Schreker, Franz

Schreker, Franz – Der ferne Klang (The Distant Sound) / full opera score in three acts with German libretto

(b. Monaco, March 23, 1878 – d. Berlin, March 21, 1934)

(The Distant Sound)
Opera in three acts

Orchestra:
3 flutes (2nd and 3rd also piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd also English horn), 2 clarinets, bass clarinet (also E-flat clarinet and tenor saxophone), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba (also contrabass tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, bells, low bell, tambourine, Basque drum, xylophone, castanets, glockenspiel, 2 harps, piano, celesta, strings

Stage music on stage:
Venetian music (flute, clarinet, 2 horns, timpani, tambourine, harp, 3 mandolins, 2 guitars, strings)
Gypsy music (E-flat clarinet, also small clarinet in D, cimbalom, strings)

Stage music behind the scenes:
celesta, piano, harp ad libitum

Cast:
Old Graumann, a retired civil servant – baritone
Old Graumann’s Wife – mezzo-soprano
Grete, their daughter – soprano
Fritz, a young artist – tenor
The landlord of the inn “Zum Schwan” – bass
A bad actor – baritone
Dr. Vigelius, a pettifogger – bass
An old woman – mezzo-soprano
Mizi, a dancer – soprano
Milli, a dancer – mezzo-soprano
Mary, a dancer – soprano
A Spanish girl, a dancer – alto
The Count – baritone
The Baron – bass
The Chevalier – tenor
Rudolf, Fritz’s close friend and doctor – bass
First chorus member – tenor
Second chorus member – bass
The waitress – mezzo-soprano
A dubious individual – tenor
A policeman – bass
A servant – speaking role

Chorus in Act I:
Guests, waiters, waitresses, servants at the “Zum Schwan” inn

Chorus in Act II:
Girls, dancers of all nations, men and women, some masked

Chorus in Act III:
Theater staff, theatergoers, waitresses, cart drivers

Preface

Not Richard Strauss was the focus of attention of music lovers and critics in the 1920s. It was Franz Schreker who, with his operas that perfectly captured the tastes and themes of the time, surpassed his fellow composers in the favor of the audience until he, who described himself as “the Jew,” was removed by the Nazis from his position as head of a master class at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1933. A year later, he died a broken man.

Der ferne Klang (The Distant Sound) is Schreker’s first full-length opera and also his major operatic success, catapulting him immediately into the highest ranks of opera composers. Schreker had not actually intended to write the libretto himself, but when the writer Ferdinand von Saar criticized the basic idea of the new opera, he felt challenged. The libretto was written within three weeks. The completion of the opera itself was a different matter. Starting in 1903, it took seven years to complete the composition. Schreker himself commented on the arduous creative process: “I wrote two acts of music, which caused consternation, even horror, among all the ‘experts’. Deeply discouraged, I put the work aside.” Another two years passed before the opera premiered to an enthusiastic audience in Frankfurt am Main on August 18, 1912 under the conductor Ludwig Rottenberg. This was preceded by his hometown of Vienna’s refusal to host the premiere of the work. The stage work was also considered virtually unperformable, which is understandable given the personnel required, the extraordinary stage effort, and the unusual size of the orchestras, bands, and choirs. …

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