Wolkenstein

Eine Lebensballade

Libretto von Felix Mitterer

'Shall I howl with the wolves? I need life, people, the road nearby!’ says Oswald von Wolkenstein to his brother in the 2nd scene of Hiller’s new opera. His plea is like a motto of life: Wolkenstein (ca 1377-1445), a chivalrous singer, poet and composer, was undoubtedly an exceptional figure, as man as well as artist. An outsider endowed with an intensity of feeling, utterly full of the joys of life – and vulnerable. An adventurous person with energy for three. A man of word and action who absorbed life with almost unbridled power and turned it into art by voice, word and sound: biting humour and dark melancholy, crude sensuality and tender seduction, great seriousness and frivolous high spirits. The libretto, containing many original songs by Wolkenstein, was written by the Tyrolean dramatist Felix Mitterer. Wilfried Hiller, who for 30 years has been one of the most frequently performed composers of contemporary music-theatre, has interwoven medieval sounds with contemporary means of expression in his Wolkenstein music.

Edition: Performance material

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Description

The life of the South Tyrolean knight, politician, poet and composer Oswald von Wolkenstein (ca. 1377-1445) has fascinated Wilfried Hiller for a long time. Wolkenstein is a flamboyant figure: sophisticated and urbane, much-travelled in the service of the German emperor and having worked on diplomatic assignment for the consul of Konstanz, he was a man of the late Middle Ages yet informed by the thinking and feeling of the early stirrings of modern times. In cooperation with the popular Tyrolean poet Felix Mitterer, Hiller creates with Wolkenstein an exciting spectrum of a time and a man, who lives his life to the fullest without regard to conventions and without any respect for authorities. The songs composed by Wolkenstein, handed down through the centuries in different writings, are an important source of musical inspiration for Hiller; he combines these medieval sounds with elements of other musical means of expression including the music of the Nô-theatre.

Orchestral Cast

3 (alle auch Picc., 3. auch Altfl.) · 0 · 3 (1. auch Es-Klar., 3. auch Bassklar.) · 0 - 4 · 3 · 3 · 1 - P. S. (Glsp. · Crot. · Verrophon · Röhrengl. · 3 Trgl. · 3 Beck. · Nietenbeck. · Schellenbaum · javan. Buckelgongs · Dobacis · Amboss · Kotsuzumi u. Otsuzumi [jap. Sanduhrtr.] · Rahmentr. · Bong. · kl. Tr. · 6 Tomt. · 2 Rührtr. · Drum Set · Woodbl. · afrik. Holztr. · gr. Tr. · 6 Rototoms · afrik. Schlitztr. · Woodbl. · Tempelbl. · Guiro · Clav. · Kast. · Ratsche · Hyoshigi · Mark Tree · Stabpandereta · Peitsche · Windmasch.) (3 Spieler) - Hfe. · 2 Klav. (Flügel, 1. auch Cel.) - Str. -
Oswalds Kammer-Ensemble (auf der Bühne, evtl. auch seitlich oberhalb des Orchestergrabens): Fl. (auch Picc.) - S. (Zimb. · Fingerzimb. · Trgl. · Schellentamb. · 2 Rahmentr. · Waldteufel · Clav.) (1 Spieler) - Diskant-Zith. · Hfe. · Hackbrett - 2 Vl. (2. auch Va.) · Kb.

Cast

Oswald von Wolkenstein · Bariton - Oswald als Knabe · Sopran - Oswald als junger Mann · lyrischer Tenor - Anna Hausmann, Oswalds Geliebte · Mezzosopran - Michael von Wolkenstein, Oswalds Bruder · Schauspieler - Margarethe von Schwangau, Oswalds Frau / Mutter Oswalds · Sopran - Katharina von Wolkenstein, Michaels Frau · Schauspielerin - Herzog Friedrich IV., der Habsburger, Landesherr von Tirol · Schauspieler - König Sigmund, der Luxemburger · Schauspieler - Martin Jäger von Tisens, Landedelmann · Schauspieler - Ulrich I., Fürstbischof von Brixen, alt · Schauspieler - Schöberlin, Knecht Oswalds · Schauspieler - Papst Johannes, alt · Tenor - Papst Benedikt, alt · Bariton - Papst Gregor, alt · Bass - Jan Hus, der "Ketzer" · Tenor - Stimme der Wildfrau · mehrstimmig: Alt, 2 Tenöre, 2 Baritone, 2 Bässe - Knechte Oswalds · 2 Tenöre, 2 Baritone, 2 Bässe - ein Goldschmied, Festgesellschaft beim Bischof, 4 Badhuren, Ritter, Schergen, Landsknechte · Schauspieler, Statisten

More Information

Title:

Wolkenstein

Eine Lebensballade

Libretto von Felix Mitterer

Language:

German

Edition:

Performance material

Publisher/Label:

Schott Music

Year of composition:

2003

World Premiere:

March 6, 2004 · Nürnberg (D)
Opernhaus
Bernd Weikl, Wolkenstein · Conductor: Fabrizio Ventura
Original staging: Percy Adlon · Costumes: Renate Stoiber · Set desing: Hartmut Schörghofer
(scenic)

Commissioned work :

Auftragswerk des Staatstheaters Nürnberg in Kooperation mit dem Nuovo Teatro Communale Bolzano