''Die Hamletmaschine'' is an opera composed by Wolfgang Rihm to a German-language

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 ...

based on

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...

's 1977 play of the same name. The libretto, subtitled ''Musiktheater in 5 Teilen'' (Music Drama in 5 parts), was written by the composer. The opera was written between 1983 and 1986 and premiered on 30 March 1987 at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.

Background

Müller's play, on which the opera is based, paraphrases Shakespeare's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''. In the play's first staged production, directed by Robert Wilson, the first words—"Ich war Hamlet." (I was Hamlet.)—were spoken after 20 minutes of silent action. Rihm composed his opera between 1983 and 1986 and presented parts of the score for the Rolf-Liebermann-Preis of Hamburg, which he won in 1986.

Performance history

''Die Hamletmaschine'' premiered on 30 March 1987 at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in a production directed by Friedrich Meyer-Oertel and conducted by Peter Schneider. The role of

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

, written for a Wagnerian soprano, was sung by Gabriele Schnaut. The

character was portrayed at different stages in his life by three separate performers: the actors Kurt Müller and Rudolf Kowalski as Hamlet I and Hamlet II, and the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Johannes M. Kösters as Hamlet III.

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is an Austrian classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, it originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market. The firm soon expanded to become one of t ...

Wolfgang Rihm, ''Die Hamletmaschine: Musiktheater in 5 Teilen''
Retrieved 21 July 2013. A live recording of the opera's premiere was released on CD in 1995 (Wergo #6195)

Roles

Structure

* I. ''Familienalbum'' (''Family Album'') * II. ''Das Europa der Frau'' (''Europe of the Woman'') * III. ''Scherzo'' * IV. ''Pest in Buda, Schlacht um Grönland'' (''Pestilence in Buda, Battle of Greenland'') * V. ''Wildharrend, In der furchtbaren Rüstung, Jahrtausende'' (''Wildstraining, In the Fearsome Armaments, Millennia'') WERGO
Wolfgang Rihm, ''v''
Retrieved 21 July 2013.

Music

The opera is scored for actors, singing and speaking voices, choir and orchestra. The work is described in the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' as following Stockhausen in that it seeks "a total theatre of sound and nonnarrative, ritualistic drama." Sounds use the complete space of a hall by placing instrumentalists not only in the pit, but also on stage and in the audience. Sounds are mixed from live performance, electronic amplification and purely electronic sounds, described as soundscapes.

Other musical settings

Müller's play, which formed the basis for the libretto, has subsequently had two more musical settings—an opera by Ruth Zechlin for singers and small orchestra (1991) and an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

for choir, soloists and orchestra by Georges Aperghis (2000).Yunker, Johanna Frances (2013)
"Father or Criminal: Ruth Zechlin's Post-Reunification Opera ''Die Reise''"
p. 3. AMS-SW Conference, Spring 2013, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio. Retrieved 21 July 2013.