Die Soldaten
| Die Soldaten | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Bernd Alois Zimmermann | |
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| Librettist | Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz |
| Language | German |
| Based on |
Die Soldaten by J. M. R. Lenz |
| Premiere | 15 February 1965 Cologne Opera |
Die Soldaten (The Soldiers) is a four-act opera in German by German composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann, based on the 1776 play by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz. Written and revised in phases between 1957 and 1964, it was premiered in 1965 and dedicated to Hans Rosbaud. Zimmermann himself faithfully adapted the play into the libretto, the only changes to the text being repeats and small cuts. It is the composer's only completed opera and is considered an important work of the second half of the 20th century.
Die Soldaten came about as a result of a commission from the Cologne Opera, and Zimmermann began the work in 1957.
His original idea was to present the opera on twelve stages surrounding the audience, who would be seated on swiveling chairs. Upon reviewing an early scored version of this idea, however, the Cologne officials, including Wolfgang Sawallisch, advised Zimmermann that it would be impossible to realize ("unaufführbar").
In 1963 Zimmermann completed a Vokal-Sinfonie using music for the opera consistent with the original idea, to demonstrate in concert that the music could in fact be played. He did not, however, go on to complete a version of the opera consistent with the original idea, as presented in draft form to Sawallisch and the other officials, according to his widow. Instead, from 1963 to 1964, during a study visit to the Villa Massimo in Rome, Zimmermann revised his composition into the version we know today in order to get it performed. The premiere followed the next year.
WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) broadcast scenes from Die Soldaten in 1963, but the first staged performance, with Cologne Opera forces conducted by Michael Gielen, did not take place until 15 February 1965, after Zimmermann completed revisions to the score in 1964. WDR documented this with a recording, made in sessions on 21 and 22 February and 2 and 3 March in its main studio. In 1969 Gielen also conducted the successful and widely reviewed Bavarian State Opera premiere run in Munich.
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