- Die Bürgschaft (opera)
-
Die Bürgschaft (The Pledge) is an opera in three acts by Kurt Weill. Caspar Neher wrote the German libretto after the parable Der afrikanische Rechtspruch (The African Verdict) by Johann Gottfried Herder. Composed from August to October 1931, it was premiered on 10 March 1932 at the Städtische Oper in Berlin, Germany.
The opera dates from the years immediately prior to Weill's emigration to the United States. Representing "the summation of Weill's career as an opera composer in Europe,"[1] it provides insight into the compositional path Weill might have followed had he stayed in Europe.[2] Die Bürgschaft is an opera of broad ambition and scope, far more somber in tone than Weill's prior works for the stage.[2] The work is in part the result of Weill's growing distance from Brecht during work on Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, leading the composer to turn to Neher, his longtime collaborator as a stage director, for the libretto.[3] Die Bürgschaft is, further, a product of its political climate, dubbed by Weill an opera that "attempts to adopt a position on matters that concern us all," and one of multiple Weill stage works of this period "addressing the problem of moral responsibility within a crumbling culture given over to greed, power, and inhumanity."[3] As Weill wrote in reaction to a review of the opera's premiere, "the job of opera today consists in reaching out beyond the fate of private individuals towards universality."[1] In addition to its sobriety and political undertones, Die Bürgschaft is a musical turning point for Weill. Weill characterized it as "a return to real music-making."[3] Multiple scholars have noted its departure from the "number opera" formula of works such as Die Dreigroschenoper and Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in exchange for a more continuous sound, as well as a minimizing of satire and irony.[1][2][3] Certain of these scholars have also noted influences ranging from Handel and Verdi in its oratorio-like features to a detached and unemotional character indebted to Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex.[1][3]
Die Bürgschaft concerns the rise to power of a money-driven dictatorship, bringing with it greed and destruction. The plot bears clear parallels with the rise of Nazism in Germany at the time, but as suggested above it also acts as a larger social parable dealing with man's role in society.[2] Indeed, the source for Herder's tale Der afrikanische Rechtspruch, on which Neher's libretto was based, is the "Bava Metzia" section of the Talmud. Interpreted accordingly, the social parable of Die Bürgschaft is the covenant of rabbinical teaching: the bonds between men, between men and their community, and between forces within the community of men such as the law, the state, and the government.[3]
Contents
Performance history
After its 1932 Berlin premiere, Die Bürgschaft was produced in two additional German cities in 1932, Wiesbaden and Düsseldorf, before political events led to its removal from the German stage.[3] After two radio revivals of heavily edited, if not mutilated, versions of the opera in 1957 and 1980, respectively, the original version was performed by the Bielefeld Opera conducted by Rainer Koch and Geoffrey Moull in 1998.[3] One German critic noted of the Bielefeld production that "all the intendants of Germany's top-ranking opera houses should be required to attend a performance."[3] Soon after, the original version received its American premiere, and first recording, at the 1999 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, under Julius Rudel.[3] Music critic for the Wall Street Journal, Heidi Waleson, wrote of the opera, in a review the Spoleto Festival production, that Die Bürgschaft is "a stunning work that knits together Weill's intense social and political concerns with compositional skill and invention of the highest order."[3]
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 10 March 1932
(Conductor: Fritz Stiedry)Johann Mattes, a cattle dealer in the town of Urb baritone Hans Eduard Wochinz ('Hans Reinmar') Anna Mattes, Johann's wife mezzo-soprano Lotte Lenya David Orth, a grain dealer in the town of Urb bass Jakob Orth, David's son tenor Luise Mattes, Johann & Anna's daughter soprano Irene Eisinger The judge of Urb tenor The town crier tenor Ellis, the commissar tenor Gang of three creditors/highwaymen/blackmailers/agents tenor, baritone, bass Alto solo alto Recordings
- First complete recording: Julius Rudel, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, with Ann Panagulias (soprano), Margaret Thompson (mezzo-soprano), Katherine Ciesinski (alto), Joel Sorensen (tenor), Frederick Burchinal (baritone), Dale Travis (bass), The Westminster Choir
References
- ^ a b c d Stephen Hinton: "Die Bürgschaft", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 13 November 2007)>.
- ^ a b c d "Die Bürgschaft", All Media Guide (Accessed 13 November 2007).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kim H. Kowalke: "Kurt Weill's Die Bürgschaft", Liner Notes to the EMI Classics 2000 Recording of Die Bürgschaft (2000).
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:- 1932 operas
- Operas by Kurt Weill
- German-language operas
- Zeitoper
- Operas
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
