Walter Braunfels
Jeanne d'Arc – Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna
Short instrumentation: 3 3 3 3 - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc(5), hp, pno, alto sax, str; stage music: tpt(4)
Libretto von: Walter Braunfels
Übersetzer: Stewart Spencer
Choir: Richter (TB), Volk, Gesinde (SATB), Chorknaben (boys voices)
Roles:
Johanna
juvenile-dramatic soprano Hl. Michael
heroic tenor Hl. Katharina
soprano Hl. Margarete
mezzo-soprano Karl von Valois
König von Frankreich
tenor Erzbischof von Reims
high bass Cauchon
Bischof von Beauvais
tenor Vicar-Inquisitor
bass Jakobus von Arc
Johannas Vater
bass Colin
ein Schäfer
buffo tenor Gilles de Rais
Marschall von Frankreich
genannt „Blaubart“
heroic baritone Herzog von Alençon
tenor Ritter Baudricourt
baritone Lison
seine Frau
alto Bertrand de Poulengy
tenor Florent d'Illiers
hoher bass Englischer Hauptmann
tenor ein Page
boy's voice 6 Bürger von Orléans
tenors
basses Hofleute
Wachen
hohe geistliche Würdenträger
Gefolge des Königs
Engländer
Geharnischte
Mönche
Henker
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
3rd flute (+picc)
1st oboe
2nd oboe
cor anglais
alto saxophone in Eb
1st clarinet in A (+cl(Bb))
2nd clarinet in A (+cl(Bb))
bass clarinet in Bb
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
contrabassoon
1st horn in F (+hn in E, Eb)
2nd horn in F (+hn in E, Eb)
3rd horn in F (+hn in E, Eb)
4th horn in F (+hn in E, Eb)
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
3rd trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
bass tuba
timpani
percussion(5 players): celesta, glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, bells, cymbals, snare drum, bass drum
harp
piano (+org)
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
stage music: 4 trumpets in Bb (cont.aind the scene)
Braunfels - Jeanne d'Arc – Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna
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Walter Braunfels
Braunfels: Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna - op. 57Type: Klavierauszug
Language: Deutsch | Französisch
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Work introduction
While completing his Grillparzer opera, Der Traum ein Leben, Braunfels decided to compose yet another work for music theatre: he wrote Jeanne d’Arc – Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna (Jeanne d’Arc – Scenes from the Life of Saint Joan) between 1938 and 1942.
He was inspired by Hindemith’s opera Mathis der Maler, having travelled to Zurich in 1938 to attend the world première. The choice of Saint Joan as the protagonist of his next opera was motivated by George Bernard Shaw’s play of the same title. Life in Nazi Germany, marked by anxiety, suffering and insecurity, may also have played a role.
The concert premiere of Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna took place in 2001 in Stockholm, followed by the first German concert performance in Munich in the same year. The staged world premiere was seven years later, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.