Neues vom Tage

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Neues vom Tage
Lustige Oper by Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith 1923.jpg
The composer in 1923
TranslationNews of the Day
Librettist Marcellus Schiffer
LanguageGerman
Premiere
8 June 1929 (1929-06-08)

Neues vom Tage (English: News of the Day) is a comic opera (Lustige Oper) in three parts by Paul Hindemith, with a German libretto by Marcellus Schiffer.

Contents

The opera is a satire of modern life, celebrity and marriage, involving parodies of both Puccini's music and Berlin Kabarett. The opera became notorious for a scene with a naked soprano (Laura) singing in the bath about the wonders of modern plumbing, though Hindemith replaced her with the tenor (Hermann) in the revised version.

The on-stage nudity particularly aroused the ire of Ernst "Putzi" Hanfstängel, Hitler’s musical advisor, and was later indirectly cited by Joseph Goebbels as evidence that the "degenerate art" of "cultural bolshevist" composers should be excluded from Germany. [1] [2]

Performance history

Neues vom Tage was first performed on 8 June 1929, at the Kroll Opera House, Berlin, under the musical direction of Otto Klemperer. Hindemith revised the opera, changing the text and adding a little new music, for the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 7 April 1954. The premiere of the work in the United States was at the Santa Fe Opera in 1961.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere casts of original and revised versions
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 8 June 1929
(Conductor: Otto Klemperer)
Revised version, 7 April 1954
(Conductor: Paul Hindemith)
Laura soprano Grete Stückgold Mercedes Fortunati
Eduard, Laura's husband baritone Giuseppe Valdengo
Hermann, a professional co-respondent tenor Erik WirklGino Sinimberghi
Herr MtenorArthur CavaraAlessandro Pellegrini
Frau M mezzo-soprano Sabine KalterAdamo
Baron d'Houdoux, an entrepreneur bass Dezső Ernster Giuseppe Modesti
Frau Pick, a newspaper reporter contralto Myriam Pirazzini
UlibassFritz KrennCoriolano Jorio
Hotel directorbassGerardo Gaudiosi
Room maidsoprano
GuidebassPlinio Clabassi
Head waitertenor
RegistrarbassGiovanni Amodeo
First managertenorNino Adami
Second managertenorSilvio Santarelli
Third managertenorGianni Avolanti
Fourth managertenorPiero De Palma
Fifth managerbassAldo Terrosi

Recordings

Hindemith: Neues vom Tage WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln

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References

Notes

  1. Geissmar, Bertha: Two Worlds of Music, Creative Age Press, New York 1946.
  2. Schubert, Giselher (2003). "Einleitung" in Paul Hindemith. Neues vom Tage. Lustige Oper in drei Teilen (Sämtliche Werke I,7-1). Mainz: Schott Musik International. p. XXV.

Sources