Hagith (opera)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hagith is an opera in one act by Karol Szymanowski. The German libretto was written by the composer, after discussions with Felix Dormann, a Viennese poet. Szymanowski wrote the opera in 1912-1913 while living in Vienna, Austria. Musically and dramatically, Hagith has been compared to Richard Strauss's Salome.

The premiere was on May 13, 1922 in Warsaw, Poland, and it has been produced only four times. Szymanowski commissioned a Polish translation of the text, but the project did not go through.

[edit] Synopsis

Priests tell King David, now an old man, that the love of the young girl Hagith will bring him more life. But Hagith and Solomon, the king's son, love each other, and Hagith refuses to sacrifice herself for the king. After the death of the king, Hagith is stoned to death.