Karl V. (opera)
Karl V. | |
---|---|
Neues Deutsches Theater , Prague |
Karl V. is an opera, described as a Bühnenwerk mit Musik (stage work with music) by Ernst Krenek, his opus 73. The German libretto is by the composer. His student Virginia Seay collaborated with him on the English translation of the libretto.[1]
The first completed full-length
twelve-tone opera[2] tells the story of Emperor Charles V's life in a series of flashbacks on a split stage, devices which the composer only much later recognized as "cinematic" in style;[3] there is also some use of Sprechstimme
.
History
Originally commissioned in 1930 by the
Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, by which time Krenek had fled overseas. In 1954 he revised the score for the first revival in Germany. A fully staged production of the opera was performed in the Festspielhaus of the Bregenzer Festspiele
in the summer of 2008, and is available on DVD.
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 22 June 1938[7] Conductor: Karl Rankl |
---|---|---|
Emperor Charles V | baritone | Pavel Ludikar |
Juana, his mother | contralto | Lydia Kindermann |
Eleonore, his sister | soprano | Martha Cuno |
Ferdinand, his brother | tenor | Kurt Baum |
Isabella, his wife | soprano | |
Juan de Regla, his confessor | speaking role | |
Henri Mathys, his physician | ||
Jesuit , formerly the Empress' steward
|
tenor | |
Alarcon, captain of the Emperor | speaking role | |
Alba, captain of the Emperor | speaking role | |
Frundsberg, captain of the Emperor | speaking role | |
Imperial chancellor | ||
Francis I, king of France | tenor | |
Frangipani | tenor | |
Clement VII | speaking role | |
A cardinal | speaking role | |
Luther | baritone | |
A follower of Luther | tenor | |
Moritz von Sachsen, a Protestant prince | speaking role | |
Sultan Soliman | bass | |
His astrologer | tenor |
Plot
This article needs a plot summary. (March 2024) |
Recordings
Krenek: Karl V. – Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna
- Conductor: Gerd Albrecht
- Principal singers: Frank Hoffmann, Hanna Schwarz, Helmut Melchert, Horst Hiestermann, Kristine Ciesinski
- Recording date: 14 August 1980
- Label: Philips 6769 084 (2 LPs 106 minutes); later on Orfeo d'Or B00004YLCJ (CD)
Krenek: Karl V. – Bonn Beethovenhalle Orchestra
- Conductor: Marc Soustrot
- Principal singers: Wolf-Dieter Streicher, David Pittman-Jennings, Martina Borst, Tom Sol, Werner Hollweg, Franziska Hirzel, Andreas Conrad, Christoph Bantzer, Anne Gjevang, Axel Medrok, Florian Mock
- Recording date: 14 October 2000
- Label: MD&G Records – B00005NSOB (2 CDs 141 minutes)
References
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-520-07014-1.
- ^ Schoenberg's Von heute auf morgen (1928) is in one act.
- ^ Ogdon 1972, 104, reprinted in Krenek 1974, 145.
- ^ The work is mentioned in almost any issue of Modern Music from 1933–1935.
- ^ Zenck 1985, 131.
- ^ Ogdon 1972, 103.
- ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Karl V, 22 June 1938". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
Sources
- Ogdon, Will, and Ernst Krenek. 1972. "Conversation with Ernst Krenek". Perspectives of New Music 10, no. 2 (Spring–Summer): 102–110.
- Zenck, Claudia Maurer. "The Ship Loaded with Faith and Hope: Krenek's Karl V. and the Viennese Politics of the Thirties". The Musical Quarterly 71, no. 2 (1985): 116–134.
Further reading
- Krenek, Ernst. Selbstdarstellung. Zürich: Atlantis-Verlag, 1948.
- Krenek, Ernst. Horizons Circled: Reflections on My Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974.
- Purkis, Charlotte. "Karl V.", in: ISBN 0-333-73432-7
- Stewart, John L. Ernst Krenek: The Man and His Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. ISBN 0-520-07014-3
- Tregear, Peter John. "Musical Style and Political Allegory in Krenek's Karl V". Cambridge Opera Journal 13, no. 1 (March 2001): 55–80.
External links
- Media related to Karl V. (Krenek) at Wikimedia Commons