Der Zwerg Op.17 is an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg Klaren, freely adapted from the short story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...

.

Composition history

Zemlinsky's choice of this story was a reflection of the end of his relationship with Alma Mahler

Alma Mahler

Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel was a Viennese-born socialite well known in her youth for her beauty and vivacity. She became the wife, successively, of composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel, as well as the consort of several other prominent men...

, and the identification he felt with the drama's main character. He completed the short score in December 1919 and the orchestration in January 1921. The score was published by Universal Edition

Universal Edition

Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...

 Vienna.

Performance history

The opera's premiere took place on 28 May 1922 at the Stadttheater in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 under the baton of Otto Klemperer

Otto Klemperer

Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...

. Its last performance in Zemlinsky's lifetime was in 1926 in Berlin-Charlottenburg. The work runs for approximately 90 minutes and is usually paired with another work when performed.

In 1981, the Hamburg State Opera

Hamburg State Opera

The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...

 presented the first double-bill of Zemlinsky's two one-act operas Der Zwerg and Eine florentinische Tragödie

Eine florentinische Tragödie

Eine florentinische Tragödie , Op. 16 is an opera in one act by Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto adapted by the composer from a German translation by Max Meyerfeld of a play by Oscar Wilde.-Performance history:...

. Der Zwerg, however, was presented in an abridged version with a substantially altered libretto under the title The Birthday of the Infanta. The first modern performances of the opera as Zemlinsky intended it were given in Cologne in February 1996 under the direction of James Conlon

James Conlon

James Conlon is an American conductor and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.-Early years:Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, Queens, New York. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New...

.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast 28 May 1922 (Conductor: Otto Klemperer Otto Klemperer Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany... )
Donna Clara, the Infanta	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Erna Schröder
Ghita, her attendant	soprano	Käthe Herwig
Don Estoban, the chamberlain	bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	Hubert Mertens
The Dwarf	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Karl Schröder Karl Schröder Karl Schröder is the name of:*Karl Schröder I , German musician and father of Karl Schröder II*Karl Schröder II , musician and son of Karl Schröder I*Karl Schröder , German politician and writer...
First Maid	soprano	Hedwig Werle
Second Maid	soprano	Hedwig Hertel
Third Maid	alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...	Agnes Achnitz
Friends of the Infanta	sopranos and altos	Johanna Klemperer, Else Karsten, Adelheid Wollgarten

Synopsis

At the birthday celebrations of the Infanta (or Spanish princess) Donna Clara, a dwarf is sent as a present from a Sultan. Unaware of his physical deformity, the dwarf becomes infatuated with the Infanta, singing her a song of love and imagining himself as a brave knight. She toys with him and gives him a present of a white rose. Left on his own, he accidentally uncovers a mirror and sees his own reflection for the first time. In great agitation, he tries to obtain a kiss from the Infanta, but she spurns this, telling him he is a monster. His heart broken, he dies clutching the white rose as the Infanta rejoins the party.