Wallenberg (opera)
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''Wallenberg'' 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 ...
by the Estonian
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
Erkki-Sven Tüür Erkki-Sven Tüür (born 16 October 1959) is an Estonian composer. Life and career Tüür () was born in Kärdla on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He studied flute and percussion at the Tallinn Music School from 1976 to 1980 and composition w ...
to a
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 ...
by . The plot is developed from events in
Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...
's personal life. The opera premiered at the
Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War I. It was built o ...
on May 5, 2001. It premiered at the
Estonian National Opera Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company of Estonia. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian Nati ...
on June 1, 2007, directed by
Dmitry Bertman Dmitry Alexandrovitch Bertman (Russian: Дмитрий Александрович Бертман; born 31 October 1967) is a Russian theatre and opera director and the founder and artistic director of Helikon Opera in Moscow.Sleeman, Elizabeth (ed ...
.Performances of Erkki-Svne Tüü's opera ''Wallenberg'' in Germany
/ref>''Wallenberg'' at Estonian National Opera
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Roles


Synopsis


Act 1

1. Prologue. Nameless Voices asked questions — after Wallenberg's deeds and his fate: "Do we doing honour a living person or a dead person?" 2. The Conference I. Sweden in 1944. A reception. Three guests whispering about the professional misses of the young Wallenberg. But three diplomats give his life new meaning. You go to entrust your with the mission to Hungary, to save "as many Jews as possible". The warnings of a lady, not to be exploited for foreign targets, can not stop Wallenberg. After initial hesitation, he accepts the order. 3. Railway Station I. Hungary 1944. Wallenberg must helplessly watch as running a German officers and his men the order of the Nazi regime, "thousands of Jews every day ..." 4. The Plan I Wallenberg takes a promising tactic: Swedish protective passports "Will make Jews like Sweden" and keep them from being deported. 5. Railway Station II Wallenberg again meets the German officer. He manages to rescue some people from the brutality of the Nazis. "Passport hits gun" 6. The rescued. A group of those saved by Wallenberg shows the fragility of their destiny in mind: "Life is not just being more than dead." Wallenberg realizes that there is every life is individual and very expensive. 7. The Plan II Wallenberg is struggling with self-reproach: "Not enough! I have not acted enough!" He decides to face the evil. 8. Eichmann I. Wallenberg meets Adolf Eichmann. He confronts him with the goal of his saving deeds. But Eichmann is a bureaucrat and behaves like a gentleman. With relish, he shows the Wallenberg's limits of its possibilities in mind. And even the diplomat start to doubt the mission of Wallenberg. This time he runs away. 9. Station III. Wallenberg throws himself into the work. But an encounter with a woman he has rescued leaves him utterly disappointed in the meaning of his deeds. She returns her protective passport to Wallenberg — so unbearably she feels the guilt to have survived "by chance". 10. The Plan III. Wallenberg gets in panic about the immensity of his task. Once again, he encounters a woman who advises him to pause and reflect on it. 11. The death march. Hungary, January 1945 — "And He made me pass by them round about, and lo! they were exceedingly many on the surface of the valley, and lo! they were exceedingly dry." Old Testament,
Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during t ...
(37, 2).Yechezkel – Ezekiel – Chapter 37
/ref> The last time Eichmann demonstrates his superiority. The war ends. Wallenberg hopes for a fresh start. But at the moment of the freeing appear two Russian soldiers. They summon Raoul Wallenberg for the questioning ...Staatstheater Karlsruhe 2011/12. Program booklet No. 70.
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Act 2

12. SMERSH. Moscow 1945. Wallenberg has got into the clutches of SMERSH, the Russian counter-intelligence. He is held prisoner in the infamous Moscow state prison Lubjanka. Two Russian officers denied knowing the whereabouts of Wallenberg: "We do not have him!" 13. The Conference II Three diplomats visited Wallenberg. But instead of freeing him, they tell him about his new mission: "Only half of the war is now won". As a hero he was caught in the Cold War and more useful than a free man. 14. Gulag I. Kolyma, uncertain time. Wallenberg is subjected to a brutal interrogation. Meanwhile, the inmates of the Gulag tell each other about their fate and the arbitrariness of the judicial authorities. There are circulating rumors contradictory: "The Swede is alive. The Swede is dead." 15. Gulag II Three Gulag prisoners believes Wallenberg recognizable as one of their fellow prisoners. His survival also maintains their hope. But Wallenberg not remember — neither of his time in the camp, even to his own identity. "There is a hole in my head". The other prisoners reacted with aggression to Wallenberg refusal to accept his role as savior. Intermezzo. Traces of Wallenberg are erased. 16. The struggle. From nothing appears Wallenberg 2, a masterful bugbear of the acts complained of by Wallenberg, "I'm your hero, you will not get rid of me." 17. Eichmann II Eichmann is preparing for the penalty. For the last time he taunted Wallenberg: While Eichmann was granted was "clean finish", Wallenberg would fail to be granted such a death. Eichmann is hanged. 18. The conference III. Wallenberg hopes explanations to find about his destiny with three diplomats. But these dismiss his doubts about the sense of the history as "child questions". Wallenberg is silent. But his "For which?" does not remain in entirety unanswered. Two survivors remember their rescue. 19. Wallenberg circus. Future generations takes the heritage of Raoul Wallenberg. The public sings praises of heroism. And Ronald Reagan appoints him as an honorary citizen of the United States. Wallenberg 2 takes the honors of the crowd with pride: "No trace of a doubt!" The voice of a woman remembers the dead.


Awards

* Cultural Prize of the Republic of Estonia * Annual Award of Estonian Theatre in the category of musical stagings.


Further reading

* Klaus Stübler und Christine Wolf: ''Harenbergs Komponistenlexikon.'' Harenberg Lexikon Verlag, Dortmund 2001,


References


External links


''Wallenberg'' at the Estonian National Opera

Opera ''Wallenberg'' in Estonia
(in Estonian)

(in German)
Opera ''Wallenberg''
in
Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe The Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe is a theatre and opera house in Karlsruhe, Germany. It has existed in its present form and place at Ettlinger Tor since 1975. Achim Thorwald became the Intendant in summer 2002 and held that post until the en ...
(in German)
"Der Schindler von Budapest". Die Oper ''Wallenberg'' des Esten Erkki-Sven Tüür in Karlsruhe.
(in German)
Oper ''Wallenberg'' in Karlsruhe
(in German)

(in German) {{Authority control, state=collapsed German-language operas Music dramas 2001 operas Operas Operas based on real people Operas set in the 20th century Operas set in Sweden Operas set in Germany Operas set in Hungary Operas set in Russia Cultural depictions of Raoul Wallenberg Cultural depictions of Adolf Eichmann Cultural depictions of Ronald Reagan