Im Digitalisierungsprojekt „Ernst Krenek lectures online: die musiktheoretischen Vorträge eines Exil-Österreichers“ wurden die im Archiv der Ernst-Krenek-Institut-Privatstiftung aufbewahrten Manuskripte und Typoskripte zu Kreneks Lehrveranstaltungen, Vorträgen und Radiosendungen in einer kuratierten Auswahl online verfügbar und durchsuchbar gemacht, sowie mit begleitenden historischen und biographischen Informationen kontextualisiert.
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Am 8. März 1939 hielt Ernst Krenek einen Vortrag an der Stanford University über zeitgenössisches Opernschaffen. Ausgehend von einem Blick auf Wagners Idee des „Gesamtkunstwerks“ und dessen zentralem gestalterischen Mittel der Illusion, beschreibt er zeitgenössisches Opernschaffen gerade als Reaktion auf diese Illusion. Als Beispiel setzte er sich mit seinen Oper „Jonny spielt auf“, op. 45 und Karl V., op. 73, aber auch mit Milhauds „Christophe Colomb“ und Janaceks „Jenufa“ auseinander. Auszüge daraus spielte er am Klavier.
More than anything
cial conditions of the epoc. Opera is the most expensive of all musi-
cal exhibitions, and therefore more sensitive for all kinds of economic
fluctuations. In examining the present state of opera, we will find
many important clues by looking to the social and economic back-
ground of operatic life. There are practically only two countries
with a comprehensive and living operatic tradition; they are
und
cing is an intrinsic part of musical activities only in those two
countries. One could find reasons for this fact in some ethnical
pecularities of the
of more importance, that both countries were divided into a lot
of independent and rivaling territories when opera became fas-
hionable. Everyone of these
his own opera house, and thus opera became a form of art
permeating the whole nation. Later on, when the princes dis-
appeared, the municipalities, city and state governments, took
over the opera houses in
house since long time. In
There the system of local and traveling managers went into being.
Whereas the German opera houses
an ensemble which is supposed to be ready
every task the Italian manager hires a group of singers
for a special task to be performed during a limited period.
Opera houses in other contries, as the
or the National opera houses in the capitals of smaller coun-
tries are of less importance an
They are more or less representative institutions.
Modern opera must be considered from the angle how
it got with
the style of opera playing directly and indirectly even there
where he evoked strong opposition. Generations of singers
and conductors have been trained in
demands of his style. outstandingly persistent
explain the extraordinary
operatic world for decades. His overwhelming success
can partly be explained by the fact that the emotional and
intellectual content of his work glorifies and magnifies the
intellectual and emotional set-up of the middle class which
began its slow ascent to power in the second half of the 19th
century. The behaviour of
augments the self-confidence and promotes the self-justification
of small business people. The main idea of
style is illusion. The central concept of what he called "Gesamt-
kunstwerk" is illusion. The effect which is supposed to be the result
of the cooperation of arts in this "universal art work" is the
illusion of a complete, autarchic, selfsufficient artistic
world. The unity of word, music, stage, color, light and so on
should be so perfect
kind of super-world. The artificial character of this world, how-
ever, should be
spell is introduced
Another important stylistic device for the creation of an illusiona-
ry world is the idea that the music
the
not become aware that there is another artistic world outside
of the Gesamtkunstwerk. Thus the medium which is the most
artificial in opera, the music, is ingeniously put on duty to
perform just the main task of the illusion that there is
no artificial arrangement, but a kind of second sublime
nature.
Opera developed mainly along this line, during the de-
cades after
destroy the spell, although deliberately tending to other principles.
It was only the world war and what followed afterwards which un-
dermined defintely the idea of illusion both in life and in art.
We are no more apt to believe in a complete and equilibrated
picture of the outside world. Science taught us the relativity of
physical concepts, and
there is no stability in social und political systems. We are in-
clined to emphasize contradictions rather that to conceal them.
Yet, the process leading to such an insight is long and
ideas. The first approach to a new conception of opera
led to a revival of its primitive character of a stage play with
song and dance. The content of the play is no more transformed
into a
presented as it is, an arrangement of musical and scenic ele-
ments. In regard to the music, there is a revival of
purely musical as they
arias, ensembles, finales, and so on. This formal tendency was
never broken up entirely in opera, as
but it was very much overshadowed by
cept of the supremacy of the dramatic expression over the for-
mal element. I want to show you as an example of this ten-
dency some fragments of my opera
The process of emphasizing the play-like elements of
of the idea through these
ticism, that means there made to establish
sense of
tried to introduce are applied to the dramatic action rather
superficially.
The terrible fuss which this opera created but also the
tremendons success it obtained
fact that I let an opera singer make use of the telephone on
stage and that one of the scenes presents a railroad station.
very simple
tant, they acted in the way of destroying illusions. One did
not expect to see people in opera wearing modern clothes and
behave themselves like living persons, and thus a shock was
felt. May be, it was the main value of this opera to produce
such sort of a shock. I had, however, in mind to set forth some
general idea drawn from the aspect of European life of the post
war period. I tried to confront the verted
with the vitality I personified in the figure of the jazz-player Jonny.
It is certainly the most important accomplishment of
that he raised opera to the level of an
of philosophical presentation. The desire to present such ideas by
means of opera penetrated soon the endeavours of the most
sult of this desire. I want to show you some examples from the
Opera
It deals with the tragie fate of the emperor
Another much more important attempt in this sense is
written by
of illusion.
the presentation of an announcer who starts to read the
story of
the posterity invited to consider and to judge the deeds of
the hero. The stage itself is divided into several showplaces,
and even the person of
doings which are acted by a double on a second stage. Some
times the action transposed to
world is distroyed entirely. Opera is conceived as a deliberately
purpose to set forth a great philosophical idea.
The subject is the story of the Hapsburg Emperor
ruled in the 16th century over the greatest part of
the newly discovered
aim to show how his magnificent idea of reuniting all
Christian nations of the world in a sort of replica of the old
Roman empire und of providing them everlasting peace
must fail because
of modern times, nationalism, heresy, and so on. Thus the
tragedy of
To late, because the spiritual unity of the catholic middle age
already fell to pieces, too soon because the world just started
on the road
This idea called for a comprehensive presentation of the
highly complex story of the emperor. I had to show his
feud againt the nationalist King
testants, the difficulties he encountered in
gold floating in from
power and the inquisition ravaged the country. I had
to show the fight of the Emperor against narrow-minded
popes who mistrusted him by cheap political reasons although
macy of the Holy
nical but nonetheless terrifying menace looming in the
East where the Turks became more and more powerful. How
locate
the brief extension of a normal opera performance? It was
only possible by abolishing completely the idea of illusion. The
who retired to the
hears the voice of the Lord who asks him whether he
himself justified for having abdicated, whether he
he had performed the holy task assigned to him, the unity
and peace of Christendom. The emperor who wishes to clarify
him the main events of his life. The past scenes of the history
are presented on a second plan, but only as illustrations, as
examples of what is discussed in the foreground. The young
monk interrupts the emperor by
further explanation, raising objections against the argu-
ments, thus inducing the emperor to develop new facts,
and so on. By these
possibility to present many things in as abridged a manner
as it seemed necessary - thus for instance, the meeting of the
Diet of
problem, is condensed
out any preparations concerning mood und color; the de-
struction of
climax of his conflict with the Pope, takes hardly more than
4 minutes. On the other hand, this technique transports the
remote aldistance of their vanishing part
straigth into line
who questions the emperor speaks for the listener, he is calling
for such explanations as the listener might claim when wit-
nessing a historic action which he first might
This demonstrative didactic style was also advanced
by the German writer
ted in collaboration with
style with its implication of short aphoristic scenes and quick
and sudden changes of showplaces
nique of the moving pictures trained the public to a
higher presence of
true with respect to the musical means. The modern develop-
ment of musical language leading to Atonality and
Twelvetonetechnique acts in the same way against the illusion
of completeness and self
harmonies organized in well defined
by a more polyphonic concept of music where the idea
of movement prevails. Werefore the new musical style
is especially apt for fitting into the dramatic ideas
of modern opera writing.
This most progressive line of modern opera is not yet followed
up by many composers. Nevertheless, I believe that the future of opera
at least of its more extensive type, will depend on how
able include
there
public opinion will
of stars singers and costful stage settings.
I think that especially the first idea of the touring chamber opera
should have many possibilities in
of the major cities already are subjected to the prejudice that
is can below
of the
in this country numberless smaller displaying
hopeful interest in drama with music, and they should offer a most
fertil soil for evolving such an entirely new operatic style as I out-
lined in my second proposal. It is evident that only in this way
even a genuine American type of most
a type which will
the old European repertory theater. Of course, this task would require
a new
those who are running at present most of the American opera
enterprises and who only try to exploit imported tastes and pre-
judices for the sake of money making. I hope presencesome
country might be helpful for the establishment of this American
opera style when their insight and experience is used in the right
way. To be sure, they do not wish anything better than to work
for such a most interesting purpose.
There is only the folklore opera going a little
bit its own way, that means opera based deli-
berately on folksongs and -dances, as for example
the most original
unique amateur found the only congenial conti-
nuation in another half amateurish composer of
the slavic world, I mean the
His opera
score, is one of his earlier works, but nontheless
characteristic for his pecularities. I show a short
scene of a dialogue where some young peasants
of Moravia exchange their opinions about the future
of the beautiful girl Jenufa who in fact is doomed
to a tragic fate. The folklore material is used
only as a material, not in order to produce
stylized folk-songs as in most of the popular
operas, but to create an original language in
itself.
as he deduces the short motives building up his
vague forms straight from the cadence of the
Czech language. And the dialogue reminds in
some way the monotonous antiphonies of the
old slavic liturgy. Thus a really new though
limited musical medium is obtained. The later
works of
attitude in regard to the musical material
and an extrandinary imaganition.
__________
But, the idea of illusion is not yet directly
attacked.