Die schweigsame Frau
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Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman.
[edit] Performance history
It was first performed at the Dresden Semperoper on 24 June 1935, conducted by Karl Böhm.
A work of great charm when well cast and performed, it has nevertheless proved one of Strauss's less successful operas. Strauss's association with a Jewish librettist in 1935 Germany provoked a hostile response from Hitler and Goebbels, and even after the war, it has enjoyed relatively few revivals.
It was performed at the Santa Fe Opera in 1987 and 1991, also at Garsington Opera in 2003.
[edit] Roles
| Premiere, June 24, 1935 (Karl Böhm) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Sir Morosus, a retired admiral | bass | Friedrich Plaschke |
| Widow Zimmerlein, his housekeeper | contralto | |
| Schneidebart, a barber | high baritone | Mathieu Ahlersmeyer |
| Henry Morosus, nephew of the admiral | high tenor | Martin Kremer |
| Aminta, his wife | coloratura soprano | Maria Cebotari |
| Isotta, opera singer | coloratura soprano | Erna Sack |
| Carlotta, opera singer | mezzo-soprano | |
| Morbio, opera singer | baritone | |
| Vanuzzi, opera singer | deep bass | |
| Farfallo, opera singer | deep bass | |
| The parrot | spoken | |
| Other actors, neighbors | ||
[edit] Recordings
There is a classic recording with Karl Böhm, the original conductor, and the Vienna Philharmonic. The cast is Fritz Wunderlich (Henry Morosus), Hans Hotter (Sir Morosus), Georgine von Milinkovic (the housekeeper), Hermann Prey (Barber), Hilde Gueden (Aminta), Pierette Alaire (Isotta), Hetty Plümacher (Carlotta), Josef Knapp (Morbio), Karl Dönch (Vanuzzi), and Alois Pernerstorfer (Farfallo) (compact disc DG 445 335-2)
And there is another recording with Marek Janowski conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden with the Dresden State Opera Chorus and a cast including Theo Adam, Annelies Burmeister, Wolfgang Schöne, Eberhard Büchner, Jeanette Scovotti, Carola Nossek, Trudeliese Schmidt, Klaus Hirte, Werner Haseleu, Helmut Berger-Tuna and Johannes Kemter (compact disc CMS5660332).
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