Anna Kraus

Anna Kraus, Op. 30 is a radio opera in one act by composer Franz Reizenstein. The work uses an English language libretto by Christopher Hassall which tells the tragic tale of a German woman who is forced to leave her country due to oppression from the Nazi regime, as the Nazis did not like her political views.[1] The opera was commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation following the popular success of Reizenstein's 1951 cantata Voices of Night.[2] The opera premiered on 25 July 1952 on BBC Third Programme with conductor Norman Del Mar leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra and singers Victoria Sladen (as Anna) and Lloyd Strauss-Smith (as Pavel).[3][4] It was submitted by the BBC later that year for the Prix Italia.[5] Critical reaction to the work was mixed. The New Statesman described the work as "engaging" and a "worthwhile experiment".[4] The Annual Register wrote that the opera "suffered from the composer's emotion being too closely engaged in the sufferings of the heroine, a refugee from political oppression".[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Edmund Burke (1952). "none". The Annual Register (London: Rivington Publishing) 194: 385.
  2. ↑ Lewis Stevens (2003). Composers of classical music of Jewish descent. London: Vallentine Mitchell. p. 296.
  3. ↑ National Music Council of Great Britain (1952). "Musicians Union'". The Music Yearbook (London: Macmillan Publishers) 1: 649.
  4. 1 2 "none". New Statesman (Statesman and Nation Publishing Co.) 44: 133. 1952.
  5. ↑ Denby Richards (1952). "On the Air... Studio Opera, Italian Prize Entry". Music and Musicians 1 (1): 29.
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