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Critical Edition of Kurt Weill’s Der Protagonist Premieres in Dessau

Mar. 01, 2011

The 2011 Kurt Weill Fest in Dessau, Germany, opened on February 25 with the premiere of the critical edition of Kurt Weill’s first opera, Der Protagonist. Presented by the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau on a double bill with I Pagliacci, the production is directed by André Bücker and conducted by Antony Hermus and is performed again on March 5.

Weill achieved a spectacular breakthrough as a composer when Der Protagonist premiered in Dresden in 1926 and immediately rose to prominence among the young composers identified at the time with the renewal of the "crisis-ridden genre" of opera. With a libretto by Expressionist playwright Georg Kaiser, the one-act Der Protagonist tells the story of a passionate actor whose jealousy and inability to distinguish reality from illusion results in the tragic murder of his sister. The score represents the climax of Weill’s early development as a composer.

The 19th Kurt Weill Fest continues through March 13 and features two other stage works by Weill: Zaubernacht, Weill’s 1922 children’s pantomime, performed by Tanztheater Nina Kurzeja and Arte Ensemble Hannover, who premiered the work in its new critical edition at the Musikfest Stuttgart in September 2010; and One Touch of Venus, in a revival of last year’s successful Anhaltisches Theater production.

Other highlights include an evening of Weill songs entitled It Takes Two, performed by Lotte Lenya Competition winners Rebecca Jo Loeb and Alen Hodzovic, and concert performances by the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, and Artists-in-Residence Ensemble Modern, conducted by HK Gruber.

This year’s festival focuses on the first of three periods of Weill’s life and work, showcasing Berlin’s fascinating musical and cultural variety at the time of the Weimar Republic. Upcoming festivals will spotlight the other two periods of Weill’s life and work -- Paris (1933-35) in 2012, and New York (1935-50) in 2013.

Learn more about the life and work of Kurt Weill by visiting www.kwf.org and www.universaledition.com.

Kurt Weill

Der Protagonist (1924-25)
Kurt Weill Edition (Series I, Volume 1), edited by Gunther Diehl and Jürgen Selk
opera in one act
for soprano, alto, dramatic tenor, tenor, 2 baritones and 2 bass
2ob, 2bcl, 3hn, 3tbn, timp, perc, str
stage orchestra - 2fl, 2cl, 2bn, 2tp
75’

Zaubernacht (1922)
Kurt Weill Edition (Series I, Volume 0) edited by Elmar Juchem and Andrew Kuster
children's pantomime for solo soprano and chamber orchestra
fl(pic).bsn.perc.pno.str-qnt(vn.1-2,vla.,vc.,db.)
60'

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