Work of the Week - Carl Orff: The Clever One

On May 8^th, Carl Orff’s opera The Clever One (Die Kluge) is produced in Long Beach, California. Two further performances follow on May 17^th. The production is part of a program that brings two one-act operas from 1943 together on the same stage: Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis (Der Kaiser von Atlantis) will appear alongside Orff’s work. Both pieces, directed and conducted by Andreas Mitisek, deal with the themes of tyranny and the abuse of power.

 

Long Beach Opera presents this evening on the deck of the Queen Mary, which is anchored there for the Queen’s Highway Fest. In the 1930s and 40s, this ship, one of the fastest to traverse the Atlantic ocean, was purchased by the city of Long Beach and opened as a hotel. Since 1972, as the first hotel room on the Queen Mary became available for residence, the ship has not only been home to restaurant and other guest quarters, but also uses its premises for diverse musical programming.

 

Orff’s second operatic work is based, much like his first opera Der Mond, on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The Clever One tells the story of a farmer’s daughter whom the king wishes to marry for her exceptional cleverness. Three young ne’er-do-wells swindle the owner of a donkey into trading it for a foal, and the king, in his impatience, pride and ignorance, rules in favor of the thieves, who knowingly confuse him. However, the clever farmer’s daughter sees through this swindle and helps the owner of the donkey reclaim his rightful property. Through her cunning, the king sees the error of his ways, and, once again, the cleverness of his bride.