Die tote Stadt
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Die tote Stadt (German for The Dead City) is an opera in Three Acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by Paul Schott (a pseudonym of the composer’s father Julius Korngold) and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, based on Bruges-la-Morte, a short novel by Georges Rodenbach.
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[edit] Characters
Major characters
- Paul (tenor)
- Marie/Marietta (soprano)
- Frank (baritone)
- Brigitta (mezzo-soprano)
- Fritz/Pierrot (baritone)
Minor characters
- Gastone/Victorin (tenor)
- Juliette (soprano)
- Lucienne (soprano)
[edit] History
When Die tote Stadt had its premiere on December 4, 1920, Korngold was just 23 years old with two short one-act operas, Der Ring des Polykrates and Violanta, already to his name.
The success of these earlier works was so great that Die tote Stadt was subject to a fierce competition among German theaters for the right to the world premiere.
In the end, an unusual double premiere was arranged and the opera opened simultaneously in Hamburg and Cologne. Die tote Stadt’s theme of overcoming the loss of a loved one resonated with contemporary audiences of the 1920s who had just come through the trauma and grief of World War I, and this undoubtedly fueled the opera’s popularity.
Die tote Stadt was one of the greatest hits of the 1920s. Within two years of its premiere it had circled the globe and even received several performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
But the work was banned by the Nazi Régime because of Korngold’s Jewish ancestry and since the end of World War II it has fallen into obscurity, with only a few sporadic revivals.
[edit] Music
Korngold’s score is lush and beautiful, somewhat of a cross between the styles of Richard Strauss and Giacomo Puccini. He uses a huge Strauss-sized orchestra, but fills Die tote Stadt with an abundance of gorgeous and memorable melodies à la Puccini.
The two most famous excerpts from the opera are "Glück das mir verblieb" "Marietta's lied" (in context a duet for tenor and soprano but usually presented in concert as a soprano aria), and the lovely aria for baritone, “Mein sehnen, mein wähnen.”
On the whole, the music is consistently of very high quality, certainly at the level of many more frequently performed Strauss operas. The most likely reason for the opera’s neglect is the extreme difficulty of the two lead roles, Paul and Marietta.
A tenor who would attempt the part of Paul must have the stamina to stay on stage and sing almost constantly for two hours over a gigantic orchestra. But unlike Wagner’s tenor parts, which demand great stamina but not many high notes, the role of Paul in Die Tote Stadt is filled with many high B-flats and A-naturals, making the part nearly impossible to cast.
The high tessitura of Marietta's demanding role could probably be navigated by any soprano who sings the Empress in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten.
[edit] Plot
The plot of Die tote Stadt is somewhat freely adapted from Georges Rodenbach’s 19th-century novel, Bruges la Morte. It takes place in Bruges, Belgium around the end of the 19th century. The main character is Paul, a younger middle-class man, whose young wife Marie has recently died.
When the opera opens, Paul cannot come to terms with the sad reality of his wife’s death. He keeps a “Temple of Memories” in her honor, including paintings, photographs and a lock of her hair. When his friend Frank pays him a visit at his house and urges him to honor Marie by moving on with his life, Paul flies into a rant, and insists that Marie “still lives.” He tells Frank that he has met a woman on the streets of Bruges who exactly resembles Marie (indeed, Paul thinks that it is Marie) and invited her back to his home.
Soon, the woman, Marietta, a young and beautiful dancer, appears for her rendezvous with Paul. They talk, she is put off by his odd behavior, but persists in trying to interest him in her charms—she sings and dances seductively, but eventually gets bored and leaves. Paul meanwhile is driven to a state of extreme anxiety.
Torn between his loyalty to Marie and his interest in Marietta he collapses into a chair and begins to hallucinate. He sees Marie’s ghost step out of her portrait and urge him not to forget her, but then the vision of Marie changes and tells Paul to go and move on with his life.
Act II takes place entirely in Paul’s continuing vision. After a series of visions in which his pursuit of Marietta alienates him from all his remaining friends, the act ends with Marietta finally overcoming his resistance and leading him offstage locked in a passionate embrace. Again, all that takes place is in Paul’s imagination.
Act III begins with Paul’s vision continuing. Back in his house, living with Marietta, he quarrels with her. She gets fed up with his quirks and continuing obsession with Marie and starts to taunt him by dancing seductively while stroking his dead wife’s hair. In a rage, Paul grabs the lock of hair and strangles Marietta. Holding her dead body he exclaims “Now she is exactly like Marie.” Then he snaps out of his dream. Astonished that Marietta’s body is nowhere to be found he has barely had time to collect his thoughts when his maid informs him that Marietta has come back to pick up her umbrella which she left in the house when she departed a few minutes ago. With the shock of the traumatic dream still fresh in his mind, Paul finally resolves to leave Bruges, let his dead wife rest in peace, and continue his life. In a touching conclusion, with his friend Frank at his side, he vows to start his life anew and slowly leaves behind his house and his “Temple of Memories,” for the last time.
[edit] Recordings
A few recordings have been made of Die tote Stadt, most notably the 1975 version on RCA, with Carol Neblett, René Kollo and Hermann Prey, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf (RCA CD #87767(2)).
[edit] Related Media
(These films used Glück das mir verblieb)
- La Paroma (1974, directed by Daniel Schmid)
- Aria (1987, directed by Bruce Beresford)
- Slaves of New York (1989, directed by James Ivory)
- The Big Lebowski (1998, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen)
Also, the video game Silent Hill 2 seems to have been partially inspired by this opera. It follows James Sunderland, a man whose wife, Mary, has recently died. James, still unable to get over her death, encounters the mysterious Maria, a teasing, seductive dancer who is Mary's double. He then finds himself pulled between his growing attraction for Maria and his unwillingness to let go of Mary.
