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creations fail to reach the heart; he defends his faith in the theatre of the past and his own work as a mature director and a preserver of the great artistic traditions. He challenges
Flamand and Olivier to create new masterworks that will reveal real people in all their complexity. The Countess manages to reconcile the three, urging them to make peace, pointing out how their arts are interdependent; she commissions the pair to collaborate on an opera. They search for a plot and it is the Count, who, according to his sister, "isn't very musical; he prefers military marches", who hits on the bold idea of an opera depicting the very events of that afternoon, the characters to be real people "like us", just as La Roche wishes.
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11. Alone, and still undecided about both the ending of the opera and her choice of lover, she sings of the inseparability of words and music. In like manner she tells herself that if she chooses one she will win him but lose the other. She consults her image in the mirror, asking "Is there any ending that isn't trivial?" The Major-Domo announces that "Dinner is served" and the
Countess slowly leaves the room.
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and discuss who the
Countess might be in love with. The Major-Domo discovers the prompter, Monsieur Taupe, who has fallen asleep and has been left behind. Taupe explains that it is actually he who is the most important person in the theatre, since without him, there would be no entertainment. The Major-Domo listens patiently and then arranges for food and his transport home.
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marvels at the magic synthesis of words and music. Olivier is asked to make cuts to his play and leaves for La Roche's rehearsal. Flamand declares his love for the
Countess and asks her which she prefers, poetry or music. She asks him to meet her in the library the next morning at 11, when she will give him her decision. She orders chocolate in the drawing room.
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La Roche describes his planned two-part birthday entertainment for the
Countess, the "Birth of Pallas Athene" followed by the "Fall of Carthage". The guests laugh and mock his extravagant ideas, but La Roche, in a monologue, attacks what he sees as the weakness of these contemporary youngsters, whose
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As evening falls, the
Countess returns, having dressed for supper, and learns from the Major-Domo that her brother has gone to Paris with Clairon, leaving her to dine alone. The Major-Domo tells her that Olivier wishes her to provide him with an ending to the opera in the library the next morning at
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The Count and
Clairon depart for Paris with the theatre company. As they clean up the room after the guests have left, the servants comment on how absurd it would be to portray servants in an opera. "Soon everyone will be an actor", they sing. They deride their employers for 'playing' at the theatre
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The Count, the
Countess's brother, teases his sister about her two suitors, Flamand and Olivier, and tells her that her love of music is due in part to the attention Flamand pays her. She in turn tells her brother that his love of words is in keeping with his attraction to the actress Clairon. The
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Olivier tells the
Countess that he means the sonnet for her. Flamand then sets the sonnet to music, while Olivier declares his love for the Countess. Flamand sings them his new composition, accompanying himself on the harpsichord. Olivier feels that Flamand has ruined his poem, while the Countess
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At the
Countess Madeleine's château, a rehearsal of Flamand's newly composed sextet is in progress. (This sextet is played in concert form as a piece of chamber music, and before the curtain rises.) Olivier and Flamand debate the relative powers of words and music. They engage in a rather furious
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The actors and La Roche return from their rehearsal and the Count declares himself bewitched by Clairon. Madeleine tells him of her reluctance to choose between her two suitors, and the brother and sister gently tease each other again. Refreshments are served as dancers and two Italian singers
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and actors are necessary to bring their work to life. Olivier has written a new play for the Countess's birthday the next day, which La Roche will direct, with the Count and the famous actress Clairon performing. La Roche, Olivier and Flamand proceed to a rehearsal.
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The opera originally consisted of a single act lasting close to two and a half hours. This, in combination with the work's conversational tone and emphasis on text, has prevented it from achieving great popularity. But at Hamburg in 1957,
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entertain the guests. The Count, Countess, Flamand, Olivier, Clairon and La Roche reflect on the respective merits of dance, music and poetry. The discussion is lively, even aggressive. The Count declares, "opera is an absurd thing".
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Countess admits that she cannot decide which of her suitors she prefers. Clairon arrives, and she and the Count read a scene from Olivier's play, which culminates in a love sonnet. They leave to join La Roche at the rehearsal.
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The theme of the opera can be summarized as "Which is the greater art, poetry or music?" This was a topic of discussion at the time of the setting, as in a 1786 Salieri opera named for the issue,
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further developed the idea several years later. Strauss then took it on, but finally recruited Krauss as his collaborator. Most of the final libretto is by Krauss.
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argument which is semi-spoken rather than sung in definable arias. The theatre director La Roche wakes from a nap, and reminds them both that
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Anderson, David E. (March 1992). "Review of '"FĂĽrs Wort brauche ich Hilfe: Die Geburt der Oper
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Divertimento for chamber orchestra after keyboard pieces by Couperin
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Synopsis and libretto in English from Pacific Opera, Victoria, B.C.
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von Richard Strauss und Clemens Krauss" by Kurt Wilhelm".
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in 1958 after the Juilliard School staged it in 1954 with
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Dance suite from keyboard pieces by François Couperin
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133:, but its genesis came from
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554:Retrieved 25 April 2011
548:Retrieved 25 April 2011
504:Retrieved 25 April 2011
120:Nationaltheater MĂĽnchen
106:, Op. 85, is the final
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611:List of compositions
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864:Horn Concerto No. 1
781:Die Liebe der Danae
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558:Libretto in German
276:Walter Höfermayer
166:The Santa Fe Opera
137:in the 1930s, and
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216:
161:
143:
135:Stefan Zweig
102:
101:
100:
1539:1942 operas
1384:(1926 film)
1147:Winternacht
1136:Allerseelen
1091:Enoch Arden
1080:(1884–1885)
1022:Don Quixote
972:Aus Italien
825:Schlagobers
763:Friedenstag
390:impresarios
317:Irma Beilke
267:The Count,
261:Hans Hotter
190:Voice type
170:Gloria Davy
150: [
1513:Categories
963:Tone poems
845:Orchestral
721:Intermezzo
696:(1912/16)
436:References
421:Recordings
380:near Paris
376:Place: A
293:Georg Hann
281:La Roche,
235:a musician
217:an actress
126:wrote the
85:1942-10-28
50:Librettist
1460:Modernism
1355:Taillefer
1224:Sehnsucht
1158:Ständchen
1125:Die Nacht
1114:Zueignung
1051:(1911–15)
892:(1911–17)
882:(1885–86)
872:(1883–84)
866:(1882–83)
860:(1881–82)
790:Capriccio
639:Feuersnot
545:Capriccio
456:Capriccio
273:baritone
249:Olivier,
233:Flamand,
222:contralto
215:Clairon,
162:Capriccio
114:composer
103:Capriccio
22:Capriccio
1488:Category
1402:(father)
1290:" (1906)
1279:" (1900)
1268:" (1900)
1257:" (1899)
1255:Notturno
1250:" (1898)
1239:" (1898)
1228:" (1896)
1217:" (1895)
1206:" (1894)
1195:" (1894)
1184:" (1894)
1173:" (1894)
1162:" (1886)
1151:" (1886)
1140:" (1885)
1129:" (1885)
1118:" (1885)
988:Don Juan
878:Burleske
742:(1933)
739:Arabella
711:(1919)
681:(1911)
666:(1909)
651:(1905)
358:Synopsis
313:soprano
256:baritone
131:libretto
77:Premiere
69:Language
1318:(1948)
1246:Befreit
1202:Morgen!
1180:Cäcilie
980:Macbeth
806:Ballets
793:(1942)
662:Elektra
629:Guntram
512:Sources
378:château
204:soprano
83: (
1529:Operas
1408:(wife)
1366:(1928)
1358:(1903)
1350:(1889)
1342:(1884)
1331:Choral
1310:(1918)
1300:(1918)
1103:Lieder
1094:(1897)
1086:(1888)
1074:(1883)
1068:(1881)
1043:(1903)
1035:(1898)
1025:(1897)
1017:(1896)
1007:(1895)
999:(1889)
991:(1888)
983:(1888)
975:(1886)
954:(1947)
948:(1945)
942:(1945)
934:(1942)
928:(1941)
922:(1940)
914:(1936)
904:(1924)
898:(1923)
854:(1880)
837:(1940)
829:(1924)
819:(1914)
785:(1940)
775:(1938)
772:Daphne
767:(1938)
757:(1935)
734:(1928)
724:(1924)
648:Salome
643:(1901)
633:(1894)
620:Operas
529:
480:941709
478:
326:tenor
302:tenor
251:a poet
128:German
112:German
72:German
1498:Audio
476:JSTOR
460:Notes
441:Notes
339:bass
240:tenor
187:Role
180:Roles
154:]
108:opera
28:Opera
527:ISBN
288:bass
172:and
468:doi
110:by
30:by
1515::
474:.
464:48
152:de
1282:"
1271:"
1260:"
1253:"
1242:"
1231:"
1220:"
1209:"
1198:"
1187:"
1176:"
1165:"
1154:"
1143:"
1132:"
1121:"
1110:"
587:e
580:t
573:v
482:.
470::
368:(
87:)
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