Von heute auf morgen
Encyclopedia
Von heute auf morgen is a one act opera
composed by Arnold Schoenberg
, to a German libretto
by "Max Blonda," the pseudonym of Gertrud Schoenberg, the composer's wife. It is the composer's opus
32.
The opera was composed at the end of 1928 (finished on the first day of 1929), and was premiered in Frankfurt
on 1 February 1930, with William Steinberg
conducting Herbert Graf
's production. It was the first twelve-tone
opera, and Schoenberg's only comedy. The libretto may indeed be a contemporary comedy of manners, but the music is complex, the angular vocal-lines and large orchestra creating a frightening whirlwind of fury. In fact, the composer described his music in this opera: "The music is ugly, as always in my compositions; it corresponds with my artistic and spiritual disposition."
Schoenberg also wrote: "I have proved in my operas Von heute auf morgen and Moses und Aron
that every expression and characterization can be produced with the style of free dissonance," in contrast to Alban Berg
, who believed that a contrast with tonal
elements needed to be introduced for certain reasons, and did so in his (vastly more successful) opera Wozzeck
.
The husband and wife have returned from an evening out and recall the earlier flirtations of the night. During the conversation, the wife gradually changes into a lovely negligee. Their small child interrupts, and is put back to bed. The singer, from earlier in the evening, telephones, making the husband jealous. The wife changes into a cocktail dress, then back into the simple house-dress seen at the start of the opera.
In the morning, the singer and the friend arrive for an early visit, and are served coffee. They champion all the latest trends in society. When they leave, the husband and wife realize, over breakfast, that their own relationship is based on love, not the mere latest fashion.
Instrumentation
The score calls for: 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, 4 clarinet
s, 2 bassoon
s, 3 saxophone
s, 2 horns, 2 trumpet
s, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, percussion, mandolin
, guitar
, harp
, piano
, celesta
, strings
. The full score is available from Schott Music
.
(with a pre-credits sequence showing the orchestra
tuning up), the film was one of three films by Straub and Huillet based on Schoenberg works. Earlier, they had directed a film version of his unfinished opera Moses und Aron
.
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...
composed by Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, to a 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...
by "Max Blonda," the pseudonym of Gertrud Schoenberg, the composer's wife. It is the composer's opus
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
32.
The opera was composed at the end of 1928 (finished on the first day of 1929), and was premiered in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
on 1 February 1930, with William Steinberg
William Steinberg
William Steinberg was a German-American conductor.- Biography :Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, conducting his own choral/ orchestral composition at age 13...
conducting Herbert Graf
Herbert Graf
Herbert Grafton was an Austrian-American opera producer. Born in Vienna in 1904, he was the son of Max Graf , the Austrian author, critic, musicologist and member of Sigmund Freud's circle of friends...
's production. It was the first twelve-tone
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
opera, and Schoenberg's only comedy. The libretto may indeed be a contemporary comedy of manners, but the music is complex, the angular vocal-lines and large orchestra creating a frightening whirlwind of fury. In fact, the composer described his music in this opera: "The music is ugly, as always in my compositions; it corresponds with my artistic and spiritual disposition."
Schoenberg also wrote: "I have proved in my operas Von heute auf morgen and Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German libretto was by the composer after the Book of Exodus.-Compositional history:...
that every expression and characterization can be produced with the style of free dissonance," in contrast 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...
, who believed that a contrast with tonal
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
elements needed to be introduced for certain reasons, and did so in his (vastly more successful) opera 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
In 1930, after the Frankfurt premiere, the composer himself conducted a radio broadcast performance in Berlin. After that, the opera was never performed again during Schoenberg's lifetime. Recent revivals include four performances at the Leipzig Opera in 2009.Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 1 February 1930 (Conductor: William Steinberg William Steinberg William Steinberg was a German-American conductor.- Biography :Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, conducting his own choral/ orchestral composition at age 13... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Die Frau / The Wife | 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... |
Else Gentner-Fischer Else Gentner-Fischer Else Gentner-Fischer was a German operatic soprano. Although she appeared in operas internationally, her career was mainly centered at the Frankfurt Opera where she was a resident artist from 1907-1935. She excelled in the dramatic soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim for her portrayal... |
| Die Freundin / The Friend | soprano | Elisabeth Friedrich |
| Der Sänger / The Singer | 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... |
Anton Maria Topitz |
| Der Mann / The Husband | 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... |
Benno Ziegler |
| The Child | speaking role |
Synopsis
- Place: A modern living room/bedroom.
The husband and wife have returned from an evening out and recall the earlier flirtations of the night. During the conversation, the wife gradually changes into a lovely negligee. Their small child interrupts, and is put back to bed. The singer, from earlier in the evening, telephones, making the husband jealous. The wife changes into a cocktail dress, then back into the simple house-dress seen at the start of the opera.
In the morning, the singer and the friend arrive for an early visit, and are served coffee. They champion all the latest trends in society. When they leave, the husband and wife realize, over breakfast, that their own relationship is based on love, not the mere latest fashion.
InstrumentationInstrumentation (music)In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
The score calls for: 2 fluteWestern concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 4 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, 3 saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, 2 horns, 2 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, percussion, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
. The full score is available from Schott Music
Schott Music
Schott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
.
Recordings
- Robert CraftRobert CraftRobert Lawson Craft is an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which resulted in a number of recordings and books.-Life:...
conducting the Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, with sopranos Erika Schmidt and Heather HarperHeather HarperHeather Harper CBE is a Northern Ireland-born British operatic soprano.She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1930, where she received her early musical training...
, tenor Herbert Schachtschneider and baritone Derrik Olsen. Recorded 1964. Released 1971 by Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. - Michael GielenMichael Gielen-Professional career:Gielen was born in Dresden, Germany, to opera director Josef Gielen. Through his mother, Rose, he is the nephew of Eduard Steuermann and Salka Steuermann Viertel. He began his career as a pianist in Buenos Aires, where he studied with Erwin Leuchter and gave an early...
conducting the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, with sopranos Christine Whittlesey and Claudia Barainsky, tenor Ryszard Karczykowski and baritone Richard Salter. Recorded October 1996. Released 1997 by cpoClassic Produktion OsnabrückClassic Produktion Osnabrück is a record label founded in 1986 by Georg Ortmann and several others. Its declared mission is to fill niches in the recorded classical repertory, with an emphasis on romantic, late romantic and 20th-century music...
.
Film version
The 1996 recording was the basis for a film version (Du jour au lendemain) directed by the French filmmaking duo of Daniele Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub. Photographed on a stage in black-and-whiteBlack-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
(with a pre-credits sequence showing the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
tuning up), the film was one of three films by Straub and Huillet based on Schoenberg works. Earlier, they had directed a film version of his unfinished opera Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German libretto was by the composer after the Book of Exodus.-Compositional history:...
.