Jeremias

Kirchenoper in fünf Bildern

nach dem gleichnamigen Drama von Stefan Zweig

On the occasion of the World Première, Petr Eben wrote: 'When I discovered the drama Jeremias by Stefan Zweig in the 1950s, I was fascinated not only by the power of the artistic text but also by the topical message of unexpected anticipation of the future. Zweig wrote this work during World War I, being one of the few who passionately fought against this war and regarding it as a deep moral mistake. To him, the character of Jeremias therefore embodies the archetype of man who is completely alone, against everybody. At that time, Zweig did not know that he predicted the genocides of the next war in a visionary manner.

Edition: Performance material

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Description

Jeremiah has a vision of the imminent fall of Jerusalem. Not even his mother wants to believe him and she curses him – Jerusalem will last forever. Eager for war, the people are determined to shake off the Assyrian yoke and reject Jeremiah’s warnings.
The Assyrians surround the town. The king of the Israelites, Zedekia, is Jeremiah’s last hope. But Zedekia too does not want to listen to Jeremiah’s warnings. The crowd’s anger is directed at Jeremiah and they threaten to stone him. Zedekia leads his people into war.
Jeremiah returns to his father’s home, where his mother lies dying. She hears the noise of battle close by and knows that Jerusalem is awaiting its downfall. The crowd forces its way into the house and throws Jeremiah into a dung pit. Jerusalem has fallen and king Zedekia blinded. As soon as the enemy’s trumpet call sounds three times the Israelis must leave town. The prophet Jeremiah, whose words have come true, finds words of comfort: ‘God will build a temple in your heart and he will build the eternal Jerusalem in each one of you.’

Orchestral Cast

1 · 1 (auch Engl. Hr.) · 1 · 1 - 1 · 1 · 1 · 0 - S. (Trgl. · Gong · Beck. · 4 Tomt.) - Org. (-positiv) - Str.

Content

I Die Erweckung des Propheten
II Die Warnung
III Die Begegnung mit dem König
IV Die Heimkehr zur Mutter und die Gefangennahme
V Der ewige Weg

Cast

Erzähler · Tenor - Jeremias · Bass-Bariton - Mutter · Alt - Baruch · Tenor - Zedekia · Bass - 2 assyrische Krieger · Tenor, Bass - 2 israelische Krieger · Tenor, Bass - 2 Männer · Tenor, Bass - Chor

More Information

Title:

Jeremias

Kirchenoper in fünf Bildern

nach dem gleichnamigen Drama von Stefan Zweig

Language:

German

Edition:

Performance material

Publisher/Label:

Schott Music

Year of composition:

1996 - 1997

Duration:

90 ′

World Premiere:

May 25, 1997 · Praha (CZ)
St Vitus Cathedral
Prague Spring Festival 1997
with Ivan Kusnjer, Lenka Smídová, Jan Jezek, Miloslav Podskalsky · Conductor: Bohumil Kulínsky · Members of the National Theatre of Prague · Members of the National Theatre of Prague
Original staging: Josef Prudek · Choreography: Irena Janovcová
(scenic) (scenic performance)