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Der Silbersee
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Der Silbersee
Der Silbersee: ein Wintermärchen (The Silver Lake: a Winter's Fairy Tale) is a 'play with music' in three acts by Kurt Weill to a German text by Georg Kaiser. The subtitle is an allusion to Heinrich Heine's 1844 satirical epic poem, Germany. A Winter's Tale.
Der Silbersee was premiered on 18 February 1933 simultaneously at the Altes Theater (Leipzig), the Alte Oper (Erfurt) and the Stadttheater Magdeburg, just three weeks after the Nazi Party's Machtergreifung on 30 January 1933. The Leipzig production was directed by Detlev Sierck, conducted by Gustav Brecher, and designed by Caspar Neher. It was the last production of both Weill and Kaiser in the Weimar Republic before they were forced to emigrate. It was banned on 4 March 1933 by the Nazis after having been performed 16 times.
A complete performance of Der Silbersee runs about three hours, consisting of roughly equal parts of dialogue and music. The long and complex play requires skilled actors, but the vocal demands of Weill's score require trained singers. The difficulty in reconciling these needs makes successful performance of the piece difficult, and modern productions have consisted mostly of abridged concert versions and adaptations.
An abridged version with diminished orchestration was prepared by Boris Blacher and presented as part of the Berlin Festival at the Schlosspark-Theater, in West Berlin, on 19 September 1955.
At the Holland Festival at The Hague on 25 June 1971, a 90-minute concert version was prepared by Jozef Heinzelmann and David Drew. It included the entire score in its original orchestration, with narration spoken by Lotte Lenya. The performance was conducted by Gary Bertini.
A 50-minute concert version devised by David Drew for five soloists, chorus and orchestra with no narration or dialogue was presented on 10 September 1975 in West Berlin. Performers included Anja Silja (soprano) and Günther Reich (baritone), conducted by Gary Bertini.
On 20 March 1980 in the New York State Theater in New York City, the New York City Opera presented a free adaptation entitled Silverlake with an English libretto by Hugh Wheeler and a musically continuous score devised by Lys Symonette who also adapted the lyrics. The score incorporated incidental music Weill had composed for the Berlin stage as well as music written for a 1927 production of August Strindberg's Gustav III, and interpolated the "Muschel von Margate" ("Petroleum Song") (written for Léo Lania's 1928 play Konjunktur) with new lyrics by Wheeler to create a duet for Olim and Severin in act 3. This version also adds Olim to the Lottery Agent's Tango, making it a duet, transfers the "Ballad of Caesar's Death" from the ingénue Fennimore to the villainess Frau von Luber, and adds a role for a dancer representing Hunger. The cast included Joel Grey (Olim), William Neill (Severin), Elizabeth Hynes (Fennimore), Elaine Bonazzi (Frau von Luber), and Gary Chryst (Hunger). The production was directed by Harold Prince, conducted by Julius Rudel, and designed by Manuel Lutgenhorst. In 2014 it was produced at Kokkola Opera Summer in Kokkola, Finland.
A band of unemployed men who live on the banks of the Silbersee are driven by their hunger and despair to rob a grocery store. Severin is making off with a pineapple when he is shot and wounded by Olim, a provincial policeman. While preparing his official report, Olim's conscience is troubled by the desperation that he imagines has motivated Severin's crime, and he is touched by Severin's unlikely choice of plunder. After an unexpected lottery win, Olim finds himself in possession of a substantial fortune. Then, he decides to destroy his police report regarding the incident and makes a solemn commitment to rectify his relationship with Severin. Olim approaches Severin, who is bitter and hospitalized, presenting himself as the benefactor without revealing his true identity.
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Der Silbersee
Der Silbersee: ein Wintermärchen (The Silver Lake: a Winter's Fairy Tale) is a 'play with music' in three acts by Kurt Weill to a German text by Georg Kaiser. The subtitle is an allusion to Heinrich Heine's 1844 satirical epic poem, Germany. A Winter's Tale.
Der Silbersee was premiered on 18 February 1933 simultaneously at the Altes Theater (Leipzig), the Alte Oper (Erfurt) and the Stadttheater Magdeburg, just three weeks after the Nazi Party's Machtergreifung on 30 January 1933. The Leipzig production was directed by Detlev Sierck, conducted by Gustav Brecher, and designed by Caspar Neher. It was the last production of both Weill and Kaiser in the Weimar Republic before they were forced to emigrate. It was banned on 4 March 1933 by the Nazis after having been performed 16 times.
A complete performance of Der Silbersee runs about three hours, consisting of roughly equal parts of dialogue and music. The long and complex play requires skilled actors, but the vocal demands of Weill's score require trained singers. The difficulty in reconciling these needs makes successful performance of the piece difficult, and modern productions have consisted mostly of abridged concert versions and adaptations.
An abridged version with diminished orchestration was prepared by Boris Blacher and presented as part of the Berlin Festival at the Schlosspark-Theater, in West Berlin, on 19 September 1955.
At the Holland Festival at The Hague on 25 June 1971, a 90-minute concert version was prepared by Jozef Heinzelmann and David Drew. It included the entire score in its original orchestration, with narration spoken by Lotte Lenya. The performance was conducted by Gary Bertini.
A 50-minute concert version devised by David Drew for five soloists, chorus and orchestra with no narration or dialogue was presented on 10 September 1975 in West Berlin. Performers included Anja Silja (soprano) and Günther Reich (baritone), conducted by Gary Bertini.
On 20 March 1980 in the New York State Theater in New York City, the New York City Opera presented a free adaptation entitled Silverlake with an English libretto by Hugh Wheeler and a musically continuous score devised by Lys Symonette who also adapted the lyrics. The score incorporated incidental music Weill had composed for the Berlin stage as well as music written for a 1927 production of August Strindberg's Gustav III, and interpolated the "Muschel von Margate" ("Petroleum Song") (written for Léo Lania's 1928 play Konjunktur) with new lyrics by Wheeler to create a duet for Olim and Severin in act 3. This version also adds Olim to the Lottery Agent's Tango, making it a duet, transfers the "Ballad of Caesar's Death" from the ingénue Fennimore to the villainess Frau von Luber, and adds a role for a dancer representing Hunger. The cast included Joel Grey (Olim), William Neill (Severin), Elizabeth Hynes (Fennimore), Elaine Bonazzi (Frau von Luber), and Gary Chryst (Hunger). The production was directed by Harold Prince, conducted by Julius Rudel, and designed by Manuel Lutgenhorst. In 2014 it was produced at Kokkola Opera Summer in Kokkola, Finland.
A band of unemployed men who live on the banks of the Silbersee are driven by their hunger and despair to rob a grocery store. Severin is making off with a pineapple when he is shot and wounded by Olim, a provincial policeman. While preparing his official report, Olim's conscience is troubled by the desperation that he imagines has motivated Severin's crime, and he is touched by Severin's unlikely choice of plunder. After an unexpected lottery win, Olim finds himself in possession of a substantial fortune. Then, he decides to destroy his police report regarding the incident and makes a solemn commitment to rectify his relationship with Severin. Olim approaches Severin, who is bitter and hospitalized, presenting himself as the benefactor without revealing his true identity.
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