''Cefalo e Procri'' (''

Cephalus Cephalus (; Ancient Greek: Κέφαλος ''Kephalos'' means "head") is a name used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. ''Mythological'' * Cephalus, son of Hermes and Herse. * Cephalu ...

and

Procris In Greek mythology, Procris ( grc, Πρόκρις, ''gen''.: Πρόκριδος) was an Athenian princess as the third daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens and his wife, Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia. Homer mentions her in t ...

'') is a chamber opera in three scenes and a prologue by

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...

, his Op. 77, begun in 1933 and finished on 3 August 1934. The Italian libretto by Rinaldo Küfferle (1903–1955, now remembered for many singing translations from Russian and German into Italian) was commissioned by

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...

for the third Venice Festival. The half-hour work was revived at the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice in October 2017 as part of a short double-bill with a setting of the 'Lamento di Procri' by Silvia Colasanti, conducted by Tito Ceccherini.

Background

The festival came at a time of great tension between Italy and Germany over assassination attempts on the Italian-backed dictator

Engelbert Dollfuß Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he a ...

, and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, who had taken a great interest in the festival, was intent on courting an Austrian composer.

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

(perhaps unaware of ''

Der Diktator ''Der Diktator'' (''The Dictator'') is a tragic opera in one act with words and music by Ernst Krenek, his Op. 49 and the first of three one-acters (with ''Das geheime Königreich'' and '' Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation'') which premiere ...

'') was responsible for steering the commission to Krenek. The half-hour work premiered 15 September 1934 after the original conductor, bewildered by the twelve-tone score, was replaced by

Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor. Life Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...

. An anticipated companion piece by

Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

never materialized, and the program was shared with

Vittorio Rieti Vittorio Rieti (January 28, 1898 – February 19, 1994) was a Jewish- Italian-American composer. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Rieti moved to Milan to study economics. He subsequently studied in Rome under Respighi and Casella, and lived there ...

's ''Teresa nel bosco'' and Antonio Veretti's ''Una favola di

Andersen Andersen () is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Anders" (itself derived from the Greek name " Ανδρέας/Andreas", cf. English Andrew). It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 3.2% of the population.< ...

''. Krenek had written to Küfferle to suggest something from

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'', though he seems to have been taken back by Küfferle's choice of subject; perhaps the character of Procris (who was courted in disguise by her husband) was inspired by a production of ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' at the festival, which also saw the Italian premiere of ''

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the ...

''. Krenek called his work a fable, using not the phrase " favola in musica" but "Moralità pseudo-classica" in homage to the later Italian baroque opera, and set it as a series of arias and

recitatives Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...

. Audience reaction was lukewarm and the reviews mixed; the loudest ovations were for Küfferle, wearing a fascist uniform.

Roles

Critical assessment

Stewart gives an unfavorable assessment ("Küfferle should have found some way to leave the dog out"), but does note that

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

liked the score. Krenek himself scarcely ever mentioned his "brief and issueless flight into Italian opera"Krenek, ''Im Atem der Zeit'' is memoirs, "translated from the American" p. 991 again.

References

Notes Further reading *Juverra, Filippo, ''Antikendeutung einmal anders: Cefalo e Procri'' in ''"Der zauberhafte, aber schwierige Beruf des Opernschreibens": Das Musiktheater Ernst Kreneks'' ed. C. M. Zenck (Argus 2006) *Stewart, John Lincoln
''Ernst Krenek: the Man and His Music''
Ewing, New Jersey: University of California Press, 1991 {{Authority control Operas by Ernst Krenek Operas Chamber operas One-act operas Italian-language operas Operas based on Metamorphoses 1934 operas