Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen was the first piece in a triptych of one-act operas by Hindemith influenced by Expressionism. The artist and writer Oskar Kokoschka wrote the play of the same name in 1907 and modified it several times.[3] Hindemith experienced World War I as a soldier in Belgium and Northern France. In a second wave of expressionism after the war, he became interested in the movement and composed the work in 1919.[1] He based it on the last version of the play, which he set with only few cuts.[3] The musicologist Joel Haney notes that he "attempts to give mythic expression to a violent struggle between the sexes".[4]
The conductor Leon Botstein describes the work as "more symphonic than operatic",[7] structured in four distinct sections, equivalent to the movements of a symphony. Hindemith draws on models from Richard Strauss regarding instrumentation, from Franz Schreker's "opulence", and Richard Wagner's lyricism, at times in irony, for example when the second theme alludes to Tristan und Isolde.[7] The musicologist Giselher Schubert summarizes: "Direct expression and deliberate formal design are not at odds in this expressionism, but rather rely on each other."[8]
The premiere resulted in a succès de scandale: while some critics appreciated "a composer of enormous talent and promise", negative responses established Hindemith’s "reputation as a young upstart".[7]
