''The Alcestiad'' is an opera in three acts by

Louise Talma Louise Juliette Talma (October 31, 1906August 13, 1996) was an American composer, academic, and pianist. After studies in New York and in France, piano with Isidor Philipp and composition with Nadia Boulanger, she focused on composition from 193 ...

to a libretto that

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

wrote based on his 1955 play of the same name. It premiered in German as at the Oper Frankfurt on 1 March 1962. It was the first full-length opera by an American woman staged at a major European opera house.

History

The American composer

collaborated with

, who created the

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 ...

based on his 1955 play ''The Alcestiad: Or, a Life in the Sun (1955)'' which was in turn based on '' Alcestis'' by Euripides. It was Wilder's idea to set the plot to music and approach Talma. She delivered sketches already in 1955, which Wilder approved. Talma composed the work in three acts and used serial composition techniques. Wilder managed to interest

Harry Buckwitz Harry Buckwitz (13 March 1904 – 28 December 1987) was a German actor, theatre director and theatre manager. He was general manager of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt from 1951 and 1967, where he was responsible for opera and plays, and initi ...

of the

Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt (literally: municipal stages of Frankfurt) is the municipal theatre company of Frankfurt, the largest city of Hesse Germany. The name dates back to 1919. The company is structured today in two organisations, Oper Fran ...

in the world premiere. Wilder, who was awarded the

Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: ''German Publishers and Booksellers Association''), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche in ...

(peace prize of the German book trade) in 1957, was well received in Germany. The opera premiered on 1 March 1962 at the Oper Frankfurt, in a German version by Herberth Herlischka. It was directed by

, and conducted by

Wolfgang Rennert Wolfgang Rennert (1 April 1922 – 24 March 2012) was a German conductor. He focused on opera, at the Oper Frankfurt, Staatsoper Berlin, Mannheim National Theatre and the Semperoper, among others. He premiered operas, such as Louise Talma's '' D ...

. It was the first full-length opera by an American woman staged at a major European opera house. The first performance was a success, covered by the international press, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and the '' Salzburger Nachrichten''. Critics from the '' FAZ'' and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote that, while the music was skillfully crafted, the libretto was "too strong" for music. The music was described as influenced by

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

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 ...

and

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, with "harsh brass dissonances and shattering percussion effects". The opera remained Talma's only composition for the stage.

Roles

References

External links

* Bruce Duffie
Composer Louise Talma / A Conversation with Bruce Duffie
(pictured) bruceduffie.com 1986 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcestiad Operas 1962 operas German-language operas Operas based on plays Operas based on works by Euripides Works based on Alcestis (play)