- Der Protagonist
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Der Protagonist (The Protagonist) is an opera in one act by Kurt Weill op. 15. The German libretto was written by Georg Kaiser based on his own play of the same name of (1920).
Weill's first surviving opera has been described as Literaturoper, similar to Alban Berg's Wozzeck.
Contents
Performance history
It was first performed on 27 March 1926 at the Semperoper in Dresden, when it was directed by Josef Gielen and conducted by Fritz Busch. It was given again at the Städtische Oper in Berlin in October 1928 directed by Walter Brügmann and conducted by Robert Denzler, this time as a double bill with Der Zar lässt sich photographieren.
Post-war performances have included productions at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf in April 1958, directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Andreas and conducted by Friedrich Brenn, Santa Fe Opera from 31 July 1993, directed by Jonathan Eaton and conducted by George Manahan (combined with Der Zar lässt sich photographieren), and at the Bregenz Festival from 21 July 2004 directed by Nicolas Brieger and conducted by Yakov Kreizberg (combined with Royal Palace).
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 27 March 1926
(Conductor: Fritz Busch)The protagonist tenor His sister soprano First actor bass Second actor baritone Third actor contralto The majordomo of the duke tenor Young lord baritone Innkeeper bass Eight musicians Recordings
Weill: Der Protagonist - Berlin German Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor: John Mauceri
- Principal singers: Corby Welch, Matthias Koch, Alexander Marco-Buhrmester, Robert Worle, Jan Buchwald, Matteo de Monti, Johannes von Duisburg, Amanda Halgrimson
- Recording date: 1 May 2002
- Label: Capriccio - 60 086 (CD)
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac, accessed 6 November 2008
- Hinton, Stephen (1992), "Der Protagonist", The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
External links
Works for the stage by Kurt Weill Der Protagonist (1926) · Mahagonny-Songspiel (1927) · Der Zar lässt sich photographieren (1928) · The Threepenny Opera (1928) · Happy End (1929) · Der Lindberghflug (1929) · Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1930) · Der Jasager (1930) · Die Bürgschaft (1932) · Der Silbersee (1933) · The Seven Deadly Sins (1933) · Der Kuhhandel (1935) · Johnny Johnson (1936) · The Eternal Road (1937) · Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) · Lady in the Dark (1940) · One Touch of Venus (1943) · The Firebrand of Florence (1945) · Street Scene (1946) · Down in the Valley (1948) · Love Life (1948) · Lost in the Stars (1949)Categories:- Operas by Kurt Weill
- German-language operas
- One-act operas
- Operas
- 1926 operas
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