Der Besuch der alten Dame (opera)

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For the play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt and other works based on it, see The Visit (play).
Der Besuch der alten Dame
Opera by Gottfried von Einem
TranslationThe Visit of the Old Lady
LibrettistFriedrich Dürrenmatt
LanguageGerman
Based onDürrenmatt's 1956 play The Visit
Premiere
23 March 1971 (1971-03-23)
Vienna State Opera

Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit of the Old Lady) is an opera in three acts by Gottfried von Einem to a German libretto by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, based on his 1956 play of the same name.

Performance history[edit]

The work was first performed at the Vienna State Opera on 23 May 1971, with Horst Stein conducting and Christa Ludwig in the principal role.[1] The German premiere was staged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 1 March 1972. Further productions followed in Strasbourg and Karl Marx Stadt in 1973, and in Stockholm in 1976.[2] The work had its United States premiere on 25 October 1972 at the San Francisco Opera in a production directed by Francis Ford Coppola and using an English translation by Norman Tucker.

Recent productions include a run of five performances at the Görlitz Theatre, Germany, in May/June 2010.[3]

Roles[edit]

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role[4] Voice type[4] Premiere cast, 23 May 1971[5]
Conductor: Horst Stein
Claire Zachanassian, multi-millionairess mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig
Her husband No. 7 actor Wolfgang Peschel
Her husband No. 9 tenor Elmar Brenneis
The butler character tenor Heinz Zednik
Toby, Roby, chewing chewing-gum actors Erich Trachtenberg, Klaus Peters
Koby, Loby, blind tenors Karl Terkal, Fritz Sperlbauer
Alfred Ill high baritone Eberhard Wächter
His wife lyric soprano Emmy Loose
His daughter mezzo-soprano Ana Higueras-Aragon
His son tenor Ewald Aichberger
The mayor heldentenor Hans Beirer
The preacher bass-baritone Manfred Jungwirth
The teacher baritone Hans Hotter
The doctor baritone Siegfried Rudolf Frese
The policeman bass-baritone Alois Pernerstorfer
First woman soprano Laurence Dutoit
Second woman soprano Margareta Sjöstedt
Hofbauer, citizen tenor Kurt Equiluz
Helmesberger, citizen baritone Harald Pröglhöf
Station master bass-baritone Hans Christian
Train driver bass-baritone Hans Braun
Conductor tenor Franz Machala
Reporter spoken role Wilhelm Lenninger
Cameraman bass Hans Braun
A voice tenor Julius Suchey
Chorus: citizens of Güllen

Recordings[edit]

A recording of the world premiere performance at the Vienna State Opera was released by Deutsche Grammophon on LP. This recording has been reissued on CD by Amadeo.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Der Besuch der alten Dame, 23 May 1971". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. ^ a b "Der Besuch der alten Dame von von Einem" (in German). operone.de. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Performances – Der Besuch der alten Dame". Operabase. Retrieved 11 September 2010.[dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Gottfried von Einem – Der Besuch der alten Dame – opera". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Der Besuch der alten Dame - Uraufführung". Wiener Staatsoper - Archiv. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
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