''Flammen'' (Flames) is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in two acts and ten scenes composed by

Erwin Schulhoff Erwin Schulhoff ( cs, Ervín Šulhov; 8 June 189418 August 1942) was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the N ...

, his only opera. The original

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

in Czech was written by . The opera had its world premiere at the old National Theatre (Národní Divadlo na Veveří) in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

on 27 January 1932 in Czech under the title ''Plameny''. It was not heard again until the mid-1990s, when it was performed in its German translation by

Max Brod Max Brod ( he, מקס ברוד; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a German-speaking Bohemian, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist. Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is best remembered as the friend and biog ...

as ''Flammen''. Its story is a surrealist retelling of the

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

legend with elements from the legend of the

Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion was then cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. Th ...

, and heavily influenced by

Freudian psychology PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...

. Unlike the title character in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' based on the same legend, Don Juan is not punished by being dragged down to Hell, but instead is condemned to live forever.

Background and performance history

Not long after Schulhoff's return to Prague in 1923, he met

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

's friend and biographer

, and discussed with him the possibility of writing an opera based on the

legend. Brod suggested that a new verse play by the Czech writer Karel Josef Beneš (1896–1969) might make a suitable basis for the libretto and introduced him to Beneš. Schulhoff and Beneš began work while Brod translated the text into German.Eagleton (2007) Schulhoff finished composing the opera in 1929. It premiered three years later at the Veveří National Theatre in Brno on 27 January 1932, performed in its Czech version as ''Plameny''. Schulhoff's detailed stage directions called for sets with an "all-pervading darkness, punctuated by revealing shafts of light and colour". The scenography is echoed by a chorus of Shadows whose commentary makes frequent use of verbal images of colour and light. The premiere was a failure, and the opera never entered the repertory in Czechoslovakia.Bek (2001) The rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in Germany and its campaign against so-called

degenerate music Degenerate music (german: Entartete Musik, link=no, ) was a label applied in the 1930s by the government of Nazi Germany to certain forms of music that it considered harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concerns about degenerate music were a ...

(''Entartete Musik'') prevented the German premiere which was planned for Berlin with

Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber (5 August 1890 – 27 January 1956) was an Austrian, later Argentine, conductor, known for his interpretations of the classics and as an advocate of new music. Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conservato ...

conducting. Schulhoff's usual publisher,

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 ...

, did not accept the score for publication, and the opera was not performed again before Schulhoff's death from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in the Wülzburg

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

camp in 1942. Interest in the work was revived at

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspi ...

in 1995 conducted by

Udo Zimmermann Udo Zimmermann (6 October 1943 – 22 October 2021) was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig ...

, performed as ''Flammen'' using Brod's German text, with some cuts in the music. ''Flammen'' was performed again in concert in May 2005 by

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the S ...

at Amsterdam's

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

. It had another staged revival, and its Austrian premiere, in 2006 at the KlangBogen Wien Festival. That production, directed by

Keith Warner Keith Warner (born 6 December 1956) is a British opera director, designer and translator. He is noted for his flamboyant stagings of Richard Wagner's operas. Early years Warner was born in London and went to Woodhouse School in Finchley, North Lon ...

and conducted by

Bertrand de Billy Bertrand de Billy (born Paris, 11 January 1965) is a French conductor. He attended a Jesuit school, but only started serious musical studies when he was around 14–15; he studied piano and violin.

, opened on 7 August 2006 at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

in Vienna. It was one of three operas based on the Don Juan legend presented by the festival that summer—the other two were Mozart's ''Don Giovanni'' and ''Don Juan Returns from the War''. In 2008, ''Flammen'' was revived again in Germany with a new production directed by Urs Häberli at the

Pfalztheater The Pfalztheater is a theatre building and company in the German city of Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatine. It is the only three-genre venue in the state, putting on music, drama and dance. The town's first theatre was built in 1862, financed b ...

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

Roles

Although the roles of Donna Anna and Nun/Marguerite/Woman were sung by two separate sopranos in the 1932 premiere, a single soprano sang all these roles in the 1995 Decca recording and in the 2006 staged production in Vienna.

Synopsis

The opera is not a straight narrative, but rather a loosely connected set of ten scenes, each with its own name. Don Juan is in love with Death personified by La Morte, the only woman he has not been able to seduce. The Shadows (six women) function as a

Greek chorus A Greek chorus, or simply chorus ( grc-gre, χορός, chorós), in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, and modern works inspired by them, is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers, who comment with a collect ...

, commenting on the action and on Don Juan's past life.

Act 1

;Scene 1 ''Nocturne'' The Shadows sing of Don Juan's sexual exploits and La Morte's passion for him. To the sound of a solo flute, he enters a dark abandoned house to seduce yet another woman. Her moans of ecstasy are heard. ;Scene 2 ''Fire Song'' The Shadows sing of a woman whose desire for Don Juan is so great that she imagines his body to be the colour of fire. ;Scene 3 ''Midnight Mass'' Determined to reform his libertine ways, Don Juan enters a church for Midnight Mass but is seduced by a nun. La Morte plays a ''

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

'' on the organ while the sound of

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

music is heard outside. Alexander Evgenyevich Yakovlev Pierrot Arlecine

;Scene 4 ''Chimera'' Don Juan climbs a mountain of naked female bodies. At the summit he finds La Morte waiting for him. ;Scene 5 ''Gallery'' Don Juan enters a sculpture gallery filled with statues of men. The men are his dead ancestors, who unlike him managed to find happiness. ;Scene 6 ''Dialogue'' Don Juan talks to a woman, the same one who had previously appeared as a nun. Their dialogue is interrupted when Don Juan has a vision of another woman whose body is the colour of fire. ;Scene 7 ''Tempest'' and ''Dialogue with the sea'' Marguerite and Don Juan make love during a storm. La Morte appears and kills Marguerite. Don Juan stands before the sea and tells of his longing for death.

Act 2

;Scene 8 ''Carnival Night'' It is

Carnival Night ''Carnival Night'' (russian: Карнавальная ночь, Karnavalnaya noch) is a 1956 Soviet musical film. It is Eldar Ryazanov's first big-screen film, Lyudmila Gurchenko's first role and also one of the most famous films starring popular ...

. Amidst a troupe of ''

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

'' mimes, Don Juan and Donna Anna dance a foxtrot.

Arlecchino Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally ...

foretells scenes of horror which will occur at midnight. Donna Anna rejects Don Juan's advances telling him "You are the very image of death." He then murders Donna Anna's husband, the Commendatore, and she commits suicide. ;Scene 9 ''Banquet'' Don Juan tries in vain to revive Donna Anna as a group of naked women begin dancing around him. Unable to stop them, he cries out to La Morte expressing his desire for her. She tells him that he will be closer to her as a living man rather than a dead one. The Commendatore then pronounces a curse on Don Juan, condemning him to live forever. On hearing the curse, Don Juan shoots himself, but instead of dying is turned into an even younger man. ;Scene 10 ''Nocturne'' Doomed to desperately repeating the cycle of his life over and over again, Don Juan enters the same darkened house where the opera began, accompanied by the same solo flute, to seduce yet another victim. La Morte and the Shadows lurk in the darkness singing, with the final words of the opera given to La Morte: "Salvation is so distant—again".

Recordings

The world premiere recording of ''Flammen'' was recorded in 1994 at the in Berlin by the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra performs its concerts principally in the Philharmonie Berlin. The orchestra is administratively based at the ''Rundfunk Berlin-Branden ...

and the Berlin

RIAS Kammerchor The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) is a German choir based in Berlin, Germany. It receives support from the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin ("Berlin Radio Orchestra and Choirs"), a limited-liability company owned by the public bro ...

conducted by

John Mauceri John Francis Mauceri (born September 12, 1945) is an American conductor, producer, educator and writer. Since making his professional conducting debut almost half a century ago, he has appeared with most of the world's great orchestras, guest-con ...

and released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in 1995 as part of its ''Entartete Musik'' series.Oliver (1996) p. 108For more on Decca's ''Entartete Musik'' series, see Davis (1997) pp. 82–83. The principal singers were: Kurt Westi (Don Juan),

Jane Eaglen Jane Eaglen (born 4 April 1960) is an English soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's '' Norma'' and Puccini's '' Turandot''. Background Jane Eaglen was born 4 April ...

(Donna Anna/Nun/Marguerite/Woman),

Iris Vermillion Iris Vermillion (born 1960) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. A member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1988, she has enjoyed an international career, appearing in Amsterdam with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and at the Salzburg Festival, among others. ...

(La Morte), Johann-Werner Prein (Commendatore), and (Arlecchino).

Notes and references

Sources

*Ambrosius, Claus (2008)
"Lohnende Prüfung – Kaiserslautern, Schulhoff: Flammen"
''Opernwelt'', June 2008, p. 44. Accessed 29 January 2011. *Bek, Josef (2001). "Schulhoff, Erwin rvín
Grove Music Online
Accessed 29 January 2011. . (Online version of ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', 2nd edition. ) *Black, Leo (1995)
"The Return of the Repressed"
''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainze ...

'', Vol. 136, No. 1827, May 1995, pp. 230–232. Accessed 29 January 2011. * * Davis, Peter G. (1997)
"Hear No Evil"
''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' (June 9, 1997) pp. 82–83. *Eagleton, Michael (2007)
"Review: Erwin Schulhoff: ''Flammen'', KlangBogen, Wien 7 August 2006"
Journal of the International Centre for Suppressed Music, Jewish Music Institute,

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, February 14, 2007. Accessed 29 January 2011. *Gelli, Piero and Poletti, Filippo eds. (2007)
"Flammen"
''Dizionario dell'opera''. Baldini Castoldi Dalai. *Oliver, Michael (1996)
"Review: Schulhoff: ''Flammen'' (Decca 444630)
'' Gramophone'', January 1996, p. 108. Accessed 29 January 2011. *Seckerson, Edward and Johnson, Stephen (1995)
"Review: Schulhoff: ''Flammen'' (Decca 444630)
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', October 27, 1995. Accessed 29 January 2011. {{Authority control Operas 1932 operas Czech-language operas German-language operas Compositions by Erwin Schulhoff Works based on the Don Juan legend