Karl V

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Karl V is an opera, described as a Bühnenwerk mit Musik ('stage work with music') by Ernst Krenek, his opus 73. The German libretto is by the composer.

This first of twelve-tone operas tells the story of the Emperor's life in a series of flashbacks on a split stage which the composer much later ^[1]acknowledged as 'cinematic' in style; there is also some use of Sprechstimme.

[edit] History

Titian's Last Judgment, owned by the emperor (depicted in a white robe at the upper left) and called for as a stage backdrop. (El Prado)

Originally commissioned in 1930 by the Vienna State Opera for performance in 1934, this much anticipated work^[2] became a cause celebre when the production was cancelled following Krenek's banning in Germany by the Nazis government. A concert suite for soprano, (Fragmente aus dem Bühnenwerk Karl V, op. 73a) was performed in 1936, and the opera was staged for the first time on 22 June 1938 at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, by which time Krenek had fled overseas. Karl V has apparently still not been staged in Krenek's adopted homeland; in 1954 he revised the score for the first revival in Germany.

[edit] Roles

• Emperor Karl V (baritone)
• Juana, his mother (contralto)
• Eleonore, his sister (soprano)
• Ferdinand, his brother (tenor)
• Isabella, his wife (soprano)
• Juan de Regla, his confessor (speaking role)
• Henri Mathys, his physician
• Francisco Borgia, a Jesuit, formerly the Empress' steward (tenor)
• Alarcon, captain of the Emperor (speaking role)
• Alba, captain of the Emperor (speaking role)
• Frundsberg, captain of the Emperor (speaking role)
• Imperial chancellor
• Franz I, king of France (tenor)
• Frangipani (tenor)
• Clemens VII (speaking role)
• A cardinal (speaking role)
• Luther (baritone)
• A follower of Luther (tenor)
• Moritz von Sachsen, a protestant prince (speaking role)
• Sultan Soliman (bass)
• His astrologer (tenor)

[edit] Recordings

Krenek: Karl V - Bonn Beethovenhalle Orchestra

• Conductor: Marc Soustrot
• Principal singers: Wolf-Dieter Streicher, David Pittman-Jennings, Martina Borst, Tom Sol, Werner Hollweg, Franziska Hirzel, Andreas Conrad, Christoph Bantzer, Anne Gjevang, Axel Medrok, Florian Mock
• Recording date: October 23, 2001
• Label: MD&G Records - B00005NSOB (CD)

Krenek: Karl V - Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna

• Conductor: Gerd Albrecht
• Principal singers: Frank Hoffmann, Hanna Schwarz, Helmut Melchert, Horst Hiestermann, Kristine Ciesinski,
• Recording date: September 19, 2000
• Label: Orfeo D'or - B00004YLCJ (CD)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Interview with Will Ogden in Krenek 1974, p145
2. ^ The work is mentioned in almost any issue of Modern Music from 1933-1935.

[edit] Sources

• Ernst Krenek, Selbstdarsellung, Zürich 1948.
• Ernst Krenek, Horizons Circled: Reflections on My Music, University of California Press 1974.
• Charlotte Purkis, "Karl V", in: Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, London 1992. ISBN 0-333-73432-7
• John L. Stewart, Ernst Krenek: The Man and His Music, University of California Press 1991.

[edit] External links

Titian's Last Judgment, called for as a backdrop