Libretto cover published in 1921
Die tote Stadt (
German for
The Dead City) is an
opera in three acts by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The
libretto is by the composer and
Paul Schott (a pseudonym of the composer’s
father
Julius Korngold), and is
based on
Bruges-la-Morte, a
short novel by
Georges
Rodenbach.
Performance history
When
Die tote Stadt had its premiere on
December 4,
1920, Korngold
was just 23 years old with two short one-act operas,
Der Ring des Polykrates and
Violanta, already to his
name.
The
success of these earlier works was so great that Die tote
Stadt was subject to a fierce competition among German
theaters for
the right to the world premiere.
In the
end, an unusual double premiere was arranged and the opera opened
simultaneously in Hamburg
and Cologne. Die tote Stadt’s theme of
overcoming the loss of a loved one resonated with contemporary
audiences of the 1920s who had just come through the trauma and
grief of
World War I, and this
undoubtedly fueled the opera’s popularity.
Die tote Stadt was one of the greatest hits of the 1920s.
Within two
years of its premiere it had circled the globe and even received
several performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York
.
But the work was banned by the
Nazi régime
because of Korngold’s
Jewish ancestry and
after
World War II it fell into
obscurity.
In recent years, however, the work has
enjoyed notable revivals, among others in Bonn
, Royal Opera
House
, San Francisco
Opera and in Vienna State Opera
.
The opera received its UK premiere on 14 January 1996 in a concert
performance by the Kensington Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Russell Keable at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with Ian Caley (Paul)
and Christine Teare (Marie/Marietta).The first UK staged
performance was on 27 January 2009 at the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden.
The opera
received its French premiere on 5 October 2009 at the Paris
Opéra
Bastille
, with Robert Dean Smith (Paul) and Ricarda Merbeth
(Marie/Marietta), opening to very favorable reviews.
Roles
Cast at premiere in Hamburg and Cologne on
4
December,
1920:
Synopsis
- Place:
Bruges,
Belgium
- Time: End of 19th Century
Act 1
When the opera opens, Paul, a younger
middle-class man whose young wife, Marie, has
recently died, cannot come to terms with the sad reality of her
death. He keeps a “Temple of Memories” in her honor, including
paintings, photographs and a lock of her hair. When his friend
Frank pays him a visit at his house and urges him to honor Marie by
moving on with his life, Paul flies into a rant, and insists that
Marie “still lives.” He tells Frank that he has met a woman on the
streets of Bruges who exactly resembles Marie (indeed, Paul thinks
that it is Marie) and invited her back to his home.
Soon, the woman, Marietta, a young and beautiful dancer, appears
for her rendezvous with Paul. They talk, she is put off by his odd
behavior, but persists in trying to interest him in her charms—she
sings and dances seductively, but eventually gets bored and leaves.
Paul meanwhile is driven to a state of extreme anxiety.
Torn between his loyalty to Marie and his interest in Marietta he
collapses into a chair and begins to hallucinate. He sees Marie’s
ghost step out of her portrait and urge him not to forget her, but
then the vision of Marie changes and tells Paul to go and move on
with his life.
Act 2
After a series of visions in which his pursuit of Marietta
alienates him from all his remaining friends, the act ends with
Marietta finally overcoming his resistance and leading him offstage
locked in a passionate embrace. All this takes place in Paul’s
imagination.
Act 3
Paul’s vision continues. Back in his house, living with Marietta,
he quarrels with her. She gets fed up with his quirks and
continuing obsession with Marie and starts to taunt him by dancing
seductively while stroking his dead wife’s hair. In a rage, Paul
grabs the lock of hair and strangles Marietta. Holding her dead
body he exclaims “Now she is exactly like Marie.” Then he snaps out
of his dream. Astonished that Marietta’s body is nowhere to be
found, he has barely had time to collect his thoughts when his maid
informs him that Marietta has come back to pick up her umbrella
which she left in the house when she departed a few minutes ago.
With the shock of the traumatic dream still fresh in his mind, Paul
finally resolves to leave Bruges, let his dead wife rest in peace,
and continue his life. In a touching conclusion, with his friend
Frank at his side, he vows to start his life anew and slowly leaves
behind his house and his “Temple of Memories,” for the last
time.
Music
Korngold's score shows the influence of both
Richard Strauss and
Giacomo Puccini, in the rich, detailed
scoring, and soaring bel canto vocal writing respectively. He uses
a huge Strauss-sized orchestra, but fills
Die tote Stadt
with an abundance of gorgeous and memorable melodies
à la
Puccini.
The two most famous excerpts from the opera are "
Glück das mir verblieb",
"Mariettas lied" (in context a duet for
tenor and
soprano but usually
presented in concert as a soprano
aria), and
the lovely aria for
baritone, “Mein sehnen,
mein wähnen.”
On the whole, the music is consistently of very high quality,
certainly at the level of many more frequently performed Strauss
operas. The most likely reason for the opera’s neglect is the
extreme difficulty of the two lead roles, Paul and Marietta.
A tenor who would attempt the part of Paul must have the stamina to
stay on stage and sing almost constantly for two hours over a
gigantic orchestra. But unlike Wagner’s tenor parts, which demand
great stamina but not many high notes, the role of Paul in
Die
Tote Stadt is filled with many high B-flats and A-naturals,
making the part nearly impossible to cast. Well-known Pauls have
included
James King and
René Kollo.
The high
tessitura of Marietta's demanding
role could probably be navigated by any soprano who sings the
Empress in Strauss’
Die Frau
ohne Schatten. Among singers who have essayed the role in
recent years is
Carol Neblett, who
performed it at the
New York City
Opera and later recorded it.
Selected recordings
A few recordings have been made of
Die tote Stadt, most
notably the 1975 version on
RCA, with
Carol Neblett,
René
Kollo and
Hermann Prey, conducted
by
Erich Leinsdorf (RCA CD
#87767(2)).
Another older recording, though of quite good quality, is a 1952
Munich release, available from
Opera Today web-site, which
includes
Maud Cunitz and
Karl Friedrich,
Fritz Lehmann conducting.
Related Media
(These films used
Glück das mir verblieb)
Notes
- List of recent and planned performances of Die
tote Stadt at Operabase
- Performances of Die tote Stadt found at G.
Casaglia almanac; retrieved 06-01-2009
- Christopher Palmer, Grove online
- Die tote Stadt, Opera Today site with
synopsis and MP3 recording (there it is said to be a "live"
performance, but no trace of auditorium noise or applause can be
heard)
References
- Christopher Palmer: "Erich Wolfgang Korngold", Die tote
Stadt, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Opera) (Accessed May 4,
2007), (subscription access)
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