Eli (opera)

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

Eli, Op. 7, is a German-language 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]

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
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 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Steffens, Prof. Walter". komponistenlexikon.de (in German). Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b "5. Akt: Oper". Festschrift (PDF) (in German). Theater- und Konzertfreunde. November 2014. p. 126. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Nelly Sachs / Eli / Ein Legendenspiel vom Leiden Israels. 1943" (in German). Suhrkamp. Retrieved 28 September 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". Die Zeit (in German). 10 March 1967. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Ruppel, Karl Heinz (1967). "Walter Steffens: Eli". The World of Music (in German) (1). Bärenreiter: 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