Work of the Week - Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Die tote Stadt

On the 26th of November, the Finnish National Opera based in Helsinki will present Finland’s national premiere of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's classic opera Die tote Stadt. Conducted by Mikko Franck, the work will be presented as a brand new production by the acclaimed Danish director Kasper Bech Holten who’s production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle in 2009 won him international recognition.

Despite the fact that today the opera is known by audiences around the world, its success in the past has not always been straightforward and it is unusual that such a famous work is still receiving national premieres in Europe (UK 2009, Denmark 2010 and now Finland) 90 years after it was written. After its triumphal world premiere in 1920, Die tote Stadt became one of the most in-demand operas and it secured the early fame of the 23-year-old composer.

Since the first time music was written for a theatre, there has never been a composer who achieved so much at such a young age. A youthful storm comes over us... (music critic at Viennese world premiere).

During the Third Reich, Korngold’s music was banned because he was Jewish and in 1933, like many other artists, he emigrated to the US. Here Korngold made his name as a film composer but after the war many critics rebuked his concert works because of a perceived “failure” to stick with tradition. After his death in 1957, performances of the composer’s music fell into decline until the recent decades when audiences have enjoyed a welcome Korngold-Renaissance.

• Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Profile