Die Verurteilung des Lukullus

Last updated

Die Verurteilung des Lukullus (The Condemnation of Lucullus) is an opera by Paul Dessau to a libretto by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht.

Contents

Brecht's dramatic text for the opera is more or less identical to that of the radio-play The Trial of Lucullus , which was written in 1938–9.

Performance history

The opera was first performed under the latter's title at the Berlin Staatsoper on 17 March 1951, conducted by Hermann Scherchen, with stage design by Caspar Neher. It was withdrawn, revised, and reinstated with its present title on 12 October 1951. [1]

The opera was broadcast on the radio in an English-language translation by the BBC's Third Programme on 20 March 1953. [1]

In November 2021, the Staatsoper Stuttgart mounted a new production of the opera, directed by Franziska Kronfoth and Julia Lwowski and staged by the musical-theater-collective Hauen und Stechen. The performances were conducted by contemporary music specialist Bernhard Kontarsky and featured tenor Gerhard Siegel as Lukullus and soprano/mezzo-soprano Cheryl Studer as Tertullia. [2]

Roles

Recording

recorded 1964, Leipzig, Herbert Kegel

Related Research Articles

Kurt Weill German composer

Kurt Julian Weill was a German composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work, The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad "Mack the Knife". Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose, Gebrauchsmusik. He also wrote several works for the concert hall and a number of works on Jewish themes. He became a United States citizen on August 27, 1943.

Messa per Rossini

The Messa per Rossini is a Requiem Mass composed to commemorate the first anniversary of Gioachino Rossini's death. It was a collaboration among 13 Italian composers, initiated by Giuseppe Verdi. The composition was intended to be performed on 13 November 1869 in the Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna, where Rossini grew up and spent a large part of his life.

Cheryl Studer American dramatic soprano

Cheryl Studer is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses. Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated with lyric sopranos and coloratura sopranos, and, in her late stage, mezzo-sopranos. She is particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner.

Paul Dessau German composer and conductor

Paul Dessau was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them.

<i>Al gran sole carico damore</i>

Al gran sole carico d'amore is an opera with music by Luigi Nono, based mainly on plays by Bertolt Brecht, but also incorporating texts of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Karl Marx, and Vladimir Lenin. Nono himself and Yuri Lyubimov wrote the libretto. It premiered at the Teatro alla Scala on 4 April 1975, conducted by Claudio Abbado. Lyubimov directed the original production. The UK premiere was at the 32nd Edinburgh Festival in 1978. In addition to vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, the work incorporates taped sounds. This work is a product of Nono's strong political activism through the mid-1970s.

Wolfgang Windgassen was a heldentenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas.

L'écume des jours is an opera in three acts by the Russian composer Edison Denisov. The French text is by the composer based on the novel of the same title by Boris Vian. It was composed in 1981.

Ruth Berghaus

Ruth Berghaus was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director.

Martha Mödl was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with Astrid Varnay and Birgit Nilsson, one of the three major postwar Wagner sopranos. She was among the preeminent Wagner sopranos—and most compelling singing actresses—of the twentieth century. She was celebrated for her highly individualized interpretations, exceptional acting ability, intense stage presence, and "rich, sexy voice."

<i>Polish Requiem</i> Catholic funeral mass

Polish Requiem, also A Polish Requiem, is a large-scale requiem mass for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The Lacrimosa, dedicated to the trade union leader Lech Wałęsa, was written for the unveiling of a statue at the Gdańsk Shipyard to commemorate those killed in the Polish anti-government riots in 1970. He expanded the work into a requiem, writing other parts to honour different patriotic events over the next four years. The Polish Requiem was first performed in Stuttgart on 28 September 1984. Penderecki revised and expanded the work in 1993, and expanded it again in 2005 with the additional movement, Ciaccona. It is called Polish Requiem because its parts are dedicated to heroes and victims of Polish history. One of the better-known works by Penderecki, the mass largely follows the liturgical Latin of the requiem format with the addition of Święty Boże, the Polish translation of the Trisagion.

The Trial of Lucullus is a short didactic radio play by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht written in verse. It was completed in 1940. In it, the great Roman general Lucullus appears after death before a judge and jury of the underworld, who are to decide whether he should be condemned to Hades or admitted to the Elysian fields. The jury, representing the lower classes, allows Lucullus to call as witnesses portrayed on a triumphal frieze. All the evidence is against Lucullus, except for the fact that he introduced the cherry tree to Europe, grieved over the destruction of books, and was possessed of a fine culinary experience.

Gabriele Schnaut is a German classical singer who started her operatic career as a mezzo-soprano in 1976 and changed to dramatic soprano in 1985. She has appeared internationally and performed at the Bayreuth Festival from 1977 to 2000. She recorded works by composers of the 20th century and appeared in the premieres of operas by Wolfgang Rihm and Jörg Widmann.

Lucullus may refer to:

Beatrice Cenci is an opera by German composer Berthold Goldschmidt based on the Shelley play The Cenci. Composed in 1949 to an English libretto by Martin Esslin, the opera won first prize in the Festival of Britain opera competition in 1951 but was not performed until 1988.

Margarethe Bence was an American opera singer, who sang both mezzo-soprano and contralto parts and was mostly active in German and Austria, including international festivals such as the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. Her repertoire included music from Baroque to contemporary premieres.

Eva Randová Czech operatic mezzo-soprano (born 1936)

Eva Randová is a Czech operatic mezzo-soprano who made an international career based in Germany. She appeared at major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, and at festivals such as the Bayreuth Festival. She is known for performing Czech operas by Leoš Janáček and Antonín Dvořák.

Renate Behle

Renate Behle is an Austrian operatic mezzo-soprano and soprano who made an international career, based in Germany. She was professor of voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg from 2000 to 2010.

Jeff Martin is an American operatic tenor who made a career based in Germany, singing at international opera houses and concert halls. Focused on character roles, he has appeared as Mime in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and Herod in Salome by Richard Strauss, and appeared in several world premieres.

Ina Gerhein is the stage name of Sabine Heinzinger, a German operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto who was a long-term member of the Bavarian State Opera.

Grace Hoffman was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and academic teacher. Based at the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 1955 to 1992, she performed roles such as Verdi's Azucena and Eboli at leading opera houses in Europe and the Americas. Her signature role was Wagner's Brangäne, performed at the Bayreuth Festival, among others.

References

  1. 1 2 Willett, John. 1959. The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects. London: Methuen. ISBN   0-413-34360-X. pp. 49–50.
  2. "Staatsoper Stuttgart".