Sergei Prokofjew in the Soviet Union. Entanglements - misunderstandings - disasters. An international symposium (= Prokofiev Studies Volume 1 and Studia slavica musicologica 35). Ernst Kuhn publishing house, Berlin. 2004, ISBN 3-936637-01-6 .
• Sigrid Neef: Not keeping the ashes, but passing on the fire. In: Cheated out of the late work? Prokofiev's last creative period (= Prokofiev Studies Volume 5 and Studia slavica musicologica 39). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-936637-08-3 .
• Sigrid Neef: Intellectually, autonomously-emotionally seducible. In: oblique to the line of socialist realism? Prokofiev's later sonatas as well as orchestral and stage works. An international symposium (= Prokofiev Studies Volume 3 and Studia slavica musicologica 37). Verlag Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-936637-03-2 .
• Sigrid Neef: "A greeting to a woman who illuminates her creative path". To Mira Mendelson-Prokofejewa's memory diary. In: Mira Mendelson-Prokofjewa: The truth about Prokofjew. The drama of the last few years (= Prokofiev Studies Volume 4 and Studia slavica musicologica 38). Verlag Ernst Kuhn, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-936637-07-5 .
• Sigrid Neef: About the rejuvenation of old fabrics. Goldmann's opera fantasy “Hot” and Dessau's comedy opera “Leonce and Lena”. In: Sigrid Wiesmann (Ed.): Pros and cons of the literary opera. On the situation after 1945. Laaber Verlag, 1982 ISBN 3-921518-67-9 .
• Article in Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Piper, Munich / Zurich 1986–1997, ISBN 3-492-02411-4 . I.a. to Alexander Borodin: Prince Igor, Michail Glinka: A life for the tsar and Ruslan and Lyudmila, Modest Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina, Dmitri Shostakovich: The nose and Katarina Ismailowa.
• Article in The Music Past and Present . 2nd edition Kassel 1994 ff. Various Russian composers such as Evgenij Fomin.
• Sigrid Neef: Music made of light, air, color and movement. To Anatoly Lyadov's orchestral works. In: Anatoly Lyadow. Access to life and work (= music specifically 15). Ernst Kuhn Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-928864-64-0 .
• Second author of András Batta: Opera. Composers, works, performers. Könemann Verlag, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-8290-2840-7 .

In Russian language

• Sigrid Neef: From the correspondence with Alfred Schnittke ( Is perepiski s Alfredom Schnittke, pp. 110-120). In the anthology for the 70th birthday of Alfred Schnittke (Schnittke poswjaschtschajetsja. K 70-letiju kompositora), Volume 4 (wypusk 4). Publishing House of the Composers (isdatelstwo kompositorow), Moscow 2014. Published by the Schnittke Center Moscow, ISBN 5-85285-247-3 .

Radio broadcasts to and with Ruth Berghaus

• Berliner Rundfunk, Broadcasting of the GDR in the series Berlin - Weltstadt des Theater
  • for the production Das Rheingold von (Richard Wagner at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin). Broadcast on October 3, 1979.
  • for the production of Wozzeck (by Alban Berg at the German State Opera Berlin). Broadcast on November 21, 1984.

literature

• Irene Bazinger (Ed.): Director: Ruth Berghaus. Stories from production , Rotbuch Verlag, Berlin 2010. ISBN 978-3-86789-117-2
• Daniele Daude: Opera as a Performance: New Perspectives on Opera Analysis . Transcript. Theatre. Bielefeld 2014.
• Corinne Holtz: Ruth Berghaus. A portrait . European Publishing House, Hamburg 2005. ISBN 3-434-50547-4

Web links

• Sigrid Neef collection in the archive of the Academy of Arts, Berlin
• Uwe Schwentzig: Review of the portrait Ruth Berghaus by Corinne Holtz Das Blättchen
• Contribution to the Festschrift Gerd Rienäcker
• Dr. Sigrid Neef - Katzenhaus-Tierhilfe ( Memento from April 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive )