Der Protagonist
Encyclopedia
Der Protagonist is an opera
in one act by Kurt Weill
op. 15. The German libretto was written by Georg Kaiser
based on his own play of the same name of (1920).
Weill's first surviving opera has been described as Literaturoper
, similar to Alban Berg
's Wozzeck
.
in Dresden
, when it was directed by Josef Gielen and conducted by Fritz Busch. It was given again at the Städtische Oper in Berlin
in October 1928 directed by Walter Brügmann and conducted by Robert Denzler, this time as a double bill with Der Zar lässt sich photographieren
.
Post-war performances have included productions at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein
, Düsseldorf
in April 1958, directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Andreas and conducted by Friedrich Brenn, Santa Fe Opera
from 31 July 1993, directed by Jonathan Eaton and conducted by George Manahan (combined with Der Zar lässt sich photographieren), and at the Bregenz Festival from 21 July 2004 directed by Nicolas Brieger and conducted by Yakov Kreizberg (combined with Royal Palace).
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in one act by Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, 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...
op. 15. The German libretto was written by Georg Kaiser
Georg Kaiser
Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, was a German dramatist.-Biography:Kaiser was born at Magdeburg....
based on his own play of the same name of (1920).
Weill's first surviving opera has been described as Literaturoper
Literaturoper
Literaturoper is opera with music composed for a pre-existing text, as opposed to an opera with a libretto written specifically for the work....
, similar to Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
.
Performance history
It was first performed on 27 March 1926 at the SemperoperSemperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, when it was directed by Josef Gielen and conducted by Fritz Busch. It was given again at the Städtische Oper in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in October 1928 directed by Walter Brügmann and conducted by Robert Denzler, this time as a double bill with Der Zar lässt sich photographieren
Der Zar lässt sich photographieren
Der Zar lässt sich photographieren is an opera buffa in one act by Kurt Weill, op. 21. The German libretto was written by Georg Kaiser, and Weill composed the music in 1927.- Performance history :...
.
Post-war performances have included productions at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company....
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
in April 1958, directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Andreas and conducted by Friedrich Brenn, Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
from 31 July 1993, directed by Jonathan Eaton and conducted by George Manahan (combined with Der Zar lässt sich photographieren), and at the Bregenz Festival from 21 July 2004 directed by Nicolas Brieger and conducted by Yakov Kreizberg (combined with Royal Palace).
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 27 March 1926 (Conductor: Fritz Busch) |
|---|---|---|
| The protagonist | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
|
| His sister | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
|
| First actor | bass | |
| Second actor | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
|
| Third actor | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
|
| The majordomo of the duke | tenor | |
| Young lord | baritone | |
| Innkeeper | bass | |
| Eight musicians | ||
Recordings
Weill: Der Protagonist - Berlin German Symphony Orchestra- Conductor: John MauceriJohn MauceriJohn Francis Mauceri is an American conductor, producer and arranger for theatre, opera and television. For fifteen years, he served on the faculty of Yale University. He was a protege of Leonard Bernstein...
- Principal singers: Corby Welch, Matthias Koch, Alexander Marco-Buhrmester, Robert Worle, Jan Buchwald, Matteo de Monti, Johannes von Duisburg, Amanda Halgrimson
- Recording date: 1 May 2002
- Label: Capriccio - 60 086 (CD)
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac, accessed 6 November 2008
- Hinton, Stephen (1992), "Der Protagonist", The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7