Weiße RoseThe title of the opera is often shown as Die Weiße Rose; however, the publisher, Breitkopf & Härtel

Breitkopf & Härtel

Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...

, shows both versions as Weiße Rose.is a chamber opera

Chamber opera

Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...

 in one act by composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 Udo Zimmermann

Udo Zimmermann

Udo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes...

. The opera tells the story of Hans

Hans Scholl

Hans Fritz Scholl was a founding member of the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany.-Biography:...

 and Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl

Sophia Magdalena Scholl was a German student, active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. She was convicted of high treason after having been found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich with her brother Hans...

, a brother and sister in their early twenties, who were guillotined by the Nazis in 1943 for leading Die Weiße Rose

White Rose

The White Rose was a non-violent/intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany, consisting of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor...

, a non-violent resistance group. The opera premiered at the Dresden Conservatory on 17 June 1967 with a German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 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 the composer's brother, Ingo Zimmermann, who is a well known journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and writer in Germany. The opera was received fairly well but did not spark the interest in a professional production.

A revised and less conventionally narrative version of the opera was premiered at 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...

 on 27 February 1986 and was a success with both audience and critics. The opera became an international success and has had performances at many of the world's leading opera houses and with leading orchestras including the Vienna State Opera

Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

, Komische Oper Berlin

Komische Oper Berlin

The Komische Oper Berlin is an opera company in Berlin, Germany, which specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals....

, Zurich Opera

Zurich Opera

Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...

, the Salzburg Festival

Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...

, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading symphony orchestra in Israel. It was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra, and in Hebrew as התזמורת הסימפונית הארץ ישראלית The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit...

 among many others. The United States premiere of the opera was presented by Opera Omaha

Opera Omaha

Opera Omaha is an opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. It is well known for premiering Wakonda's Dream, a contemporary opera about Native Americans set in the Niobrara....

 in 1988 with soprano Lauren Flanigan

Lauren Flanigan

Lauren Flanigan is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the 1980s. She has enjoyed a particularly fruitful partnership with the New York City Opera, appearing with the company almost every year since 1990...

 as Sophie.

Roles

Cast	Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...	Premiere of revised opera, 27 February 1986 Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Udo Zimmermann Udo Zimmermann Udo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes... )
Hans Scholl	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... *See note	Lutz-Michael Harder Lutz-Michael Harder Lutz-Michael Harder is a German lyric tenor known mostly for his interpretation of Mozart opera roles and as a baroque concert soloist.-Biography:...
Sophie Scholl	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...	Gabriele Fontana Gabriele Fontana Gabriele Fontana is an Austrian operatic soprano.-Biography:Fontana made her professional opera debut in 1980 as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Oper Frankfurt...

• Note — The tessitura and range of the role of Hans is such that a number of baritones with good upper extension have also learned and performed the role.

Recordings

• Die weiße Rose with Udo Zimmermann
  Udo Zimmermann
  Udo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes...
  
   (conductor), Gabriele Fontana
  Gabriele Fontana
  Gabriele Fontana is an Austrian operatic soprano.-Biography:Fontana made her professional opera debut in 1980 as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Oper Frankfurt...
  
   (Sophie) , Lutz-Michael Harder
  Lutz-Michael Harder
  Lutz-Michael Harder is a German lyric tenor known mostly for his interpretation of Mozart opera roles and as a baroque concert soloist.-Biography:...
  
   (Hans) and the Instrumentalensemble München. Released on the Orfeo label in 1988.
• Weiße Rose with Udo Zimmermann (conductor), Grazyna Szklarecka (Sophie), Frank Schiller (Hans), Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra
  Musica Viva Australia
  Musica Viva Australia is the oldest independent performing arts organisation in Australia and the world's largest entrepreneur of chamber music. It was formed in 1945 in Sydney by violist Richard Goldner...
  
  , Berlin Classics, 2005.

Sources

• F. Hennenberg: Udo Zimmermann: Leidenschaft Musik – Abenteuer Theater: Komponist – Intendant – Dirigent (Bonn, 1992)
• M. Ernst, ed.: Udo Zimmermann: ein Fünfzigjähriger im Spiegelbild von Zeitgenossen: eine Biographie in Zitaten (Leipzig, 1993)
• Lars Klingberg. "Zimmermann, Udo." Grove Music Online. (subscription access)