Die tote Stadt
The play was translated into German by Siegfried Trebitsch under the title Die stille Stadt (The Silent City), which he later changed to Das Trugbild (The Mirage).Trebitsch recalled "[I] met the young master Erich Wolfgang Korngold in search of a scenario or, even better, a mood or operatic background that could be dramatically elaborated.[1] The success of these earlier works was so great that Die tote Stadt was subject to a fierce competition among German theatres for the right to the world premiere.In the end, an unusual double premiere was arranged and the opera opened simultaneously at the Stadttheater Hamburg and in Cologne (Glockengasse).The opera's theme of life, hope and 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 fuelled the work's popularity in a Vienna, that under Freud's legacy, took dreams seriously.[4] Even in 1920, the opera's style was considered anachronistic, looking back to Puccini, Richard Strauss and the Viennese operetta tradition.[5] After World War II it's late-romanticism was considered dated when compared to modernism and it fell into obscurity, despite a restaging in Munich two years before Korngold's death.The first French staged performance was in April 2001 in Strasbourg under the baton of Jan Latham-Koenig with Torsten Kerl [de] (Paul) and Angela Denoke (Marietta).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).[7][1] The opera was first performed in Latin America at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 19, 1999, with Carlos Bengolea as Paul, Cynthia Makris as Marie/Marietta and David Pittman-Jennings as Frank; Stefan Lano was the conductor.It featured Jonathan Burton as Paul, Sara Gartland as Marie/Marietta (staging), Kara Shay Thomson as Marie/Marietta (vocals), Daniel Belcher as Frank/Fritz, and Elizabeth Bishop as Brigitta.According to Leon Botstein, the revival is associated with a broader reconsideration of 20th-century music, both academically and in performance, stating in 2020 “I was brought up in a time when Korngold was considered a minor figure, a kind of lingering late Romantic who had an ambivalent or perhaps an even hostile sense of the modern ...nobody took this stuff seriously until recently.”[4] Paul's role is considered particularly demanding, with many high B flats and A naturals.She is in Bruges as a dancer in an opera company performing Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable, in which she plays the part of Helena.Back in his house, where he and Marietta have spent the night, it is the morning of a religious festival, the Procession of the Holy Blood which is held on Ascension Day in Bruges.
Erich Wolfgang KorngoldGraz OperaPaul SchottBruges-la-MorteGeorges RodenbachHamburg State OperaCologne OperalibrettoJulius KorngoldsymbolistSiegfried TrebitschHans MüllerDer Ring des PolykratesViolantaStadttheater HamburgCologne (Glockengasse)Otto KlempererJohanna GeislerWorld War IMetropolitan OperaLotte LehmannRichard TauberGeorge SzellJewishanachronisticPucciniRichard StraussViennese operettaWorld War IIromanticismmodernismVienna VolksoperNew York City OperaTheater BonnRoyal Opera HouseSan Francisco OperaVienna State OperaFinnish National OperaBavarian State OperaThéâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesJan Latham-KoenigAngela DenokeKensington Symphony OrchestraRussell KeableQueen Elizabeth HallEnglish National OperaAnnilese MiskimmonKirill KarabitsTeatro ColónBuenos AiresCynthia MakrisStefan LanoOpera AustraliaSydney Opera HouseCheryl BarkerChristian BadeaBruce BeresfordGlück, das mir verbliebOpera ColoradoEllie Caulkins Opera HouseDaniel BelcherElizabeth BishopLeon BotsteinVoice typesopranoJohanna KlempererMaria Jeritzamezzo-sopranoMaria OlszewskabaritoneBrugesfetishismMeyerbeerRobert le diableGlück das mir verbliebProcession of the Holy BloodSimon StonedenialOdeon RecordsMaria NemethKarl HammesRichard MayrBayerischer RundfunkFritz LehmannRCA VictorCarol NeblettRené KolloHermann PreyBenjamin LuxonErich LeinsdorfDeutsche Oper BerlinJames KingKaran ArmstrongHeinrich HollreiserGötz FriedrichArthaus MusikOrchestre philharmonique de StrasbourgOpéra national du RhinFranz Welser-MöstEmily MageeCornelia KallischOlaf BärDonald RunniclesBo SkovhusSebastian WeigleOehms ClassicsTeatro La FeniceSolveig KringelbornEliahu InbalPier Luigi PizziDynamicKlaus Florian VogtCamilla NylundMikko FranckKasper HoltenEs DevlinOpus ArteNew National Theatre TokyoMeagan MillerBayerische StaatsoperKirill PetrenkoJonas KaufmannMarlis PetersenPalmer, ChristopherOxford University PressAmadeus Press