Kurt Weill

Der Jasager
Translated title | The Yes-Sayer; He Who Says Yes |
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Subtitle | School opera in two acts |
Text information | Libretto by Bertolt Brecht (translated into German by Elisabeth Hauptmann from the English translation by Arthur Waley) |
Year(s) composed | 1930 |
Text Author | Bertolt Brecht |
Publisher | EAMC |
Instrumentation | 1.0.1.0.asx-0.0.0.0-perc-2pno.harm-plucked instruments ad lib. (guitar, banjo, lute); strings (without violas) |
Duration | 35' |
Language | German |
Authorized translations | English: H.M. Potts; Michael Feingold |
Synopsis | Based on the Japanese Noh Play Taniko. A boy receives permission to travel with his teacher and classmates across the mountains in search of a physician who can help his sick mother. The difficult journey causes the boy to become ill and unable to go on. The teacher offers to turn back, but the other students remind him of the ancient custom, which demands that sick travelers be thrown off the mountains into the valley. The boy consents (says yes), and the custom is observed. |
Roles | The Boy (tenor or boy soprano), the Mother (mezzo), the Teacher (baritone), three students (2 tenors, 1 baritone), chorus, SATB. |