''Der Protagonist'' (''The Protagonist'') is an
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
in one act by
Kurt Weill, his
Op. 15. The German
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
was written by
Georg Kaiser based on his own play of the same name of (1920). Weill's first surviving opera has been described as ''
Literaturoper''.
Performance history
It was first performed on 27 March 1926 at the
Semperoper in Dresden, when it was directed by and conducted by
Fritz Busch. It was given again at the
Städtische Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after National Theatre (Munich), Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State ...
in October 1928 directed by Walter Brügmann and conducted by
Robert F. Denzler, this time as a double bill with ''
Der Zar lässt sich photographieren''.
Post-war performances have included productions at the
Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf, in April 1958 (the first German post-war performance), directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Andreas and conducted by Friedrich Brenn;
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...
from 31 July 1993, directed by Jonathan Eaton and conducted by
George Manahan
George Manahan (born 1952, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) is an American conductor.
Biography
Manahan's parents were church musicians. In high school, he was a drum major in his high school marching band, and also conducted this band. Another of his earl ...
(coupled with ''Der Zar lässt sich photographieren''). An Austrian premiere of the opera took place only on 17 November 2000 in a production of the
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna at
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...
, directed by Sebastian Müller and conducted by . It was followed by the
Bregenz Festival from 21 July 2004, with the direction of and conducted by
Yakov Kreizberg (coupled with Weill's ''
Royal Palace'').
"''Der Protagonist'' / ''Royal Palace''"
performance details, Bregenz Festival, Summer 2004 (in German)
Roles
Recordings
Weill: ''Der Protagonist '' – Berlin German Symphony Orchestra
*Conductor: John Mauceri
*Principal singers: Corby Welch, Matthias Koch, Alexander Marco-Buhrmester, Robert Worle, Jan Buchwald, Matteo de Monti, Johannes von Duisburg, Amanda Halgrimson
*Recording date: 1 May 2002
*Label: Capriccio – 60 086 (CD)
References
Further reading
* Hinton, Stephen (1992), "''Der Protagonist''", '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...
(London)
External links
Work details
Kurt Weill Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protagonist, Der
Operas by Kurt Weill
German-language operas
One-act operas
Operas
1926 operas
Operas based on plays
Opera world premieres at the Semperoper