''Historia von D. Johann Fausten'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by the Russian composer

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

(1934–1998) in three acts, with introduction and epilogue to the German libretto by Jörg Morgener (Jürgen Köchel) and Alfred Schnittke after the anonymous prose book of the same name (published by Johannes Spies in 1587).

History of creation

Schnittke worked on this opera for twelve years (1983–94). The work was twice interrupted by his work on another opera ''

Life with an Idiot ''Life with an Idiot'' () is an opera by the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke to a Russian libretto by Viktor Erofeyev. Written as an allegory of oppression under the Soviet Union, the opera was first performed at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, o ...

'' (1990) and by his second stroke in 1991. His ''Faust Cantata'' (1983), famous for its tango sung through the microphone by the Devil with the mocking comments on the cruel death of Faust, became the third act of the opera. When premiered in 1995, the opera was performed in an abridged version; it has never been performed or recorded complete.

Premiere

Premiered in Hamburg, 22 June 1995. Director: John Dew, Hamburg State Opera, Conductor: Gerd Albrecht Published by Hans Sikorski (Hamburg)

Cast

*Doctor Johann Faustus (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) *Narrator (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

) *Mephistophiles (

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist ...

) *Mephistophila / Helen of Troy (

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

) *The Old Man (tenor) *Three Students (three

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

s) also mixed chorus; silent roles;

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

;

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

3.3.3.3/4.4.4.1/, 5

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

players,

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, 2 synthesisers,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and also old instruments such as Zwerchpfeif (long military

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...

crumhorn The crumhorn is a double reed instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance period. In modern times, particularly since the 1960s, there has been a revival of interest in early music, and crumhorns are being pla ...

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

and

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

Synopsis

Time and Place: Early 16th century, Germany Act 1. The chorus and narrator introduce the audience to Dr. Johann Faustus, ‘the widely famed magician and necromancer’. The scene shows his first meeting with the devil, Mephistopheles. Faustus agrees to sign with his blood the contract to gain knowledge and power and to give in return his soul to the devil after some years. Act 2. Faust asks the devil to find him a wife, but Mephistopheles offers him ‘a woman for the bed’ instead. Faust asks the devil to show him Hell and Paradise. During this journey Faust is mocked by two devils, Mephistopheles and Mephistophila. He is already ready to accept the help of an old Christian man. However Mephistopheles threatens to kill him and forces Faustus to sign a new contract, now with ‘the mighty God, Lucifer’. Only a beautiful vision of Helen of Troy calms his grief. Act 3. Twenty four years later Faustus expects that the devil will take his soul. He informs his students, and they ask him to repent to be saved. The prayers of Faustus are in vain. Mephistopheles appears and singing the mocking couplets, fiercely destroys him into pieces. The students attend his room on the next morning and watch his remains. The chorus tells the audience to learn the moral of this story, to be sober and resist evil.

Recordings

*(CD) RCA Red Seal 09026684132. Jürgen Freier, Eberhard Lorenz, Arno Raunig, Hanna Schwarz,

Eberhard Büchner Eberhard Büchner (born 6 November 1939 in Dresden) is a German operatic and concert tenor. He made his debut in 1964 as Tamino in Mozart's ''Die Zauberflöte'' at the Mecklenburg State Theatre. Recordings * Franz Schubert: Messe G-Dur for sop ...

, Jonathan Barreto-Ramos, Christoph Johannes Wendel, Jürgen Fersch, Hamburg State Opera Chorus, Hamburg State Opera Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht

Bibliography

*Alexander Ivashkin (1996). Alfred Schnittke, Phaidon Press. . pp. 152, 207–8, 214.

External links

Details

G. Schirmer G. Schirmer, Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States, Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-know ...

Details

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 thro ...

{{Authority control German-language operas Operas 1995 operas Operas by Alfred Schnittke Opera world premieres at the Hamburg State Opera Music based on the Faust legend The Devil in opera