König Hirsch

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Hans Werner Henze

Operas Boulevard Solitude (1952) König Hirsch (1956) Der Prinz von Homburg (1960) Elegy for Young Lovers (1961) Der junge Lord (1965) The Bassarids (1966) Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung der Natascha Ungeheuer (1971) We Come to the River (1976) The English Cat (1983) Das verratene Meer (1990) Venus und Adonis (1997) L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe (2003) Phaedra (2007) Gisela! (2010)
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König Hirsch (in English, The Stag King) is an opera in three acts by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Heinz von Cramer after a fable by Carlo Gozzi.

Performance history

It was first performed in a shortened version by the Städtische Oper Berlin on 23 September 1956 in the Theater des Westens. It was rewritten as Il re cervo, oder Die Irrfahrten der Wahrheit and performed at the Staatstheater, Kassel on 10 March 1963. This version was also produced at the Santa Fe Opera on 4 August 1965. The complete work was given for the first time on 5 May 1985 at the Staatsoper in Stuttgart.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 23 September 1956 (Conductor: Hermann Scherchen)
The king (Leandro)	tenor	Sándor Kónya
The governor (Tartaglia)	bass-baritone	Leopold Clam
The maiden (Costanza)	soprano	Helga Pilarczyk
The preceptor	bass	Tomislav Neralic
Checco	tenor	Helmut Krebs
Coltellino	tenor	Martin Vantin
Scollatella I	soprano	Nora Jungwirth
Scollatella II	soprano
Scollatella III	mezzo-soprano
Scollatella IV	contralto
Woman in black	contralto
Statue I	soprano
Statue II	soprano
The stag	mime
Voices in the forest, courtiers, animals, huntsmen, soldiers, city dwellers (chorus)

Synopsis

The king, who has been cast into the forest as a child by the governor, returns to his kingdom. However he is tricked by the governor and forced to go back to the forest where he turns into a stag. Eventually he goes back once again, the governor is killed, and he is transformed again into human form.

Instrumentation

woodwinds: 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon
Brass: 4 horns, 3 trumpets (3rd doubling on piccolo trumpet in C [ad lib.]), 2 trombones, tuba
percussion (7 players): triangle, tubular bells, suspended cymbals, pair of cymbals, tamtam, 3 tom-toms, tambourine, snare drum, military drum, bass drum (with or without cymbals), claves, maracas, legno, Gegenschlagstöcke, rumba bells, glockenspiel, xylophone
Other: harp, piano, celesta, organ (ad lib.), harpsichord, accordion, guitar, mandolin
On-stage Band: flute, clarinet, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, percussion: triangle, small bells, tubular bells, suspended cymbals, pair of cymbals, tambourine, 2 snare drums, military drum, bass drum, glockenspiel, vibraphone, mandolin, celesta, organ, violin

References

Amadeus Almanac, accessed 31 October 2008
Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5

v t e Hans Werner Henze

Operas	Boulevard Solitude (1951) König Hirsch (1955) Der Prinz von Homburg (1958) Elegy for Young Lovers (Elegie für junge Liebende) (1961) The Bassarids (Die Bassariden) (1965) Der junge Lord (1964) El Cimarrón (1971) Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung der Natascha Ungeheuer (1971) We Come to the River (1976) The English Cat (1983) Das verratene Meer (1989) Venus und Adonis (1995) L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe (2003) Phaedra (2007) Gisela! (2010)

Symphonies	No. 1 (Kammerkonzert 05) No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10

Other compositions	Undine (1957) Das Floß der Medusa (1968) Compases para preguntas ensimismadas (1970) Tristan (1973) Voices (1973) Requiem: 9 geistliche Konzerte (1993) Sebastian im Traum (2004)

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