''Moses'' is an 1892 sacred

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 eight scenes by Anton Rubinstein. The German libretto was written by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal who had earlier supplied Rubinstein with the libretto for his most successful opera '' Die Maccabäer'' (1875), and is best known as author of the libretto '' Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor'' by

Otto Nicolai Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai (9 June 1810 – 11 May 1849) was a German composer, conductor, and one of the founders of the Vienna Philharmonic. Nicolai is best known for his operatic version of Shakespeare's comedy ''The Merry Wives of Wi ...

. The opera was scheduled to be premiered in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, but had to be cancelled after two rehearsals at the

Neues Deutsches Theater The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened in ...

(25 and 27 June). In the next three years the work received concert performances in Riga (20 February 1894) through the influence of the founder of the Bach Society there, as well as St. Petersburg,

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. There is no firm evidence that the entire opera was ever performed on the stage in its entirety. The opera was revived 15 October 2017 in Warsaw, in what may have been the first complete performance.

Tableaux

The action follows the story of Moses from being taken from the river Nile by

Pharaoh's daughter Pharaoh's Daughter is an American Jewish world music band from New York City. Formed in 1995 by Basya Schechter, their music is a mix of American folk, Jewish klezmer, and Middle Eastern sounds. Schechter is currently a member of the alte ...

, named as Asnath by Mosenthal, through to the eighth tableau on the hills of Jordan after the incident of the golden calf where a chorus of night spirits and celestials comment on the events.Taylor op.cit. "The eight tableaux follow the traditional biblical events" .. "A place set with vines; a laughing landscape. A chorus of night spirits and celestials interprets the events" p223

Recording

*''Moses'' - Stanisław Kuflyuk (Moses), Torsten Kerl (Pharaoh), Evelina Dobraceva (Asnath), Małgorzata Walewska (Johebet). Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus, Warsaw Philharmonic and Choir, Artos Children’s Choir, cond. Michail Jurowski Warner 2018

References

External links

* Operas 1893 operas German-language operas Operas by Anton Rubinstein Operas based on the Bible {{German-opera-stub