Jacobowsky und der Oberst, Op. 49, (Jacobovsky and the Colonel) is an opera in four acts by Giselher Klebe who also wrote the libretto based on the 1944 play Jacobowsky und der Oberst by Franz Werfel.
| Jacobowsky und der Oberst | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Giselher Klebe | |
 The composer in 2008 | |
| Translation | Jacobovsky and the Colonel |
| Librettist | Klebe |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Jacobowsky und der Oberst by Franz Werfel |
| Premiere | 2 November 1965 |
It premiered on 2 November 1965 at the Hamburg State Opera which had commissioned the work. Klebe dedicated it to the then director of the Staatsoper, Rolf Liebermann.
Roles edit
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| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 2 November 1965 Conductor: Leopold Ludwig |
|---|---|---|
| Jacobowsky | baritone | Oskar Czerwenka |
| Colonel Stjerbinsky | tenor | Gerhard Stolze |
| Marianne | soprano | Arlene Saunders |
| Szabuniewicz | baritone | Erwin Wohlfahrt |
| The tragic gentleman | baritone | Toni Blankenheim |
| Madame Bouffier | mezzo-soprano | Tatiana Troyanos |
| Salomon | bass | Ernst Umlandt |
| The old lady from Arras | contralto | Maria von Ilosvay |
| The flirting woman | soprano | Elfriede Zimmer |
| Chauffeur | bass | Carl Schultz |
| Clairon, café-owner in Saint-Jean-de-Luz |
bass | Peter Roth-Ehrang |
| Brigadier at Saint Cyrill | bass | Hans-Otto Kloose |
| First Lieutenant in the German army |
tenor | Wilfried Plate |
| The dice player | bass | Hans Sotin |
| The Wandering Jew | tenor | Kurt Marschner |
| St. Francis | baritone | Herbert Fliether |
| Chef D'ilot | spoken | Georg Mund |
| Police chief of Saint-Jean-de-Luz |
spoken | Theo Herrmann |
| A Gestapo official | spoken | Peter Markwort |
| A Warrant Officer | spoken | Heinz Vossbrink |
| Hotel and café guests | 2 sopranos, contralto, tenor |
|
| Orchestra | Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg | |
| Director | Günther Rennert | |
| Scene design | Ita Maximowna | |
Time and place: 1940, Paris, St. Cyrill, Bayonne and Saint-Jean-de-Luz
The first American performance was on 27 June 1967 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, using the same cast, conducted by Matthias Kuntzsch.[1]
References edit
- ^ Griffel, Margaret Ross (2018). "Jacobowsky und der Oberst". Operas in German: A Dictionary. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-44-224797-0.
Further reading edit
- "Die Komödie einer Tragödie"[permanent dead link], Hamburger Abendblatt, 3 November 1965, retrieved 20 May 2009 (in German)
- "Er pfeift auf Mode, Schule und Doktrin", Die Zeit, 5 November 1965, retrieved 20 May 2009 (in German)
- Michael Herbert Rentzsch and Erik Levi: "Klebe, Giselher", Grove Music Online (subscription required)
- Alan Blyth: "Czerwenka, Oskar", Grove Music Online (subscription required)
- Harold Rosenthal and Alan Blyth: "Stolze, Gerhard", Grove Music Online (subscription required)
- Elizabeth Forbes: "Saunders, Arlene" Grove Music Online (subscription required)