Die Stadt hinter dem Strom (opera)
Encyclopedia
Die Stadt hinter dem Strom (The City Beyond the River) is an oratorio
-opera
in three acts composed by Hans Vogt
to a libretto
by Hermann Kasack
based on his 1947 dystopia
n novel Die Stadt hinter dem Strom
.
The "Oratorische Oper" (oratorio opera) premiered on Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk
and BBC Radio
in 1952. Vogt later revised the work for the stage. It was first performed as a live theatre piece at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
on 3 May 1955 as part of the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden.
Vogt had collaborated with the librettist Hermann Kasack and also with the publisher and musicologist Fritz Oeser
. In an obituary for Oeser authored by Vogt, he recalled that Oeser had requested him to come to Wiesbaden to change the Chorprolog (choral prologue) and address a missing climax in one of the act 3 scenes and promised to pay for the change.
The libretto was published by Suhrkamp Verlag
in 1955. A recording of the work by the Hamburg State Radio
was broadcast on BBC Radio 3
on April 28, 1957.
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
-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 three acts composed by Hans Vogt
Hans Vogt (composer)
Hans Vogt was a German composer and conductor.-Professional career:He was born in Danzig. From 1929 to 1934 he studied with Georg Schumann and Otto Frickhoeffer at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. From 1934 he worked in Minden as a cellist, pianist and conductor. In 1935 he was appointed...
to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Hermann Kasack
Hermann Kasack
Hermann Robert Richard Eugen Kasack was a German writer. He is best known for his novel Die Stadt hinter dem Strom . Kasack was a pioneer of using the medium broadcast for literature...
based on his 1947 dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n novel Die Stadt hinter dem Strom
Die Stadt hinter dem Strom
Die Stadt hinter dem Strom is a German language existentialist novel by Hermann Kasack, published in 1947 in Berlin...
.
Background and performance history
Die Stadt hinter dem Strom was Vogt's first opera, which he originally conceived it for radio. The librettist was Hermann Kasack, the author of the novel on which the opera is based. Kasack had written Die Stadt hinter dem Strom in 1942, 1943 and 1946, dealing with the horrors of the world wars. He imagined a ruined city with characters who resemble humans but act like puppets.The "Oratorische Oper" (oratorio opera) premiered on Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Länder of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September 1945 until 31 December 1955. Until 1954, it was also responsible for broadcasting in West Berlin...
and BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
in 1952. Vogt later revised the work for the stage. It was first performed as a live theatre piece at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden is the State Theatre of the German state Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden, producing operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. It is also known as Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden...
on 3 May 1955 as part of the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden.
Vogt had collaborated with the librettist Hermann Kasack and also with the publisher and musicologist Fritz Oeser
Fritz Oeser
Fritz Oeser was a musicologist, most famous for preparing restored versions of Bizet's Carmen in 1964 and Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann in 1976. He also edited the 1877 version of Anton Bruckner's Third Symphony, in D Minor, ....
. In an obituary for Oeser authored by Vogt, he recalled that Oeser had requested him to come to Wiesbaden to change the Chorprolog (choral prologue) and address a missing climax in one of the act 3 scenes and promised to pay for the change.
The libretto was published by Suhrkamp Verlag
Suhrkamp Verlag
Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature.In January 2010 the headquarters of the company moved from Frankfurt to Berlin.-Early history:...
in 1955. A recording of the work by the Hamburg State Radio
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Länder of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September 1945 until 31 December 1955. Until 1954, it was also responsible for broadcasting in West Berlin...
was broadcast on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
on April 28, 1957.