Eli (opera)

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Eli
Opera by Walter Steffens
LanguageGerman
Based onPlay by Nelly Sachs
Premiere
1967 (1967)
Opernhaus Dortmund

Eli, Op. 7, is an opera in three acts with music by Walter Steffens to a libretto based on a play by Nelly Sachs. The world premiere was in 1967 at the Opernhaus Dortmund.[1]

History[]

Opernhaus Dortmund

Eli was a commission from the city of Dortmund[2] as the first world premiere to be performed at the new Opernhaus Dortmund which was inaugurated in 1966.[3] The composer wrote the libretto[2] for the opera in three acts (12 scenes) based on a 1943 mystery play by Nelly Sachs.[4] The city of Dortmund awards a literature prize in her name, the Nelly Sachs Prize.[3] Her play was first entitled Eli: Ein Legendenspiel vom Leiden Israels (Eli: A mystery play of the sufferings of Israel), later changed to Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel ...[5] It was premiered by Theater Dortmund on 14 March 1962.[4] The opera was published by Bärenreiter.[2]

The action is in single episodes, without a plot. It is set in a Polish village right after World War II, where a Jewish boy, Eli, was slain by a German soldier during a pogrom, and is remembered in various ways.[6] Walter Steffens, a resident of Dortmund,[7] worked on the composition from 1964 to 1966.[4][1]

The world premiere of the opera was on 5 March 1967 in the Opernhaus Dortmund,[5][8][7] directed by Hans Hartleb, with Hainer Hill as designer of stage and costumes, and Wilhelm Schüchter conducting.[1][5]

Roles[]

The first performance was at the Opernhaus Dortmund on 5 March 1967, conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter. Many singers take more than one role:[1]

Role Voice type Performer
Michael heldenbaritone
A Baker / A Woman / An Old Woman dramatic soprano
Ester / The Mother coloratura soprano
A Young Woman coloratura soprano
A Girl / A Woman soprano
Ester / The Mother coloratura soprano
A Washing Woman dramatic contralto
Second Tree contralto
Jossele / First Voice / Scherenschleifer / Beggar / A Man high lyric tenor Alfred Vökt[9]
Ein Verwachsener tenor
Mendel tenor
First Bricklayer / Voice of a Star / A Chimney tenor
The Old Bricklayer / A Man / The Man With the Mirror Glass / A Rabbi serious bass-baritone
Second Bricklayer baritone
A Being / A Baker low bass
Samuel silent role
Second Voice / A Blind Girl / A Carpenter / A Child / A Postman / First Tree / A Doctor / A Voice speaking roles
Brick layers / Praying Group / Voice from the Chimney / Voices of the Fingers / Voice of the Lecturer's Finger / Choir in the orchestra choir
Rough Man's Voice / Hissing Sounds / A Finger / A Long Bony Finger / Voice of the Lecturer's Finger tape

Reception[]

A reviewer from Süddeutsche Zeitung noted that Steffens transports the poetry to a different level of emotional intensity.[8] He described the vocal and instrumental lines as expressive and melodic ("Expressiv-melodische Diktion"), and the electro-acoustic parts as unreal voices.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Steffens, Walter. "Werke / Works". walter-steffens.de (in German). Retrieved 28 Sep 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Steffens, Prof. Walter". komponistenlexikon.de (in German). Retrieved 29 Sep 2020.
  3. ^ a b 5. Akt: Oper (PDF). Festschrift (in German). Theater- und Konzertfreunde. November 2014. p. 126. Retrieved 28 Sep 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Nelly Sachs / Eli / Ein Legendenspiel vom Leiden Israels. 1943" (in German). Suhrkamp. Retrieved 28 Sep 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Griffel, Margaret Ross (2018). "Eli". Operas in German: A Dictionary. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 122. ISBN 9781442247970.
  6. ^ Sauer, Heike. Traum - Wirklichkeit - Utopie (in German). Waxmann Verlag. pp. 97–102. ISBN 978-3-83-095235-0.
  7. ^ a b "Freude ist verboten / "Eli" – eine Oper von Walter Steffens nach Nelly Sachs in Dortmund". walter-steffens.de (in German). 10 March 1967. Retrieved 28 Sep 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Ruppel, Karl Heinz (1967). "Walter Steffens: Eli". The World of Music (in German). Bärenreiter (1): 8. ISBN 9783830952350. JSTOR 24318774.
  9. ^ Kutsch, K. J.; Riemens, Leo (2012). "Vökt, Alfred". Großes Sängerlexikon (in German) (4th ed.). Walter de Gruyter. p. 4919. ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.

Further reading[]

  • Christine Longère: Zu den Opern (in German) walter-steffens.de
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