Der Ring des Polykrates

SYNOPSIS

The opera takes place on an afternoon in the autumn of 1797 in a minor Saxon residence. Florian and Lieschen, employed as a musician and chambermaid in the services of Wilhelm and his wife Laura, wish to get married, but how should they announce their intentions to their employers? Wilhelm and Laura have been happily married for the past two years, but Laura is thrown into a state of distress by the news that Wilhelm’s old friend Vogel will be coming to stay. She finds the passage in her diary describing her former infatuation with this man who was even then endearingly awkward. When Vogel becomes aware of his friend’s happiness with Laura in his attractive residence, he advises him to make a sacrifice. Taking advise from a newly published almanac citing Friedrich Schiller‘s ballad The Ring of Polycrates where the victorious ruler throws his most valued ring into the sea to appease the gods, Wilhelm is instructed to imitate the ancient hero and gamble with what is most loved and treasured by him – this being the only way to retain his most treasured object. Wilhelm agrees to this strange and playful rite and initiates his first ever quarrel between him and Laura. In imitation of his master, Florian does the same and tests the love of his Lieschen. Following a turbulent scene featuring a slap in the face, alternating passages from Schiller’s poem and Laura’s diary and a ring flung out of a window, the married couple are reconciled and Lieschen and Florian are permitted to wed each other. Both couples immediately identify Mr Vogel as their sacrificial offering and turn him out of the residence.

COMMENTARY

After the premiere of his 1910 ballet Der Schneemann at the Vienna State Opera House the thirteen-year-old Erich Wolfgang Korngold was considered a child prodigy. He subsequently wished to compose and orchestrate his first opera and hit on Heinrich Tewele’s comedy Der Ring des Polykrates from which Leo Feld compiled a libretto. Korngold’s father Julius was also involved in the preparation of the text.
The one-act opera could almost have provided inspiration for Giacomo Puccini’s comic opera Gianni Schicchi, despite the fact that the musical language clearly belongs to Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. Korngold’s harmonies are complex and his use of rhythm sophisticated; his protagonists are characterised by the typical Viennese snide humour of provincial theatres. Although the fortunate Wilhelm is good-natured, he is at the same time vain and gloats comprehensively about his success. His devoted wife Laura not only possesses a dark secret, she can also transform herself into a fury. With its effective orchestration and precision in the development of the plot, Der Ring des Polykrates is anything but a mere finger exercise, already clearly a small masterpiece in itself.
The premiere of the opera took place in the Munich Court Theatre on 28 March 1916 alongside Korngold’s second one-act opera Violanta and was a resounding success. The Viennese premiere was followed by productions performed across Europe. During the past few years, this charming one-act piece has been performed with increasing frequency; recent productions have taken place on opera stages in Martina Franca (Italy), Lübeck, Augsburg, Heidelberg and Dallas.