Verkündigung ("Annunciation") is a 1935 mystery opera (ein Mysterium) in a prologue and four acts by Walter Braunfels to the composer's own libretto after the German translation of Paul Claudel's L'Annonce faite a Marie.[1][2] Claudel's play tells the story of a woman, Violaine, who moved by pity kisses a leper and contracts leprosy herself, but heals the leper she had embraced. Violaine also brings back to life the child born to her sister Mara and Jacques, the man who betrayed her, and then dies herself.[3] The names of Claudel's characters are germanified so the father Andre Vercors becomes Andreas Gradherz, Pierre de Craon becomes Peter von Ulm, and so on. The opera was premiered on 4 April 1948 in Cologne, conducted by Hellmut Schnackenburg, with Trude Eipperle as Violaine.[4]
| Verkündigung | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Walter Braunfels | |
.jpg) Walter Braunfels in 1920 | |
| Librettist | Braunfels |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Paul Claudel's L'Annonce faite a Marie |
| Premiere | 4 April 1948 |
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 4 April 1948[5] Conductor: Hellmut Schnackenburg |
|---|---|---|
| Andreas Gradherz, Violäne's father | bass-baritone | Gerhard Göschel |
| Violäne's mother | alto | Irmgard Gerz |
| Violäne | soprano | Trude Eipperle |
| Mara, Violäne's sister | soprano | Walburga Wegner |
| Jakobäus, Violäne's former fiance, Mara's husband | baritone | Felix Knäpper |
| Peter von Ulm | tenor | Wilhelm Otto |
| Peter von Ulm's assistant | tenor | Karl Schiebener |
| Voice of an angel | soprano | Elisabeth Urbaniak |
| First worker | bass | Anton German |
| Schulze von Rothenstein | speaking role | Heinz Froitzheim |
Recordings
edit- Verkündigung – Andrea Trauboth (Violaine), Chieko Shirasaka-Teratani (Mara), Siegmund Nimsgern (Andreas Gradherz), Claudia Rüggeberg (the mother), John Bröcheler (Jacobaeus), Christer Bladin (Peter von Ulm). Köln SO & Chor, Dennis Russell Davies 1992
- Verkündigung – Juliane Banse (Violaine), Janina Baechle (Mara), Robert Holl (the father), Hanna Schwarz (the mother), Adrian Eröd (Jacques), Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ulf Schirmer 2014
References
edit- ^ Operas in German: a dictionary – Page 336 Margaret Ross Griffel – 1990
- ^ Gramophone – Volume 72, Issues 853–856 -1994 Page 108 "In the period between the two world wars, Walter Braunfels (1882–1954) was among the most widely performed of all living opera composers. ... Verkündigung ("Annunciation") was written between 1934 and 1937, presumably in full knowledge that it had no foreseeable ... The libretto is based on a German translation of Paul Claudel's L Annonce faite a Marie."
- ^ Michael Haas Forbidden Music: The Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis 2013 0300154305 " ... life included a powerful String Quintet, three string quartets, a number of church cantatas and three large-scale stage works: Die Verkündigung (1933—5), Der Traum ein Leben (1937), and Szenen aus dem Leben der heiligen Johanna (1939—43).
- ^ Rohde, Gerhard (2012). "Wiedererweckung, wiederentdeckt". neue musikzeitung. Regensburg. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Walter Braunfels" (PDF). Braunfels Website. Walter Braunfels Gesellschaft. Retrieved 9 November 2020.