Die Bürgschaft (opera)
Encyclopedia
Die Bürgschaft is an opera
in three acts by Kurt Weill
. Caspar Neher
wrote the German libretto
after the parable
Der afrikanische Rechtspruch (The African Verdict) by Johann Gottfried Herder
. Composed from August to October 1931, it was premiered on 10 March 1932 at the Städtische Oper
in Berlin
, Germany
.
The opera dates from the years immediately prior to Weill's emigration
to the United States. Representing "the summation of Weill's career as an opera composer in Europe," it provides insight into the compositional path Weill might have followed had he stayed in Europe. Die Bürgschaft is an opera of broad ambition and scope, far more somber in tone than Weill's prior works for the stage. The work is in part the result of Weill's growing distance from Brecht
during work on Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, leading the composer to turn to Neher, his longtime collaborator as a stage director, for the libretto. Die Bürgschaft is, further, a product of its political climate, dubbed by Weill an opera that "attempts to adopt a position on matters that concern us all," and one of multiple Weill stage works of this period "addressing the problem of moral responsibility within a crumbling culture given over to greed, power, and inhumanity." As Weill wrote in reaction to a review of the opera's premiere, "the job of opera today consists in reaching out beyond the fate of private individuals towards universality." In addition to its sobriety and political undertones, Die Bürgschaft is a musical turning point for Weill. Weill characterized it as "a return to real music-making." Multiple scholars have noted its departure from the "number opera" formula of works such as Die Dreigroschenoper and Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in exchange for a more continuous sound, as well as a minimizing of satire and irony. Certain of these scholars have also noted influences ranging from Handel
and Verdi
in its oratorio
-like features to a detached and unemotional character indebted to Stravinsky
's Oedipus Rex
.
Die Bürgschaft concerns the rise to power of a money-driven dictatorship, bringing with it greed and destruction. The plot bears clear parallels with the rise of Nazism
in Germany at the time, but as suggested above it also acts as a larger social parable dealing with man's role in society. Indeed, the source for Herder's tale Der afrikanische Rechtspruch, on which Neher's libretto was based, is the "Bava Metzia
" section of the Talmud
. Interpreted accordingly, the social parable of Die Bürgschaft is the covenant of rabbinical teaching: the bonds between men, between men and their community, and between forces within the community of men such as the law, the state, and the government.
and Düsseldorf
, before political events led to its removal from the German stage. After two radio revivals of heavily edited, if not mutilated, versions of the opera in 1957 and 1980, respectively, the original version was performed by the Bielefeld Opera
conducted by Rainer Koch and Geoffrey Moull
in 1998. One German critic noted of the Bielefeld production that "all the intendants of Germany's top-ranking opera houses should be required to attend a performance." Soon after, the original version received its American premiere, and first recording, at the 1999 Spoleto Festival USA
in Charleston
, South Carolina
, under Julius Rudel
. Music critic for the Wall Street Journal, Heidi Waleson, wrote of the opera, in a review the Spoleto Festival production, that Die Bürgschaft is "a stunning work that knits together Weill's intense social and political concerns with compositional skill and invention of the highest order."
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 three acts 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...
. Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher was an Austrian-German scenographer and librettist, known principally for his career-long working relationship with Bertolt Brecht.Neher was born in Augsburg...
wrote the German libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
after the parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
Der afrikanische Rechtspruch (The African Verdict) by Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
. Composed from August to October 1931, it was premiered on 10 March 1932 at the Städtische Oper
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
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...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The opera dates from the years immediately prior to Weill's emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to the United States. Representing "the summation of Weill's career as an opera composer in Europe," it provides insight into the compositional path Weill might have followed had he stayed in Europe. Die Bürgschaft is an opera of broad ambition and scope, far more somber in tone than Weill's prior works for the stage. The work is in part the result of Weill's growing distance from Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
during work on Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, leading the composer to turn to Neher, his longtime collaborator as a stage director, for the libretto. Die Bürgschaft is, further, a product of its political climate, dubbed by Weill an opera that "attempts to adopt a position on matters that concern us all," and one of multiple Weill stage works of this period "addressing the problem of moral responsibility within a crumbling culture given over to greed, power, and inhumanity." As Weill wrote in reaction to a review of the opera's premiere, "the job of opera today consists in reaching out beyond the fate of private individuals towards universality." In addition to its sobriety and political undertones, Die Bürgschaft is a musical turning point for Weill. Weill characterized it as "a return to real music-making." Multiple scholars have noted its departure from the "number opera" formula of works such as Die Dreigroschenoper and Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in exchange for a more continuous sound, as well as a minimizing of satire and irony. Certain of these scholars have also noted influences ranging from Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
and Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
in its oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
-like features to a detached and unemotional character indebted to Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's Oedipus Rex
Oedipus rex (opera)
Oedipus rex is an "Opera-oratorio after Sophocles" by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin...
.
Die Bürgschaft concerns the rise to power of a money-driven dictatorship, bringing with it greed and destruction. The plot bears clear parallels with the rise of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in Germany at the time, but as suggested above it also acts as a larger social parable dealing with man's role in society. Indeed, the source for Herder's tale Der afrikanische Rechtspruch, on which Neher's libretto was based, is the "Bava Metzia
Bava Metzia
Bava Metzia is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin , the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called Nezikin , each Bava being a Part or subdivision...
" section of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. Interpreted accordingly, the social parable of Die Bürgschaft is the covenant of rabbinical teaching: the bonds between men, between men and their community, and between forces within the community of men such as the law, the state, and the government.
Performance history
After its 1932 Berlin premiere, Die Bürgschaft was produced in two additional German cities in 1932, WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
and 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...
, before political events led to its removal from the German stage. After two radio revivals of heavily edited, if not mutilated, versions of the opera in 1957 and 1980, respectively, the original version was performed by the Bielefeld Opera
Bielefeld Opera
The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a Dreisparten Haus , offering plays, music , and ballet...
conducted by Rainer Koch and Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull is a professional conductor and pianist.- Education :Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and studied conducting with Kirill Kondrashin, Sergiu Celibidache and Martin Stephani...
in 1998. One German critic noted of the Bielefeld production that "all the intendants of Germany's top-ranking opera houses should be required to attend a performance." Soon after, the original version received its American premiere, and first recording, at the 1999 Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, under Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel is an American opera and orchestra conductor who emigrated to the United States from Austria at the age of 17 and studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He then forged a 35-year career with the New York City Opera, from 1944 to 1979, and was the Music...
. Music critic for the Wall Street Journal, Heidi Waleson, wrote of the opera, in a review the Spoleto Festival production, that Die Bürgschaft is "a stunning work that knits together Weill's intense social and political concerns with compositional skill and invention of the highest order."
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... | Premiere cast, 10 March 1932 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Fritz Stiedry Fritz Stiedry Fritz Stiedry was an Austrian conductor and composer.-Biography:While studying law at the University of Vienna, Stiedry's musical abilities were noticed by Gustav Mahler who appointed him his assistant at the Vienna Court Opera in 1907... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Johann Mattes, a cattle dealer in the town of Urb | 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... |
Hans Eduard Wochinz ('Hans Reinmar') |
| Anna Mattes, Johann's wife | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs... |
| David Orth, a grain dealer in the town of Urb | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
|
| Jakob Orth, David's son | 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... |
|
| Luise Mattes, Johann & Anna's daughter | 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... |
Irene Eisinger |
| The judge of Urb | tenor | |
| The town crier | tenor | |
| Ellis, the commissar | tenor | |
| Gang of three creditors/highwaymen/blackmailers/agents | tenor, baritone, bass | |
| Alto solo | alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,... |
Recordings
- First complete recording: Julius RudelJulius RudelJulius Rudel is an American opera and orchestra conductor who emigrated to the United States from Austria at the age of 17 and studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He then forged a 35-year career with the New York City Opera, from 1944 to 1979, and was the Music...
, Spoleto Festival OrchestraSpoleto Festival USASpoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
, with Ann Panagulias (soprano), Margaret Thompson (mezzo-soprano), Katherine CiesinskiKatherine CiesinskiKatherine Ciesinski is a leading American mezzo-soprano, stage director, and voice professor.Ciesinski was born to Delaware Sports Hall of Famer Roman Ciesinski and Katherine Hansen Ciesinski. She is the sister of opera singer Kristine Ciesinski...
(alto), Joel Sorensen (tenor), Frederick Burchinal (baritone), Dale Travis (bass), The Westminster Choir