Der König Kandaules

Alexander von Zemlinsky
Operas Es war einmal (1900) Kleider machen Leute (1910) Eine florentinische Tragödie (1917) Der Zwerg (1922) Der Traumgörge (1980) Der König Kandaules (1996)
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Der König Kandaules (King Kandaules) is an opera in three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Its libretto was adapted by the composer from Franz Blei's German translation of the play Le roi Candaule by French author André Gide.

Composition history

Zemlinsky completed the short score of the opera in 1935, but the orchestration remained unfinished when the composer, due to his Jewish ancestry, fled the Nazis into exile in the United States in 1938. Zemlinsky hoped for a production at the Metropolitan Opera in New York but when the principal conductor Artur Bodanzky (a former pupil of Zemlinsky's), told him that a nude scene in the second act would make the opera unstageable there, Zemlinsky abandoned the project. He began work on a new opera, Circe, but only the short score of the first act was completed by the time of his death in 1942.

In 1990, the British conductor and musicologist Antony Beaumont discovered that is was possible to complete the orchestration of Der König Kandaules without additional composition. He did so after receiving an official commission from the Hamburg State Opera in 1991.^[1]

Performance history

Thus, the work had its belated premiere on 6 October 1996 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by Gerd Albrecht. It has enjoyed several productions since, becoming Zemlinsky's third most performed stage-work, statistically ranking only behind his two one-act operas Eine florentinische Tragödie and Der Zwerg.

The opera has been given in various opera houses in Europe and South America:

• July/August 2002 at the Salzburg Festival, with Kent Nagano conducting the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (see also section Recordings)^[1]
• November/December 2004 at the Vienna Volksoper, Peter Rundel conducting^[2]
• September 2005 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Günter Neuhold conducting^[3]
• January/February 2006 at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, Bernhard Kontarsky conducting^[4]
• November 2007, a concert performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, with Bernhard Kontarsky conducting the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest^[5]
• January 2009 at the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern, Uwe Sandner conducting^[6]
• June 2010 at the Stadttheater in Bielefeld, Peter Kuhn conducting^[7]

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast[8][9] 6 October 1996 (Conductor: Gerd Albrecht)
The King	tenor	James O'Neal
Nyssia, his wife	soprano	Nina Warren
Gyges, a fisherman	baritone	Monte Pederson
Phedros	baritone	Klaus Häger
Syphax	bass	Peter Galliard
Nicomedes	baritone	Mariusz Kwiecien
Pharnaces	tenor	Kurt Gysen
Philebos	bass	Simon Yang
Sebas	tenor	Ferdinand Seiler
Archelaos	bass	Guido Jentjens

Synopsis

The opera is set in Lydia, in ancient times.

Act 1

During the preparations for a feast, the Lydian king Kandaules announces that he wants to show his wife Nyssia unveiled to his favourites for the first time. When a magic ring (that makes whoever wears it invisible) is found in the belly of a fish, the king summons the fisherman Gyges. At first, the fisherman is indifferent, but when it is revealed that his wife Trydo has been unfaithful to him, he kills her in front of all the guests. Kandaules is fascinated and invites Gyges to his castle.

Act 2

Kandaules wants to share his immense wealth, including his beautiful wife, with all his friends. He convinces Gyges to use the magic ring in order to behold the naked Nyssia. Events turn against the king, when the invisible Gyges spends the night with Nyssia, who mistakes the fisherman for Kandaules.

Act 3

Gyges reveals his true identity to Nyssia and expects to be executed. Nyssia however feels humiliated and betrayed by her husband, and orders Gyges to kill the king. She then crowns Gyges the new king of Lydia.

Recordings

• In 1997 the German record label Capriccio released the world premiere recording: a live recording made on 18 & 25 October 1996 during the initial run of performances at the Hamburg State Opera. Gerd Albrecht conducted the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg. The principal roles were sung by James O'Neal (Kandaules), Monte Pederson (Gyges) and Nina Warren (Nyssia).^[9]
• In 2004 the Austrian record label Andante released a live recording from the 2002 Salzburg Festival, with Kent Nagano conducting the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The principal roles were sung by Robert Brubaker (Kandaules), Wolfgang Schöne (Gyges) and Nina Stemme (Nyssia).^[10]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Christian Wildhagen (2002). "Unveiled Artefact". Friends' Magazine for Friends and Patrons of the Salzburg Festival. http://www.festspielfreunde.at/english/frames/200112/ef_200112_02.htm. Retrieved 15 August 2010. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Opera Reviews". The Opera Critic. November 2004. http://theoperacritic.com/reviewsa.php?schedid=vvokonig1104. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
3. ^ "Opera Reviews". The Opera Critic. September 2005. http://theoperacritic.com/reviewsa.php?schedid=buekonig0905. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
4. ^ "Opera Reviews". The Opera Critic. January 2006. http://theoperacritic.com/reviewsa.php?&schedid=orwkonig0106. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
5. ^ Frits van der Waa (26 November 2007). "Drie formidable zangers in zwanenzang Von Zemlinsky" (in Dutch). De Volkskrant. http://www.xs4all.nl/~fvdwaa/art/vk1986.htm. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
6. ^ Dieter Lintz (March 2009). "Kaiserslautern, Zemlinsky: König Kandaules" (in German). Kultuniversum/Opernwelt. http://www.kultiversum.de/Oper-Opernwelt/Panorama-Zeichenhafte-Klarheit.html. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
7. ^ Anke Groenewold (21 June 2010). "Umjubelte Premiere der Zemlinsky-Oper Der König Kandaules" (in German). Neue Westfälische. http://www.nw-news.de/owl/kultur/3610728_Umjubelte_Premiere_der_Zemlinsky-Oper_Der_Koenig_Kandaules.html. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
8. ^ "Musical events 6 October 1996". Italy: AmadeusOnline. http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=6&Mese=10&Anno=1996&Giornata=&Testo=&Parola=Stringa. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Alexander von Zemlinsky: Der König Kandaules (2cd)". Germany: JPC. http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/lang/en/currency/EUR/hnum/8056528/art_hex/416c6578616e6465722d766f6e2d5a656d6c696e736b792d4465722d4bf66e69672d4b616e6461756c6573. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
10. ^ Christopher Webber (December 2004). "Zemlinsky Der König Kandaules". MusicWeb International. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Dec04/Zemlinsky_Kandaules.htm. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 

References

• András Batta: Opera - Komponisten, Werke, Interpreten (Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2000, Dutch translation)