''The Bell Tower'' is a chamber opera in one act by Ernst Krenek, his Op. 153. The English libretto by the composer was inspired by the short story by Herman Melville (collected in ''

The Piazza Tales ''The Piazza Tales'' is a collection of six short stories by American writer Herman Melville, published by Dix & Edwards in the United States in May 1856 and in Britain in June. Except for the newly written title story, "The Piazza," all of the s ...

''), the events only mysteriously hinted at in the story becoming a point of departure for the explicit dramatic action of Krenek's piece.author's forward in ''Prosa Dramen Verse'' (1965) It was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation and written in 1955–56, receiving its premiere on 17 March 1957 at the University of Illinois (recorded on CRS 5).

Roles

Orchestra: 1.1.1.0-0.1.1.0-perc-pft-str (offstage: 2tpt, trmb, sn-dr.)

References

Notes Sources * Stewart, John L., ''Ernst Krenek: The Man and His Music''. University of California Press, 1991

External links

Melville's story
at the

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Recording of premiere
Operas One-act operas Chamber operas English-language operas Operas by Ernst Krenek 1957 operas {{English-opera-stub