Marten van Valckenborch Tower of babel-large

''Der Thurm zu Babel'' (''The

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...

'') is a one-act 'sacred opera' by

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

to a

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 ...

Julius Rodenberg Julius Rodenberg (originally ''Julius Levy''; 26 June 1831, Rodenberg – 11 July 1914, Berlin) was a German Jewish poet and author. He studied law at the universities of Heidelberg, Göttingen, Berlin, and Marburg, but soon abandoned jurisprud ...

based on the story in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

, chapter II. The opera was written in 1869 and had its first performance in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

on 9 February 1870.

Background

The term 'sacred opera' (''geistliche Oper'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) was invented by Rubinstein to denote staged works with "use of polyphonic choruses and a sober, edifying style relying on ‘exalted declamation’." Rubinstein composed three other works of this type (''

Sulamith Sulamith may refer to: People * Sulamith Goldhaber (1923–1965), high-energy physicist and molecular spectroscopist * Sulamith Ish-Kishor (1896–1977), American writer *Sulamith Isman (1925–1943), Dutch girl killed in Auschwitz * Sulamith Messe ...

'', ''

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

'' and ''

Christus Christus may refer to: * Christ (title) People * Petrus Christus (c. 1410s – c. 1475), Dutch painter * Sir Christus (1978–2017), Finnish musician Music * ''Christus'' (Liszt), an oratorio * ''Christus'' (Mendelssohn), an unfinished oratorio ...

)''. A fifth sacred opera, ''

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

'', was uncompleted at his death. The composer had hoped for a premiere in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, but was consoled by the work's second production in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on 20 February 1870, (which was attended by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

), after which Rubinstein wrote it had been 'brilliantly performed and very well received by the public.' The work's first performance in America was in May 1881 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, when it was conducted by

Leopold Damrosch Leopold Damrosch (October 22, 1832 – February 15, 1885) was a German American orchestral Conducting, conductor, composer, violinist, and teacher. He was the patriarch of the Damrosch family, which includes Frank Damrosch and Walter Damrosch. ...

. The destruction of the Tower in ''Der Thurm zu Babel'' is imaginatively realized by discordant passages in the orchestra (involving some passages in quintuple

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

) and the chorus beginning to sing in three different languages. A performance lasts about 45 minutes.

Roles

Synopsis

Nimrod and the Master Builder exult at the imminent success of their project to reach Heaven by building the Tower. Abraham rebukes them and is thrown into a fiery furnace at Nimrod's orders. As the workers praise

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

, angels descend and destroy the Tower, to the confusion of Nimrod and all present. Both the angels and the demons claim victory. 'As usual',

Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...

has commented, 'the last-named get the most imaginative music'.Taruskin, ''Thurm zu Babel, Der''

Notes

Sources

* Graham Dixon and

. "Sacred opera."

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

accessed 17 April 2010 * Carl Gerbrand, ''Sacred music drama: the producer's guide; second edition'', Bloomington, 2006. Accessed i
Google Books
April 18, 2010 * * Richard Taruskin. ''Thurm zu Babel, Der.''

accessed 18 April 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurm Zu Babel, Der Operas 1870 operas German-language operas Operas by Anton Rubinstein Operas based on the Bible One-act operas Tower of Babel