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Der Besuch der alten Dame (opera)

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Der Besuch der alten Dame
Opera by Gottfried von Einem
TranslationThe Visit of the Old Lady
LibrettistFriedrich Dürrenmatt
LanguageGerman
Based onDürrenmatt's 1956 play The Visit
Premiere
23 March 1971 (1971-03-23)

Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit of the Old Lady) is an opera in three acts by Gottfried von Einem to a German libretto by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, based on his 1956 play of the same name.

Performance history

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The work was first performed at the Vienna State Opera on 23 May 1971, with Horst Stein conducting and Christa Ludwig in the principal role.[1] The German premiere was staged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 1 March 1972. Further productions followed in Strasbourg and Karl Marx Stadt in 1973, and in Stockholm in 1976.[2] The work had its United States premiere on 25 October 1972 at the San Francisco Opera in a production directed by Francis Ford Coppola and using an English translation by Norman Tucker.

Recent productions include a run of five performances at the Görlitz Theatre, Germany, in May/June 2010.[3]

Roles

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Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role[4] Voice type[4] Premiere cast, 23 May 1971[5]
Conductor: Horst Stein
Claire Zachanassian, multi-millionairess mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig
Her husband No. 7 actor Wolfgang Peschel
Her husband No. 9 tenor Elmar Brenneis
The butler character tenor Heinz Zednik
Toby, Roby, chewing chewing-gum actors Erich Trachtenberg, Klaus Peters
Koby, Loby, blind tenors Karl Terkal, Fritz Sperlbauer
Alfred Ill high baritone Eberhard Wächter
His wife lyric soprano Emmy Loose
His daughter mezzo-soprano Ana Higueras-Aragon
His son tenor Ewald Aichberger
The mayor heldentenor Hans Beirer
The preacher bass-baritone Manfred Jungwirth
The teacher baritone Hans Hotter
The doctor baritone Siegfried Rudolf Frese
The policeman bass-baritone Alois Pernerstorfer
First woman soprano Laurence Dutoit
Second woman soprano Margareta Sjöstedt
Hofbauer, citizen tenor Kurt Equiluz
Helmesberger, citizen baritone Harald Pröglhöf
Station master bass-baritone Hans Christian
Train driver bass-baritone Hans Braun
Conductor tenor Franz Machala
Reporter spoken role Wilhelm Lenninger
Cameraman bass Hans Braun
A voice tenor Julius Suchey
Chorus: citizens of Güllen

Recordings

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A recording of the world premiere performance at the Vienna State Opera was released by Deutsche Grammophon on LP. This recording has been reissued on CD by Amadeo.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Der Besuch der alten Dame, 23 May 1971". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. ^ a b "Der Besuch der alten Dame von von Einem" (in German). operone.de. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Performances – Der Besuch der alten Dame". Operabase. Retrieved 11 September 2010.[dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Gottfried von Einem – Der Besuch der alten Dame – opera". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Der Besuch der alten Dame - Uraufführung". Wiener Staatsoper - Archiv. Retrieved 30 May 2022.