' (''Need for (or lack of) fire)'', Op. 50, is a ''Singgedicht'' (sung poem) or

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 libr ...

in one act by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

. The German

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. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

was written by

Ernst von Wolzogen Ernst von Wolzogen (23 April 1855 – 30 August 1934) was a cultural critic, a writer and a founder of Cabaret in Germany. Biography Wolzogen came from a noble Austrian family; he studied Literature, Philosophy, and the history of art in Strasb ...

, based on J. Ketel's report "Das erloschene Feuer zu Audenaerde". It was Strauss' second opera. Thematically, the opera has been interpreted as a parody of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's idea of "redemption through love", with the character of Kunrad representing Strauss himself. The conceptual framework for the opera stems from the

Nietzschean Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's ''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'' (''The World as Will and Represe ...

perspective that had inspired Strauss in his tone poems ''

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is a ...

'' and ''

Also sprach Zarathustra ', Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883–1885 novel ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''.

Performance history

The librettist for the opera was

, who in 1901 founded the Überbrettl venue (German for "over

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

, super-cabaret"), the start of the German Kabarett movement which was later to blossom in the Weimar Republic. The mood matched Strauss's desire for something irreverent and cynical, with much word-play (including the names of Wagner and Strauss), and a children's chorus singing "stanzas of quasi folk-song in broad dialect". What struck the contemporary audiences most was the bawdiness and innuendo. There was much pressure on the composer to tone it down, but Strauss and the conductor of the premiere in Dresden,

Ernst von Schuch Ernst Edler von Schuch, born Ernst Gottfried Schuch (23 November 1846, Graz – 10 May 1914, Niederlößnitz/Radebeul Dresden) was an Austrian conductor who became famous through his working collaborations with Richard Strauss at the Dresden C ...

, stuck to the original. At this time, the sexual and erotic subtexts and psychology were disturbing to audiences, as well as the perceived "advanced" nature of the music itself to more conservative-minded musicians. The premiere at the Königliches Opernhaus on 21 November 1901 was a great success: Gustav and Alma Mahler attended and she recalls in her diary that Strauss was elated "after endless curtains". The success in Dresden led to ''Feuersnot'' being staged in many theaters across Germany, including a performance in Frankfurt conducted by Strauss himself. Mounting the opera in Vienna proved more problematic for

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

because of the need to satisfy the uncooperative censor. Mahler wrote to Strauss in mid 1901: "Concerning ''Feuersnot'', the censor seems, ''horribile dictu'', to be making difficulties, since the work has not yet been passed, so that I am not in a position to send the contracts to Fuerstner. I fear you may have to accept changes ... Alas, there is no placating these powers." The Viennese premiere finally took place on 29 January 1902 with Strauss attending. He wrote to Mahler "to send you my heartfelt thanks for the incomparably beautiful rendition you gave of my work last week" (letter 4 February 1902). The Viennese public and critics were less enthusiastic than the German; Max Graf wrote: "The critics have unanimously rejected the work". Mahler wrote to Strauss on 18 February: "I am so disgusted at the attitude of the Viennese press, and most of all by the public's total acquiescence to them, that I cannot get over it!" He took the work off after four disappointing turn-outs, although he did put on one further performance that year on 14 March (with a "popular ballet"). Strauss took the opera to Berlin where it was more of a success with seven performances, the premiere being on 28 October 1902. However, the Empress (Kaiserin) took a dislike to the bawdiness and Emperor (Kaiser) Wilhelm had the opera banned. Strauss continued to include the music from the love scene in his orchestral concerts. The opera was revived twice at Vienna, first in 1905 by Mahler with a new production running for 7 performances and in 1922 by Strauss himself with 6 performances. Strauss wrote towards the end of his life "in nearly all of the biographical articles I read I miss the correct attitude towards ''Feuersnot''. One forgets that this certainly far from perfect work still introduces into the nature of the old opera a new subjective style at just the very beginning of the century. It is in its way a sort of upbeat." In London it was presented on 9 July 1910, while the US premiere was not given until 1 December 1927 by the

Philadelphia Civic Opera Company The Philadelphia Civic Opera Company (PCOC) was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that was actively performing between 1924 and 1930. Founded by Philadelphia socialite Mrs. Henry M. Tracy, the company was established p ...

at Philadelphia's Metropolitan Opera House with

George Rasely George Rasely (October 27, 1890, St. Louis, Missouri – 3 January 1965, Lawrence, Kansas) was an American tenor who had an active career in operas, concerts, and musicals during the first half of the 20th century. He was also a frequent perf ...

as Gundelfingen and

Alexander Smallens Alexander Smallens (January 1, 1889 – November 24, 1972) was a Russian Empire-born American conductor and music director. Biography Smallens was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and emigrated to the United States as a child, becomi ...

conducting. The Zürich premiere did not take place until 1953. The New York City premiere took place in 1985, at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...

. It was presented by The Santa Fe Opera during its summer 1988 festival season. In the UK,

Chelsea Opera Group Chelsea Opera Group is an organisation based in London which arranges concert productions of operas and other works. It was founded in 1950 when David Cairns and Stephen Gray invited Colin Davis, who was at the time a 22-year-old clarinetist, ...

presented a concert performance in 2000. In 2014, the Strauss anniversary year, ''Feuersnot'' was revived by numerous opera houses worldwide.http://www.richardstrauss.eu/tabpdf/08_feu.pdf The

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its i ...

staged the opera in January 2014, and there were concert performances the same year given by

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

at Munich in February, and in June by the Dresden

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

. Eytan Pessen, former opera director of the Semperoper and artistic advisor to the Teatro Massimo Palermo, cast the opera twice for that season. Other 2014 performances included the Volksoper in Vienna, Theater Kaiserslautern, Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, and

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: Medieval Munich :Time:

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...

Night

''All warmth springs from woman, All light from love does flow'' – ''Truly, only the heat of a virgin's body can ignite your fires''.

During the Midsummer Solstice festival, lovers swear to be faithful by leaping through the flames of a bonfire (known traditionally as Johannisfeuer,

St John's Eve Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John was born six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of J ...

Fire). Love is in the air and children are collecting firewood for the solstice fire. A sorcerer, Kunrad, has appeared in the city, taking over the house of an old sorcerer. His presence disturbs the people and leads to much speculation. Much to everyone's surprise, he offers the children his house for the solstice fire. The Mayor's daughter Diemut and her three friends are intrigued by Kunrad, and the friends find him rather attractive. Diemut is less impressed. Kunrad himself is more attracted to Diemut. To everyone's shock he approaches Diemut and kisses her in public. She rebuffs him, but plots her revenge for the insult. She promises to bring him up to her room in a basket. He agrees, but she leaves him hanging halfway up. In retaliation, he quenches all the festival bonfires and denounces the people as philistines. He lays down a condition: the only way to restore the fires is via "the body of a virgin in heat", which shocks the populace. However, after some thought they persuade Diemut to yield to Kunrad. She does so, and after she has her first-ever sexual experience (depicted in the orchestral "love scene"), with a light glowing in her room, the fires are restored and Diemut and Kunrad emerge singing a love song.

Recordings

References

Notes Sources *

External links

* *,

, concert performance
BBC Opera on 3. Strauss: ''Feuersnot'' – Opera GuidePiano reduction, complete score''Feuersnot''
piano vocal score
''Feuersnot''
details at Klassika {{Authority control Operas by Richard Strauss German-language operas Music dramas 1901 operas One-act operas Operas Operas set in Germany