(''Irish Legend'') is a 1955 opera by

Werner Egk Werner Egk (, 17 May 1901 – 10 July 1983), born Werner Joseph Mayer, was a German composer. Early career He was born in the Swabian town of Auchsesheim, today part of Donauwörth, Germany. His family, of Catholic peasant stock, moved to Augsb ...

who also wrote the

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 ...

after the 1892/1899 verse drama ''

The Countess Cathleen ''The Countess Cathleen'' is a verse drama by William Butler Yeats in blank verse (with some lyrics). It was dedicated to Maud Gonne, the object of his affections for many years. Editions and revisions The play was first published in 1892 in ...

'' by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

. It premiered at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

on 17 August 1955.

History

was the first opera that Egk composed after World War II. He had studied with

Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

in Munich, and was successful in the 1930s with , and ''

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

''. He was invited to compose an opera for the 1955

. The project was supported by

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

. Egk wrote his own

based on ''

'' by Yeats which has elements of Irish mysticism from both heathen and Christian roots. was premiered at the

on 17 August 1955, conducted by

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...

and directed by

Oscar Fritz Schuh Oscar Fritz Schuh (15 January 1904 – 22 October 1984) was a German-Austrian opera director, theatre director and opera manager. He is known for directing Mozart operas at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival in productions that tou ...

, with

Inge Borkh Inge Borkh (born Ingeborg Simon, 26 May 1921 – 26 August 2018) was a German operatic dramatic soprano. She was first based in Switzerland, where she received international attention when she appeared in the first performance in German of Menott ...

and the young Walter Berry in leading roles. The premiere performance was broadcast by international radio stations. The premiere received international recognition. The Salzburg Festival presented nine premieres between 1947 and 1957, including von Einem's , Orff's ''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

'', Blacher's and by Richard Strauss. Egk revised the opera in 1975.''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'' 0199578540 ed. Michael Kennedy, Tim Rutherford-Johnson, Joyce Kennedy, 2013 p. 256: "operas: ''Columbus'' (1933 radio, 1942 stage); ''Die Zaubergeige'' (1935, rev. 1954); ''Peer Gynt'' (1938); ''Circe'' (1945, rev. 1966 as ''17 Tage und 4 Minuten''); ''Irische Legende'' (after Yeats, 1955, rev. 1970); ''Der Revisor'' (after Gogol's ''The Government Inspector'', 1957); ''Die Verlobung in San Domingo'' (1963)."

Plot

Ireland suffers a famine. Two messengers of the devil, disguised as merchants, promise food to the hungry in return for selling their souls. Many despaired give in and end in hell. The countess Cathleen offers her soul to save the others. Egk explained that he liked the concept that one person could try, against all odds, to stand up for others in a seemingly hopeless situation ().

Roles

The story takes place in Ireland in legendary time.

Recording

Kurt Böhme Kurt Böhme (5 May 1908 – 20 December 1989) was a German bass. He was born in Dresden, Germany, where he studied with Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Conservatory. He made his debut in 1930 in Bautzen in Der Freischütz, singing both Kaspar (a ...

, Walter Berry, Max Lorenz,

Gottlob Frick Gottlob Frick (28 July 1906 – 18 August 1994) was a German operatic bass. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles. Some of his most celebrated roles were Wagnerian villains such as Hunding and Hagen in ''Der Ring ...

Waldemar Kmentt Waldemar Kmentt (Vienna, 2 February 1929 Vienna, 21 January 2015) was an Austrian operatic tenor, who was particularly associated with the German repertory, both opera and operetta. Born in Vienna, Kmentt studied at the Vienna Music Academy, fi ...

, chorus of the

Wiener Staatsoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

Wiener Philharmoniker Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

References

External links

Irische Legende
(in German) musirony.de {{authority control 1955 operas German-language operas Operas by Werner Egk Adaptations of works by W. B. Yeats Operas based on plays