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Literaturoper (''literature opera'', plural “Literaturopern”), a term coined by the German music critic Edgar Istel, describes a genre of
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 libre ...
that emerged during the late 19th century. When an existing play for the legitimate theatre is set to music without major changes and without the intervention of a librettist, a “Literaturoper” is the result. Although the term is
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, it can be applied to any kind of opera, irrespective of style or language. (In that sense it can be regarded as a term rather than a genre as such.) The former, much broader usage of the term “Literaturoper” for opera libretti on the basis of dramas, novels and short stories of undoubted literary renown, which was still common until around 1980, has been made obsolete by recent research on the history of the opera libretto. Since opera libretti have relied on subject matter from the history of literature since the very origin of the genre of opera, a broader usage of the term would cover the entire history of opera, regardless of the underlying libretto structure.


Current definition

According to a seminal publication by Peter Petersen, the term means „a special form of music theater in which the libretto is based on a literary work whose linguistic, semantic and aesthetic structure remains recognizable in the musical-dramatic work as a structural layer.“


History

The tradition of literaturoper only became established in European opera culture when, with
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
and the "through-composed dramatic form" he developed, the conventions of verse metrics for the opera libretto had faded. At the same time, the personal union of libretto poet and composer appeared as the new norm of opera production. Especially in the area of the Romance languages, the alliterating verse in Wagner's ''
Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelunge ...
'' was perceived as prose text, since the use of alliteration as basis for the poetry in the Ancient Germanic languages had always been alien the syllable-counting verse systems in the French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese poetic tradition. Since the production of literaturopern possessed the potential to make the function of the opera librettist redundant, the genre was first able to assert itself in those opera cultures in which professional libretto-writing had not been able to develop a centuries-long tradition (Russia, Germany). The first examples of this dramaturgical process can be found in the history of French and Russian music in the second half of the 19th century. Early Russian literaturopern include
Alexander Dargomyzhsky Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky ( rus, link=no, Александр Сергеевич Даргомыжский, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhskiy., ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪdʑ dərɡɐˈmɨʂskʲɪj, Ru-Aleksandr-Sergeevich- ...
’s opera '' The Stone Guest'' (after
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
) and
Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
’s opera fragment '' The Marriage'' and his ''
Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of hi ...
'' (also after Pushkin). In French and Italian opera, which had possessed an established libretto tradition for centuries, the introduction of the literaturoper took place parallel to the discussions about the possibility of writing opera libretti in prose. Since the Italian tradition of operatic verse proved to be particularly resistant to the introduction of prose libretti, the first Italian literaturopern were created on the basis of Gabriele d'Annunzio’s verse dramas (
Alberto Franchetti Alberto Franchetti (18 September 1860 – 4 August 1942) was an Italian composer, best known for the 1902 opera ''Germania''. Biography Alberto Franchetti was born in Turin, a Jewish nobleman of independent means. He studied first in Venice, th ...
, ''La figlia di Iorio'' (1906),
Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece ''Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ' ...
, ''Parisina'' (1913),
Riccardo Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conser ...
, ''Francesca da Rimini'' (1914),
Ildebrando Pizzetti Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, musicologist, and music critic. Biography Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottor ...
, ''Fedra'' (1915). The first composers to directly set plays include
Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been '' Faust'' (1859); his '' Roméo et Juliette'' (1867) also rema ...
,
Hugh Macdonald Hugh John Macdonald (born 31 January 1940 in Newbury, Berkshire) is an English musicologist chiefly known for his work within the music of the 19th century, especially in France. He has been general editor of the ''Hector Berlioz: New Edition o ...
: ''The Prose Libretto'', In: Cambridge Opera Journal 1, 1989, pp. 155–166.
Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece ''Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ' ...
,
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
,
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...
and
Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...
. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the genre flourished, especially in Germany, and composers often resorted to setting plays from previous centuries or from Greek Antiquity. The production of literary operas continues to this day.


Literaturopern based on plays

*
Modest Musorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
** '' The Marriage'' after
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's play, 1868 (unfinished) ** ''
Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of hi ...
'' after
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's play, 1874 *
Alexander Dargomyzhsky Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky ( rus, link=no, Александр Сергеевич Даргомыжский, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhskiy., ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪdʑ dərɡɐˈmɨʂskʲɪj, Ru-Aleksandr-Sergeevich- ...
** '' The Stone Guest'' (''Каменный гость'') after
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's
play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pl ...
, 1872 *
Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been '' Faust'' (1859); his '' Roméo et Juliette'' (1867) also rema ...
: ** ''George Dandin'', after the comedy
George Dandin ''George Dandin ou le mari confondu'' (''George Dandin or The Thwarted Husband'') is a French Comédie-ballet in three acts by Molière, with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, choreography by Pierre Beauchamp, and architecture/staging by Carlo Vigarani ...
by
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
, unfinished (?), 1874 *
Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece ''Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ' ...
: ** ''
Guglielmo Ratcliff ''Guglielmo Ratcliff'' is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, translated from the German play ''Wilhelm Ratcliff'' (1822) by Heinrich Heine. Mascagni had substantially finished the composition ...
'' after
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lie ...
in the Italian translation by Andrea Maffei, 1895 ** ''
Parisina ''Parisina'' is a 586-line poem written by Lord Byron. It was probably written between 1812 and 1815, and published on 13 February 1816. It is based on a story related by Edward Gibbon in his '' Miscellaneous Works'' (1796) about Niccolò III d ...
'' after Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1913 *
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
: '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' after
Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
, 1902 *
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...
: ** ''
Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...
'' after
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, 1905 ** ''
Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...
'' after
Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cla ...
, 1909 *
Alberto Franchetti Alberto Franchetti (18 September 1860 – 4 August 1942) was an Italian composer, best known for the 1902 opera ''Germania''. Biography Alberto Franchetti was born in Turin, a Jewish nobleman of independent means. He studied first in Venice, th ...
: ** ''
La figlia di Iorio ''La figlia di Iorio'' (''The Daughter of Iorio''), sometimes written as ''La figlia di Jorio'', is an opera in three acts by Alberto Franchetti to a libretto by Gabriele D'Annunzio. The libretto is a very close rendering of D'Annunzio's The Daught ...
'' after Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1906 *
Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...
/
Raoul Pugno Stéphane Raoul Pugno (23 June 1852) was a French composer, teacher, organist, and pianist known for his playing of Mozart's works. Biography Raoul Pugno was born in Paris and was of Italian origin. He made his debut at the age of six, and with t ...
, ''
La ville morte ''La ville morte'' is an opera by Nadia Boulanger and Raoul Pugno to the text of Gabriele D'Annunzio's play . It has been called Boulanger's "most significant achievement as a creative artist". History After hearing her examinations at the Conse ...
'' after the drama ''La città morta'' by Gabriele d’Annunzio, composed 1914, first performance 2008 *
Riccardo Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conser ...
: ** ''
Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a c ...
'' after Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1914 *
Ildebrando Pizzetti Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, musicologist, and music critic. Biography Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottor ...
: ** ''Gigliola '' after Gabriele d’Annunzio’s drama ''La fiaccola sotto il moggio'' (1914, unfinished) ** '' Fedra'' after Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1915 ** ''La figlia di Iorio'' after Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1954 ** ''
Assassinio nella cattedrale ''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' (''Murder in the Cathedral'') is an opera in two acts and an intermezzo by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti. The libretto is an adaptation by the composer of an Italian translation of T. S. Eliot's 1935 ...
'' after
Thomas Stearns Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...
in der Übersetzung von Alberto Castelli, 1958 *
Alexander von Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton S ...
: ''
Eine florentinische Tragödie ', Op. 16, is an opera in one act by Alexander von Zemlinsky composed in 1915–16 to a libretto adapted by the composer from a German translation by of Oscar Wilde's unfinished play ''A Florentine Tragedy''. Performance history The opera was p ...
'' after Oscar Wilde, 1917 *
Italo Montemezzi Italo Montemezzi (August 4, 1875 – May 15, 1952) was an Italian composer. He is best known for his opera '' L'amore dei tre re'' (''The Love of the Three Kings''), once part of the standard repertoire. It is now seldom performed. Biography ...
: ** ''
La nave LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'' after Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1918 *
Domenico Alaleona Domenico Alaleona (16 November 1881 – 28 December 1928) was an Italian organist and composer. He was born in and died in Montegiorgio Montegiorgio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Fermo in the Italian region Marche, located a ...
: ** ' after the tragedy by
Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early life Alfieri was ...
, 1920 *
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
: ''
The Love for Three Oranges ''The Love for Three Oranges'', Op. 33, also known by its French language title ' (russian: Любовь к трём апельсинам, links=no, ''Lyubov' k tryom apel'sinam''), is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French libretto ...
'' after
Carlo Gozzi __NOTOC__ Carlo, Count Gozzi (; 13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806) was an Italian (Venetian) playwright and champion of Commedia dell'arte. Early life Gozzi was born and died in Venice; he came from a family of minor Venetian aristocracy, the T ...
’s fiaba teatrale
L'amore delle tre melarance ''L'amore delle tre melarance'' is a 1761 play by Carlo Gozzi for the Teatro San Samuele, Venice.Erika Fischer-Lichte ''History of European Drama and Theatre'' 2002 p145 0415180597 "As counter-programme to Goldoni's theatre reforms, Gozzi wrote ...
, 1921 *
Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...
, ''Les Euménides'' after the drama ''
The Eumenides The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of t ...
'' by
Aischylos Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
, composed 1917–1922, performed 1949 *
Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the '' ...
** ''
Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen ''Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen'' (''Murderer, Hope of Women'') is an opera in one act by Paul Hindemith, written in 1919 on a German libretto by Oskar Kokoschka which he based on his play of 1907. The opera was the first in a triptych of express ...
'' after the drama ''
Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen ''Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen'' (''Murderer, Hope of Women'') is an opera in one act by Paul Hindemith, written in 1919 on a German libretto by Oskar Kokoschka which he based on his play of 1907. The opera was the first in a triptych of express ...
'' (1907) by
Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Exp ...
, 1921 ** ''
Sancta Susanna ''Sancta Susanna'' is an early opera by Paul Hindemith in one act, with a German libretto by August Stramm. Composed over a two-week period in January/February 1921, its premiere was on 26 March 1922, at the Oper Frankfurt. The work is his thir ...
'' after the drama ''Sancta Susanna'' (1913) by
August Stramm August Stramm (29 July 1874 – 1 September 1915) was a German war poet and playwright who is considered the first of the expressionists. Stramm's radically experimental verse and his major influence on all subsequent German poetry has caused him ...
, 1922 ** ''
The Long Christmas Dinner ''The Long Christmas Dinner'' is a play in one act written by American novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder in 1931. In its first published form, it was included in the volume ''The Long Christmas Dinner and Other Plays in One Act''. Chara ...
'' after the play ''
The Long Christmas Dinner ''The Long Christmas Dinner'' is a play in one act written by American novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder in 1931. In its first published form, it was included in the volume ''The Long Christmas Dinner and Other Plays in One Act''. Chara ...
'' (1931) by
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays '' Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...
, 1963 *
Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...
: ** ''
Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama ''Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...
'' after
Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...
’s ''
Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil F ...
'', 1925 ** ''
Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
'' after
Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the deve ...
’s plays ''Erdgeist'' and ''Die Büchse der Pandora'' , 1937 *
Manfred Gurlitt Manfred Gurlitt (6 September 1890 – 29 April 1972) was a German opera composer and conductor. He studied composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and conducting with Karl Muck. He spent most of his career in Japan. Life Manfred Ludwig Hugo An ...
: ** ''
Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama ''Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...
'' after
Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...
’s ''
Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil F ...
'', 1926 ** '' Soldaten'' after the drama Die Soldaten (Lenz) by
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...
, 1930 *
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably '' Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 ...
** ''
Antigone (Honegger) ''Antigone'' is an opera (''tragédie musicale'') in three acts by Arthur Honegger to a French libretto by Jean Cocteau based on the tragedy ''Antigone'' by Sophocles. Honegger composed the opera between 1924 and 1927. It premiered on 28 December ...
'' after
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...
, 1927 *
Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number ...
: **
Penthesilea Penthesilea ( el, Πενθεσίλεια, Penthesíleia) was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she w ...
after
Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', '' The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
’s drama
Penthesilea (Kleist) ''Penthesilea'' (1808) is a tragedy by the German playwright Heinrich von Kleist about the mythological Amazon queen, Penthesilea, described as an exploration of sexual frenzy. Goethe rejected it as "unplayable". It was first performed on 25 ...
(1808), 1927 *
Franco Alfano Franco Alfano (8 March 1875 – 27 October 1954) was an Italian composer and pianist, best known today for his opera '' Risurrezione'' (1904) and for having completed Puccini's opera '' Turandot'' in 1926. He had considerable success with sever ...
** ''
Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th c ...
'' after
Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...
, 1936 *
Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He b ...
** ''
Julietta ''Juliette'' is an opera by Bohuslav Martinů, who also wrote the libretto, in French, based on the play ''Juliette, ou La clé des songes'' (''Juliette, or The Key of Dreams)'' by the French author Georges Neveux. A libretto in Czech was later ...
'' after the play ''Juliette, ou La clé des songes'' by
Georges Neveux Georges Neveux (1900–1982) was a French dramatist and poet. Neveux's first notable work was the play ''Juliette ou la clé des songes (Juliet or the key to dreams)'', written in 1927 and produced in 1930. It became the basis of Theodor Schae ...
, 1935 ** ''
Mirandolina ''Mirandolina'' ( H. 346) is a comic opera in three acts by Bohuslav Martinů, with a libretto (in Italian) by the composer after Carlo Goldoni's 1751 comedy ''La locandiera'' ('' The Mistress of the Inn''). Salieri had an opera (''dramma gioc ...
'' after
Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...
's 1751 comedy ''
La locandiera ''The Mistress of the Inn'' ( it, La locandiera ), also translated as ''The Innkeeper Woman'' or ''Mirandolina'' (after the play's main character), is a 1753 three-act comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni about a coquette. The play has ...
'', 1959. ** '' Ariane'' after the play ''Le Voyage de Thésée'' ( 1943) by
Georges Neveux Georges Neveux (1900–1982) was a French dramatist and poet. Neveux's first notable work was the play ''Juliette ou la clé des songes (Juliet or the key to dreams)'', written in 1927 and produced in 1930. It became the basis of Theodor Schae ...
, 1961 *
Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kn ...
: ** ''
Les mamelles de Tirésias ''Les Mamelles de Tirésias'' (''The Breasts of Tiresias'') is an '' opéra bouffe'' by Francis Poulenc, in a prologue and two acts based on the eponymous play by Guillaume Apollinaire. The opera was written in 1945 and first performed in 1947. Ap ...
'' after
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French French poetry, poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish-Belarusian, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered ...
, 1941 ** ''
La voix humaine ' (English: ''The Human Voice'') is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denise Duval, worked ...
'' after
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...
, 1958 *
Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Ca ...
: ** ''
Antigonae ''Antigonae'' (''Antigone''), written by Carl Orff, was first presented on 9 August 1949 under the direction of Ferenc Fricsay in the Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, Austria, as part of the Salzburg Festival. Antigonae is in Orff's words a "musical s ...
'' after the drama by
Sophokles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...
in the German translation by
Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Pa ...
(1804), 1949 ** ' after the drama by
Sophokles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...
in the German translation by
Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Pa ...
(1804), 1959 ** ''
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...
'' after the drama by
Aischylos Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
, 1968 *
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 A ...
: ** ''Irische Legende'' after ''
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
William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, 1955 ** ''
Der Revisor ' is a comic opera in five acts by Werner Egk, who was also the librettist. It is based on Nikolai Gogol's play ''The Government Inspector''. The premiere on 9 May 1957 at the Schwetzingen Festival was conducted by the composer. Recording * ''Der ...
'' after the comedy ''
The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pla ...
'' (''Ревизор'') by
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
, 1957 ** ''Siebzehn Tage und vier Minuten'' after the comedy ''El mayor encanto, amor'' by
Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (, ; ; 17 January 160025 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, writer and knight of the Order of Santiago. He is known as one of the most distinguished Baroque ...
, 1966 *
Wolfgang Fortner Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, composition teacher and conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ...
: ** ''
Bluthochzeit (''Blood Wedding'') is an opera () in two acts by Wolfgang Fortner. The libretto, also by Fortner, is based on German translation of García Lorca's 1933 play '' Bodas de sangre''. It premiered at the Cologne Opera on 8 June 1957. Compositio ...
'' after ''
Bodas de sangre ''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...
'' by
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...
, 1957 ** ''
In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa ' (In his garden Don Perlimplín loves Belisa) is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Fortner. The libretto, also by Fortner, is based on Federico García Lorca's play '' Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín''. It premiered at the opening ...
'' after ''
Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín Amor ("love" in Latin, Spanish and Portuguese) may refer to: Music Albums * ''Amor'' (Julio Iglesias album), 1982 * ''Amor'' (Andrea Bocelli album), 2006 Songs * "Amor" (Los Auténticos Decadentes song), 2000 * "Amor" (Cristian Castro song), 199 ...
'' by
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...
, 1962 ** ''That Time'' after the play ''
That Time ''For the song "That Time" by Regina Spektor see Begin to Hope'' ''That Time'' is a one-act play by Samuel Beckett, written in English between 8 June 1974 and August 1975. The play was specially written for actor Patrick Magee, who delivered its ...
'' by
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic ex ...
, 1967 *
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
: ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...
'' after
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, 1960 *
Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...
: ** ''Das Wundertheater'' after ''El retablo de las maravillas'' by
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best know ...
, 1949 ** ''
König Hirsch ' (in English, ''The Stag King'') is an opera in three acts by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by after ''Il re cervo'', a theatrical fable (1762) by Carlo Gozzi. He revised it as ''Il re cervo'', premiered in 1963 at the Staatstheater Ka ...
'' after the „fiaba teatrale“ ''Il Re cervo'' (1762) by
Carlo Gozzi __NOTOC__ Carlo, Count Gozzi (; 13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806) was an Italian (Venetian) playwright and champion of Commedia dell'arte. Early life Gozzi was born and died in Venice; he came from a family of minor Venetian aristocracy, the T ...
, 1956 ** '' Der Prinz von Homburg'' after the drama ''
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg oder die Schlacht bei Fehrbellin ''The Prince of Homburg'' (german: Der Prinz von Homburg, ''Prinz Friedrich von Homburg'', or in full ''Prinz Friedrich von Homburg oder die Schlacht bei Fehrbellin'') is a play by Heinrich von Kleist written in 1809–10, but not performed until ...
'' by
Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', '' The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
, 1960 ** ''
Die Bassariden ''The Bassarids'' (in German: ') is an opera in one act and an intermezzo, with music by Hans Werner Henze to an English libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, after Euripides's ''The Bacchae''. The conflict in the opera is between human ...
'' after the drama Βάκχαι ''(
The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
)'' by
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, 1966 *
Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera '' Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. As ...
: ''
Die Soldaten ' (''The Soldiers'') is a four-act opera in German by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, based on the 1776 play by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz. In a letter accompanying his newly printed play (23 July 1776, aged 24) that he sent to his best friend, the Ger ...
'' after the drama Die Soldaten (Lenz) by
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...
, 1965 *
Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. B ...
: ** ''
Dantons Tod ' (German for ''Danton's Death'') is an opera by Gottfried von Einem to a libretto by Boris Blacher and Gottfried von Einem after Georg Büchner's 1835 play of the same name. Its first performance took place in Salzburg on 6 August 1947. It was ...
'' after the drama
Dantons Tod ' (German for ''Danton's Death'') is an opera by Gottfried von Einem to a libretto by Boris Blacher and Gottfried von Einem after Georg Büchner's 1835 play of the same name. Its first performance took place in Salzburg on 6 August 1947. It was ...
by
Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...
, 1947 ** ''
Der Besuch der alten Dame ''The Visit'' (german: Der Besuch der alten Dame, English: ''The Visit of the Old Lady'') is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Synopsis An enormously wealthy older woman returns to her former hometown with a drea ...
'' after the tragicomedy ''
Der Besuch der alten Dame ''The Visit'' (german: Der Besuch der alten Dame, English: ''The Visit of the Old Lady'') is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Synopsis An enormously wealthy older woman returns to her former hometown with a drea ...
'' by
Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-ga ...
, 1971 ** ''Kabale und Liebe'' after the play ''
Kabale und Liebe ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'' or ''Luise Miller'' (german: Kabale und Liebe, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, ...
'' by
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
, 1976 *
Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () ( ...
: ** ''Romeo und Julia'' after the tragedy by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, 1950 ** ''Preußisches Märchen'' after the comedy '' Der Hauptmann von Köpenick'' by
Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...
, 1952 ** ''Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund'' after
Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his fi ...
, 1973 *
Giselher Klebe Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano wor ...
: ** ''
Die Räuber ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play ''Julius of Taranto''. It was w ...
'' after the tragedy by
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
, 1957 ** ''
Die Ermordung Cäsars ' (''The Murder of Caesar''), Op. 32, is an opera in one act by Giselher Klebe who also wrote the libretto based on the translation by August Wilhelm von Schlegel of Shakespeare's play '' Julius Caesar''. It premiered on 20 September 1959 at th ...
'' after ''
Julius Caesar (play) ''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ''( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar'') is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to assassinate Juli ...
'' by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, 1959 ** ''Alkmene'' after ' by
Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', '' The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
, 1961 ** ''
Figaro lässt sich scheiden Figaro may refer to: Literature * Figaro, the central character in: ** ''The Barber of Seville'' (play), a 1775 play by Pierre Beaumarchais *** ''The Barber of Seville'' (Paisiello), a 1782 opera by Paisiello based on the play *** ''The Bar ...
'' after the comedy ''Figaro lässt sich scheiden'' by
Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...
, 1963 ** '' Jacobowsky und der Oberst'' after the comedy ' by
Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The Forty ...
, 1965 ** ''Ein wahrer Held'' after ''
The Playboy of the Western World ''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...
'' by
John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play '' The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly ...
, 1975 ** ''
Das Mädchen aus Domrémy ''Das Mädchen aus Domrémy'', Op. 72, (''The Maid from Domrémy'') is an opera in two acts by Giselher Klebe who with his wife, Lore Klebe, also wrote the libretto based on the play '' Die Jungfrau von Orléans'' by Friedrich Schiller. The ope ...
'' after the drama '' Die Jungfrau von Orléans'' by
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
, 1976 ** ''
Der Jüngste Tag ''Der Jüngste Tag'', op.82, (''Judgment Day'') is an opera in three acts composed by Giselher Klebe. His wife, Lore Klebe, wrote the libretto based on the play of the same name by Ödön von Horváth. The opera premiered in 1980 at the Nation ...
'' after
Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...
, 1980 *
Hugo Weisgall Hugo David Weisgall (October 13, 1912 – March 11, 1997) was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions. He was born in Ivančice, Moravia (then part of Austria-Hungary, later in his childhoo ...
: ** ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, the ...
'' after the drama ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, the ...
'' by
Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...
, 1959 *
Sylvano Bussotti Sylvano Bussotti (1 October 1931 – 19 September 2021) was an Italian composer of contemporary classical music, also a painter, set and costume designer, opera director and manager, writer and academic teacher. His compositions employ graphic n ...
** ''Lorenzaccio'' after the drama ''
Lorenzaccio ''Lorenzaccio'' is a French play of the Romantic period written by Alfred de Musset in 1834, set in 16th-century Florence, and depicting Lorenzino de' Medici, who killed Florence's tyrant, Alessandro de' Medici, his cousin. Having engaged in d ...
'' by
Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...
, 1972 ** ''Le Racine'' after the drama ''
Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere Wi ...
'' by
Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradit ...
, 1980 ** ''Fedra'' after the drama ''
Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere Wi ...
'' by
Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradit ...
, 1988 ** ''Tieste'' after the drama ''
Thyestes In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympi ...
'' by
Lucius Annaeus Seneca Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born ...
, 2000 *
Aribert Reimann Aribert Reimann (born 4 March 1936) is a German composer, pianist and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', the opera ''Lear'', was written at the suggestion of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau ...
: ** ''Ein Traumspiel'' after
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty ...
’s drama ''
Ett drömspel ''A Dream Play'' ( sv, Ett drömspel) is a fantasy play in 14 scenes written in 1901 by the Sweden, Swedish playwright August Strindberg. It was published in Swedish in 1902 and first performed in Stockholm on 17 April 1907. It remains one of Str ...
'', 1964 ** ''Melusine'' after
Yvan Goll Yvan Goll (also: Iwan Goll, Ivan Goll; born Isaac Lang; 29 March 1891 – 27 February 1950) was a French-German poet who was bilingual and wrote in both French and German. He had close ties to both German expressionism and to French surrealis ...
, 1970 ** ''
Lear Lear or Leir may refer to: Acronyms * Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers * Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN ** Low Energy Anti ...
'' after William Shakespeare’s drama ''
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...
'', 1978 ** ''
Die Gespenstersonate ''Die Gespenstersonate'' is a 1984 German-language opera by Aribert Reimann to a libretto by the composer and Uwe Schendel after August Strindberg's play ''The Ghost Sonata''. Strindberg's play also inspired another opera, ''Die Gespenstersonate ( ...
'' after
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty ...
’s drama ''
Spöksonaten ''The Ghost Sonata'' ( sv, Spöksonaten, links=no) is a play in three acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Written in 1907, it was first produced at Strindberg's Intimate Theatre in Stockholm on 21 January 1908. Since then, it has bee ...
'', 1983 ** '' Troades'' after the drama ''
The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...
'' by
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
in the translation by
Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The Forty ...
, 1985 ** ''
Das Schloß ''The Castle'' (german: Das Schloss, link=no, also spelled ''Das Schloß'' ) is the last novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist known only as "K." arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it ...
'' after
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ty ...
’s novel
Das Schloß ''The Castle'' (german: Das Schloss, link=no, also spelled ''Das Schloß'' ) is the last novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist known only as "K." arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it ...
and its theatre version by
Max Brod Max Brod ( he, מקס ברוד; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a German-speaking Bohemian, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist. Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is best remembered as the friend and bio ...
, 1991 ** ''
Bernarda Albas Haus ''Bernarda Albas Haus'' ('The House of Bernarda Alba') is a 2000 German-language opera in three acts by Aribert Reimann to a libretto by the composer after Enrique Beck's German translation of Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Cor ...
'' after
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...
’s drama
The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with '' Blood Wedding'' and '' Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not i ...
, 2000 ** ''
Medea In Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the ...
'' after the third part of
Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...
's trilogy ', 2010 ** '' L'Invisible'' (after
Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
's ''L'Intruse'', ''L'Intérieur'' and ''La Mort de Tintagiles''), 2017 *
Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the ...
: ** ''Faust und Yorick'' nach
Jean Tardieu Jean Tardieu (born in Saint-Germain-de-Joux, Ain, 1 November 1903, died in Créteil, Val-de-Marne, 27 January 1995) was a French artist, musician, poet and dramatic author. Life and career He earned a degree in literature and worked for a publ ...
, 1977 * Walter Steffens: ** Eli after the mystery play by
Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...
, 1967 ** ''Unter dem Milchwald'' after ''
Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, '' Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptatio ...
'' by
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Unde ...
, 1973 *
Adriana Hölszky Adriana Hölszky (born 30 June 1953) is a Romanian-born German music educator, composer and pianist who has been living in Germany since 1976. Biography Hölszky was born in Bucharest. In the years 1959-1969 she studied piano with Olga Rosca-Be ...
: ** ''Bremer Freiheit'' after
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's mai ...
, 1988 ** ''Die Wände'' after the drama ''Les paravents'' by
Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Thief' ...
, 1995 *
Michèle Reverdy Michèle Reverdy (born 12 December 1943) is a French composer. Life and career Michèle Reverdy was born in Alexandria (Egypt). She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris especially with Claude Ballif for music analysis and Olivier Messiaen for ...
, ''Le Précepteur'' after the play ''
Der Hofmeister Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocea ...
'' by
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...
, 1990 *
Michael Denhoff Michael Denhoff (born 25 April 1955 in Ahaus) is a German composer and cellist. Life Denhoff has lived and worked in Bonn since 1982. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where his teachers included Günter Bialas and Hans ...
: ''Der Pelikan'' after
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty ...
, 1992 *
Manfred Trojahn Manfred Trojahn (born 22 October 1949) is a German composer, flautist, conductor and writer. Career Trojahn was born Cremlingen in Lower Saxony and began his musical studies in 1966 in orchestra music at the music school of Braunschweig. After g ...
: ** ''Enrico'' after the drama ''Enrico IV'' by
Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...
, 1991 ** ''Was ihr wollt'' after Shakespeare’s ''
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins V ...
,'' 1998 ** ''Orest'' after the drama ''
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
'' by
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, 2011 *
Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio ''Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima'' ...
** ''Hanjo'' after the Nô-drama 班女 (''Hanjo'', 1955) by
Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...
(三島 由紀夫) in a translation by
Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japan ...
, 2004 ** ''Matsukaze'', after the Nô-drama 松風 (''
Matsukaze is a play of the third category, the woman's mode, by Kan'ami, revised by Zeami Motokiyo. One of the most highly regarded of Noh plays, it is mentioned more than any other in Zeami's own writings, and is depicted numerous times in the visual ar ...
'') by
Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skil ...
(世阿弥 元清), 2011 *
Luca Francesconi Luca Francesconi (born 17 March 1956) is an Italian composer. He studied at the Milan Conservatory, then with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio. Early years Luca Francesconi was born in Milan. His father was a painter who edited ''Il C ...
, ''Quartet'' after the drama '' Quartett'' by
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 postdr ...
, 2011 *
Marc-André Dalbavie Marc-André Dalbavie (born 10 February 1961 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is a French composer.Anne Sédès, "Marc-André Dalbavie", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' He had his first music lessons at age 6.Le Soulier de satin ''The Satin Slipper'' (''Le Soulier de satin'') is a long play by the French dramatist and poet Paul Claudel, written in 1929. It was first performed on stage in 1943, in a production by Claudel and Jean-Louis Barrault. Its run time is roughly elev ...
'' (1931) by
Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early l ...
, 2021


Literaturopern based on novels and short stories

*
Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercan ...
: ''
A Village Romeo and Juliet ''A Village Romeo and Juliet'' is an opera by Frederick Delius, the fourth of his six operas. The composer himself, with his wife Jelka, wrote the English-language libretto based on the short story "''Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe''" by the Swi ...
'' after
Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel ''Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called ''The People from Seldwyla'' (''Die Leu ...
's ''Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe'', 1907 *
Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European ...
: ** ''
Káťa Kabanová ''Káťa Kabanová'' (also known in various spellings including ''Katia'', ''Katja'', ''Katya'', and ''Kabanowa'') is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by the composer based on '' The Storm'', a play by Alexander ...
'' after
Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original ...
, 1921 ** ''
From the House of the Dead ''From the House of the Dead'' () is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček. The libretto was translated and adapted by the composer from the 1862 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was the composer's last opera, premiered on 12 April 1930 at ...
'' (''Z mrtvého domu'') after
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
, 1930 * Dmitri Shostakovich: ** ''Нос'' ('' The Nose'') after the comedy by
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
** ''Леди Макбет Мценского уезда'' ('' Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'') after
Nikolai Leskov Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (russian: Никола́й Семёнович Леско́в; – ) was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique w ...
's novel ''Ledy Macbeth Mtsenskovo uyezda'', 1934 *
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
: ** ''
Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...
'' after
Herman Melville Herman Melville (born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a r ...
, 1951 ** ''
Death in Venice ''Death in Venice ''(German: ''Der Tod in Venedig'') is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, published in 1912. It presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a Pol ...
'' after
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
's novel ''
Tod in Venedig ''Death in Venice ''(German: ''Der Tod in Venedig'') is a novella by German author Thomas Mann, published in 1912. It presents an ennobled writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a Poli ...
'', 1973 *
Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. B ...
: '' Der Prozess'' based on the novel ''
Der Process ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and pr ...
'' by
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ty ...
, 1953 *
Giselher Klebe Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano wor ...
: ** ''
Die tödlichen Wünsche ' (''The Deadly Wishes''), Op. 27, is an opera by Giselher Klebe who also wrote the libretto based on ''La Peau de chagrin'' by Honoré de Balzac. It consists of fifteen lyrical scenes in three acts. It premiered on 14 June 1959 at the Deutsche ...
'' after the novel ''
La peau de chagrin ''La Peau de chagrin'' (, ''The Skin of Shagreen''), known in English as ''The Magic Skin and The Wild Ass's Skin'', is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells t ...
'' von
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
, 1959 ** ''
Das Märchen von der schönen Lilie ''Das Märchen von der schönen Lilie'' (''The Fairy Tale of the Beautiful Lily''), Op. 55, is an opera in two acts by Giselher Klebe, with a libretto by Lore Klebe, based on Goethe's fairy tale ''Das Märchen''. On a commission by the SWR for ...
'' after
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
, 1969 *
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 A ...
: ''Die Verlobung in San Domingo'' after the novel '' von
Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', '' The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
, 1963 *
Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () ( ...
: ** ''Das Geheimnis des entwendeten Briefes'' after the novel ''
The Purloined Letter "The Purloined Letter" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin, the other two being " The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Mystery of Marie R ...
'' by
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, 1975 ** '' Die Flut'' nach einer Erzählung von
Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
, 1947 *
Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...
: ** ''Ein Landarzt'', radio opera after
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ty ...
, 1951 ** ''Boulevard Solitude'' after the novel ''Histoire du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by
Abbé Prévost Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles ( , , ; 1 April 169725 November 1763), usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French priest, author, and novelist. Life and works He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full nam ...
, 1952 ** ''
Der junge Lord ''Der junge Lord'' (''The Young Lord'') is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Ingeborg Bachmann, after Wilhelm Hauff's 1827 fairy tale "Der Affe als Mensch" (The Ape as Man) from ''Der Scheik von Alessandria und sei ...
'' based on the short story ''Der Affe als Mensch'' by
Wilhelm Hauff Wilhelm Hauff (29 November 180218 November 1827) was a Württembergian poet and novelist. Early life Hauff was born in Stuttgart, the son of August Friedrich Hauff, a secretary in the Württemberg ministry of foreign affairs, and Hedwig Wilhelm ...
, 1965 ** ''Pollicino'' based on a fairytale by
Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...
, 1980 ** ''
Das verratene Meer ''Das verratene Meer'' (''The Betrayed Sea'') is an opera in two parts and 14 scenes, with music by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel, after Yukio Mishima's novel '' The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea''. Comp ...
'', after
Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...
's '' The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea'' (午後の曳航 – ''Gogo no Eiko''), 1986–89 *
Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the ...
: ** ''
Jakob Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...
'' after the novella ''
Lenz Lenz may refer to: Places * Lenasia, Gauteng Province, South Africa, a township often called Lenz * Lantsch/Lenz, Canton of Grisons, Switzerland, a municipality * Lenz, Hood River County, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Lenz, Klamath County, ...
'' by
Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...
, 1979 ** ''
Die Hamletmaschine ''Hamletmachine'' (german: Die Hamletmaschine) is a Postmodernism, postmodernist drama by German playwright and theatre director Heiner Müller. Written in 1977, the play is loosely based on ''Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare. The play originated ...
'' 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 postdr ...
's text
Die Hamletmaschine ''Hamletmachine'' (german: Die Hamletmaschine) is a Postmodernism, postmodernist drama by German playwright and theatre director Heiner Müller. Written in 1977, the play is loosely based on ''Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare. The play originated ...
(1977), 1987 ** ''
Die Eroberung von Mexico ''Die Eroberung von Mexico'' (''The Conquest of Mexico'') is an opera in four acts by Wolfgang Rihm, premiered in Hamburg on 9 February 1992. Libretto and concept The libretto, by the composer, is based on Antonin Artaud's 1932 text, ''La conquê ...
'' based on
Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
's 1932 texts ''La conquête du Mexique'' and ''Le théâtre de Séraphin'', 1992 ** ''
Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
'' based on
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his c ...
's ''
Dionysian-Dithyrambs ''Dionysian Dithyrambs'' (german: Dionysos-Dithyramben) is a collection of nine poems written in second half of 1888 by Friedrich Nietzsche under the pen name of Dionysos. The first six poems (''Zwischen Raubvögeln, Das Feuerzeichen, Die Sonne s ...
'', 2010 *
Aribert Reimann Aribert Reimann (born 4 March 1936) is a German composer, pianist and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', the opera ''Lear'', was written at the suggestion of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau ...
: ''
Das Schloß ''The Castle'' (german: Das Schloss, link=no, also spelled ''Das Schloß'' ) is the last novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist known only as "K." arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it ...
'' after
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ty ...
’s novel
Das Schloß ''The Castle'' (german: Das Schloss, link=no, also spelled ''Das Schloß'' ) is the last novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist known only as "K." arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it ...
and its theatre version by
Max Brod Max Brod ( he, מקס ברוד; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a German-speaking Bohemian, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist. Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is best remembered as the friend and bio ...
, 1991 *
Hans Zender Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...
: ''Don Quijote de la Mancha'' after
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best know ...
, 1993 *
Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss virtuoso oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classi ...
: ''
Schneewittchen "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
'' after Robert Walser, 1998


References


Bibliography

* Vincenzo Borghetti/Riccardo Pecci, ''Il bacio della sfinge. D'Annunzio, Pizzetti e »Fedra«'', EDT, Torino 1998. * ''Literaturoper'' by
Julian Budden Julian Medforth Budden (9 April 1924 in Hoylake, Wirral – 28 February 2007 in Florence, Italy) was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (publish ...
, in 'The
New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) *
Carl Dahlhaus Carl Dahlhaus (10 June 1928 – 13 March 1989) was a German musicologist who was among the leading postwar musicologists of the mid to late 20th-century. A prolific scholar, he had broad interests though his research focused on 19th- and 20t ...
: ''Vom Musikdrama zur Literaturoper. Aufsätze zur neueren Operngeschichte.'' Überarbeitete Neuausgabe. Piper u. a., München u. a. 1989, (''Serie Piper'' 8238). * Swantje Gostomzyk: ''Literaturoper am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. Eine interdisziplinäre Studie am Beispiel der Opern von Detlev Glanert.'' Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2009. * Adriana Guarnieri Corazzol, ''Musica e letteratura in Italia tra Ottocento e Novecento'', Sansoni, Milano 2000. *
Hugh Macdonald Hugh John Macdonald (born 31 January 1940 in Newbury, Berkshire) is an English musicologist chiefly known for his work within the music of the 19th century, especially in France. He has been general editor of the ''Hector Berlioz: New Edition o ...
: ''The Prose Libretto'', In: Cambridge Opera Journal 1, 1989, pp. 155–166. *
Jürgen Maehder Jürgen Maehder (born 1950) is a German musicologist and opera director. He discovered Franco Alfano's original version of the finale for the third act of Puccini's ''Turandot''. He has lectured and staged opera internationally. Career Born in Du ...
: ''The Origins of Italian »Literaturoper« ─ »Guglielmo Ratcliff«, »La figlia di Iorio«, »Parisina« and »Francesca da Rimini«'', in: Arthur Groos/Roger Parker (edd.), ''Reading Opera'', Princeton University Press, Princeton 1988, pp. 92–128. *
Jürgen Maehder Jürgen Maehder (born 1950) is a German musicologist and opera director. He discovered Franco Alfano's original version of the finale for the third act of Puccini's ''Turandot''. He has lectured and staged opera internationally. Career Born in Du ...
: ''Drammaturgia musicale e strutture narrative nel teatro musicale italiano della generazaione dell'Ottanta'', in: Mila De Santis (ed.), ''Alfredo Casella e l'Europa. Atti del Convegno internazionale di Studi a Siena'', 7-9 giugno 2001, Olschki, Firenze 2003, pp. 223–248. *
Jürgen Maehder Jürgen Maehder (born 1950) is a German musicologist and opera director. He discovered Franco Alfano's original version of the finale for the third act of Puccini's ''Turandot''. He has lectured and staged opera internationally. Career Born in Du ...
: ''»Salome« von Oscar Wilde und Richard Strauss ─ Die Entstehungsbedingungen der sinfonischen Literaturoper des Fin de siècle'', in: Jürgen Kühnel/Ulrich Müller/Sigrid Schmidt (edd.), ''Richard Strauss, »Salome«: Stofftraditionen, Text und Musik'', Müller-Speiser Anif/Salzburg 2013, pp. 55–107. * Peter Petersen: ''Der Terminus „Literaturoper“ – eine Begriffsbestimmung.'' In: Archiv für Musikwissenschaft 56, 1999, pp. 52–70. * Olaf Roth: ''Die Opernlibretti nach Dramen d'Annunzios'', Peter Lang, Bern/Frankfurt/New York 1999. *
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 ...
: ''Realism as Preached and Practiced – The Russian Opera Dialogue.'' In: Musical Quarterly, 56, 1970. *
Jürg Stenzl Jürg Thomas Stenzl (born 23 August 1942) is a Swiss musicologist, and University professor. Life Born in Basel, Stenzl began his musical education in 1949, first took flute and violin lessons. From 1961 he studied oboe with Walter Huwyler and ...
: ''Heinrich von Kleists Penthesilea in der Vertonung von Ottmar Schoeck.'' In Günter Schnitzler (Hrsg.): ''Dichtung und Musik – Kaleidoskop ihrer Beziehungen.'' Klett-Cotta, 1979, p. 224 sqq. * Almut Ullrich: ''Die „Literaturoper“ von 1970–1990. Texte und Tendenzen.'' Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 1991, (''Veröffentlichungen zur Musikforschung'' 11). * Sigrid Wiesmann (ed.): ''Für und Wider die Literaturoper. Zur Situation nach 1945.'' Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 1982, (''Thurnauer Schriften zum Musiktheater'' 6). {{Authority control Opera genres Opera terminology German words and phrases