Intermezzo, Op. 72, is a comic opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to his own German libretto, described as a Bürgerliche Komödie mit sinfonischen Zwischenspielen (bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes). It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on 4 November 1924, with sets that reproduced Strauss' home in Garmisch. The first Vienna performance was in January 1927.[1]
The story depicts fictionally the personalities of Strauss himself (as "Robert Storch") and his wife Pauline (as "Christine")[2] and was based on real incidents in their lives. Pauline Strauss was not aware of the opera's subject before the first performance. After Lotte Lehmann had congratulated Pauline on this "marvelous present to you from your husband", Pauline's reply was reported as "I don't give a damn".[3][4] The most celebrated excerpts from the opera are the orchestral interludes between scenes.[citation needed]
His usual librettist up to that time, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, refused to work on the opera and suggested that Strauss himself write the libretto, which he eventually did after having been refused by other writers. This is why the libretto is not in verse but in prose and even mimics the dialect used by the servants in the play, against the more polished German of the principals.
The opera's title is intended to refer to the intermezzi that used to be staged during the intermissions of serious operas during the 18th century, sort of mini-comic-operas, easy to follow with themes usually about marital confusions and other light comedies.
Performance historyedit
The UK premiere was at the Glyndebourne Opera on 20 September 1974 (sung in English), with subsequent productions in 1975 and 1983 (with a BBC Broadcast on 26 August 1983).[5]
The first professional staged US production was at the Santa Fe Opera in 1984, translated into English.[6]
Setting: Vienna and Grundlsee during a 1920s winter
The composer Storch is leaving for a conducting tour, and his wife Christine helps him pack, arguing and nagging along the way. Seeking relief from loneliness she goes tobogganing and collides with a skier, a young Baron who befriends her. They dance together at a ball and she arranges for him to lodge in the house of her notary. The friendship is soured when the Baron asks Christine for financial assistance. She opens a letter, supposedly for her husband, from a lady arranging an assignation. She immediately telegrams Storch demanding they part for ever. In tears, she seeks solace in her son's bedroom but he defends his father.
Storch is playing skat with friends in Vienna when the telegram arrives, and is bewildered by the accusations. Stroh, a conductor friend, admits that he knows the lady and surmises that his and Storch's surnames must have been confused. Christine visits the notary to demand a divorce, but he is unwilling to pursue the matter. She sends the Baron to Vienna to gather evidence of infidelity. Packing to leave, she receives a telegram from her husband saying that Stroh will explain the misunderstanding. Even after Stroh's visit she is reluctant to accept the truth. Storch returns home, and an argument ensues. The Baron arrives with evidence that Stroh rather than Storch had indeed known the lady and Christine dismisses him, assured that her husband is blameless. Storch forgives her anger and teases her about her dalliance with the Baron. Husband and wife declare a renewed love.
Instrumentationedit
Strauss scored Intermezzo for the following orchestra:
Woodwinds: 2 flutes (flute 2 doubles piccolo), 2 oboes (oboe 2 doubles English Horn), 2 clarinets in B-flat (clarinet 2 doubles bass clarinet in A), 2 bassoons (2nd bassoon must play low A in act 2)
Brass: 3 horns (in F, E, D, E-flat, and A), 2 trumpets (in C), 2 trombones
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Intermezzo Op 72 is a comic opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to his own German libretto described as a Burgerliche Komodie mit sinfonischen Zwischenspielen bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on 4 November 1924 with sets that reproduced Strauss home in Garmisch The first Vienna performance was in January 1927 1 IntermezzoOpera by Richard StraussStrauss in 1922LibrettistRichard StraussLanguageGermanPremiere4 November 1924 1924 11 04 Semperoper Dresden Contents 1 Background 2 Performance history 3 Roles 4 Synopsis 5 Instrumentation 6 Recordings 7 References 8 External linksBackground editThe story depicts fictionally the personalities of Strauss himself as Robert Storch and his wife Pauline as Christine 2 and was based on real incidents in their lives Pauline Strauss was not aware of the opera s subject before the first performance After Lotte Lehmann had congratulated Pauline on this marvelous present to you from your husband Pauline s reply was reported as I don t give a damn 3 4 The most celebrated excerpts from the opera are the orchestral interludes between scenes citation needed His usual librettist up to that time Hugo von Hofmannsthal refused to work on the opera and suggested that Strauss himself write the libretto which he eventually did after having been refused by other writers This is why the libretto is not in verse but in prose and even mimics the dialect used by the servants in the play against the more polished German of the principals The opera s title is intended to refer to the intermezzi that used to be staged during the intermissions of serious operas during the 18th century sort of mini comic operas easy to follow with themes usually about marital confusions and other light comedies Performance history editThe UK premiere was at the Glyndebourne Opera on 20 September 1974 sung in English with subsequent productions in 1975 and 1983 with a BBC Broadcast on 26 August 1983 5 The first professional staged US production was at the Santa Fe Opera in 1984 translated into English 6 Roles editRole Voice type Premiere cast 4 November 1924Conductor Fritz BuschChristine Storch soprano Lotte LehmannRobert Storch her husband a conductor baritone Joseph CorreckAnna their maid soprano Liesel v SchuchFranzl their eight year old son spoken Fritz SonntagBaron Lummer tenor Theo StrackThe notary baritone Robert BusselHis wife soprano Elfriede HaberkornStroh another conductor tenor Hanns LangeA commercial counselor baritone Ludwig ErmoldA legal counsellor baritone Adolph SchoepflinA singer bass Willy BaderFanny the Storch s cook spoken Anna BolzeMarie and Therese maids spoken Erna FreseResi a young girl sopranoSynopsis editSetting Vienna and Grundlsee during a 1920s winterThe composer Storch is leaving for a conducting tour and his wife Christine helps him pack arguing and nagging along the way Seeking relief from loneliness she goes tobogganing and collides with a skier a young Baron who befriends her They dance together at a ball and she arranges for him to lodge in the house of her notary The friendship is soured when the Baron asks Christine for financial assistance She opens a letter supposedly for her husband from a lady arranging an assignation She immediately telegrams Storch demanding they part for ever In tears she seeks solace in her son s bedroom but he defends his father Storch is playing skat with friends in Vienna when the telegram arrives and is bewildered by the accusations Stroh a conductor friend admits that he knows the lady and surmises that his and Storch s surnames must have been confused Christine visits the notary to demand a divorce but he is unwilling to pursue the matter She sends the Baron to Vienna to gather evidence of infidelity Packing to leave she receives a telegram from her husband saying that Stroh will explain the misunderstanding Even after Stroh s visit she is reluctant to accept the truth Storch returns home and an argument ensues The Baron arrives with evidence that Stroh rather than Storch had indeed known the lady and Christine dismisses him assured that her husband is blameless Storch forgives her anger and teases her about her dalliance with the Baron Husband and wife declare a renewed love Instrumentation editStrauss scored Intermezzo for the following orchestra Woodwinds 2 flutes flute 2 doubles piccolo 2 oboes oboe 2 doubles English Horn 2 clarinets in B flat clarinet 2 doubles bass clarinet in A 2 bassoons 2nd bassoon must play low A in act 2 Brass 3 horns in F E D E flat and A 2 trumpets in C 2 trombones Percussion timpani suspended cymbals crash cymbals snare drum triangle bass drum pair of sleigh bells Keyboards piano harmonium Strings harp violins I 11 violins II 9 violas 5 violoncelli 5 contrabasses 3 Recordings editYear Cast Christine Storch Robert Storch Anna Baron Lummer Conductor opera house and orchestra Label 7 1954 Hilde Zadek Alfred Poell Anny Felbermayer Rudolf Christ Rudolf MoraltVienna State Opera Orchestra 30 March at the Theater an der Wien Omega Opera Archive 5381963 Hanny Steffek Hermann Prey Gertrud Freedman Ferry Gruber Joseph Keilberth Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus VHS Video Cassette Lyric Distribution Legato Cat 1818 DVD Legato Classics 8 1980 Lucia Popp Dietrich Fischer Dieskau Gabriele Fuchs Adolf Dallapozza Wolfgang Sawallisch Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra CD EMI ClassicsCat 7 49337 21983 Felicity Lott John Pringle Elizabeth Gale Ian Caley Gustav Kuhn London Philharmonic Orchestra VHS DVD Kultur Cat CVI 20242014 Simone Schneider Markus Eiche de Martina Welschenbach Martin Homrich Brigitte Fassbaender speaking roles Ulf Schirmer Munchner Rundfunkorchester CD Classic Produktion Osnabruck Cat 7779012 9 References edit Intermezzo Time 27 January 1927 Griffel Margaret Ross Review of Del Mar 1969 Notes 2nd ser 27 4 pp 726 726 June 1971 doi 10 2307 895878 JSTOR 895878 Del Mar Norman 1969 Richard Strauss A Critical Commentary on His Life and Work Vol 2 Chilton Book Company Kennedy Michael 2006 Richard Strauss Man Musician Enigma Cambridge University Press p 98 ISBN 978 0 521 02774 8 Glyndebourne archive retrieved 12 March 2019 Strauss Intermezzo at Santa Fe Opera by Bernard Holland The New York Times 6 August 1984 Recordings of Intermezzo on operadis opera discography org uk Beth Hart Reviews of video releases of Intermezzo The Opera Quarterly 15 3 pp 608 612 1999 Strauss Intermezzo Audio CDExternal links editIntermezzo Op 72 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Intermezzo opera amp oldid 1123292325, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
