Die Prinzessin Girnara
Die Prinzessin Girnara (The Princess Girnara), Op. 27,[1] is an opera in two acts by Egon Wellesz to a libretto by Jakob Wassermann which he based on his own text. It was the composer's first opera. The world premiere was performed on 14 May 1921 simultaneously at the Oper Frankfurt and the Opernhaus Hannover. A revised version was first performed at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1928.[2]
| Die Prinzessin Girnara | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Egon Wellesz | |
| Librettist | Jakob Wassermann |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Wassermann's Die Prinzessin Girnara: Weltspiel und Legende |
| Premiere | |
History
Egon Wellesz was prompted to compose his first opera[1] by listening to a reading by Jakob Wassermann from his then unpublished Die Prinzessin Girnara: Weltspiel und Legende in summer 1918. Based on an Indian legend,[3]: 111 it was a play not intended for the stage, but to be read. It was published by Ed. Strache in Warnsdorf in 1919,[4] as the conclusion of his novel Christian Wahnschaffe.[3]: 111
Wassermann supplied a libretto, which Wellesz described as two scenes to be played in parallel: a Weltspiel (world play) and a legend.[4] The work was conceived as undramatic.[3]: 111 Wellesz worked on the composition from 1918 to 1919.[5][6][7] The opera was called a Mysterium in 2 Akten, a mystery play in two acts.[7]
The opera was published by Universal Edition in 1920.[5] The duration is given as 120 minutes.[8] The world premiere was on 14 May 1921 simultaneously at the Oper Frankfurt,[1] conducted by Eugen Szenkar, and at the Opernhaus Hannover.[1][7] A revised version was first performed at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1928.[2]
Roles
The leading roles and voice types are as follows,[9] with performers of the Hannover premiere, conducted by Richard Lert,[3] and of a revised version at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1928.[2]
| Role | Voice type | Performers Hannover[3]: 112 | Performers Mannheim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buddha | baritone | ||
| The King | bass | ||
| Princess Girnara | soprano | Luise Schmidt | Gertrud Bindernagel[2] |
| Prince Siho | tenor | Adolf Loeltgen[10] | |
| Magier | bass | ||
| Three demons | tenor, baritone, bass | ||
| several small roles and chorus | Boys' choir, SATB | ||
References
- "Egon Wellesz (1885–1974) / List of Compositions". Universal Edition. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- Bindernagel Gertrud operissimo.com
- Dörte Schmidt, Brigitta Weber: Keine Experimentierkunst: Musikleben an Städtischen Theatern in der Weimarer Republik Springer 2017, ISBN 978-3-47-603567-7, pp. 111–114
- Die Prinzessin Girnara, zulu-ebooks.com
- "Die Prinzessin Girnara: Weltspiel und Legende" (in German). Universal Edition. 1920. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- McKee, Albaigh. "Egon Wellesz". holocaustmusic.ort.org. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- "Die Prinzessin Girnara". busoni-nachlass.org/de. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- "Egon Wellesz: Die Prinzessin Girnara" (in German). Universal Edition. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- "Die Prinzessin Girnara". theatertexte.de (in German). Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- Loeltgen Adolf operissimo.com