Ernst Krenek
Orpheus und Eurydike
Short instrumentation: 3 2 4 3 - 6 4 3 1 - timp, perc(3), hp, str
Duration: 105'
Text bearbeitet von: Franz Werfel
Dichter der Textvorlage: Oskar Kokoschka
Dedication: Oskar Kokoschka gewidmet
Choir: SATB
Roles:
Orpheus
tenor
Eurydike
soprano
Amor
silent part
Psyche
soprano
First
second
third fury
mezzo-sopranos
Ein Betrunkener
bass
Ein Krieger
baritone
Ein Matrose
tenor
Der Narr
baritone
Instrumentation details:
piccolo
1st flute
2nd flute
1st oboe
2nd oboe
1st clarinet in Bb
2nd clarinet in Bb
clarinet in Eb
bass clarinet in Bb
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
contrabassoon
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
5th horn in F
6th horn in F
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
3rd trumpet in C
4th trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
bass tuba
timpani
percussion(3)
harp
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
Krenek - Orpheus und Eurydike
Printed/Digital
Translation, reprints and more
Ernst Krenek
Krenek: KRENEK ORPHEUS & EURYDIKE Vocal Score - op. 21Type: Klavierauszug (Sonderanfertigung)
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
The myth of Orpheus – presiding over the birth of opera 400 years ago, and repeatedly reworked over the centuries – also provided operatic inspiration for Ernst Krenek. In his Orpheus und Euridyke Op. 21, the tender, tragically misled singer becomes the man of sorrows of the fragmented 20th century. For the work’s 1926 première in Kassel, Krenek described his approach in these terms: ‘Eurydice’s ghost appears for the final showdown with Orpheus. She wants to be free from him forever. Both find rest only when Eurydice gives all her suffering back to Orpheus and kills him. With their deaths, the bad luck perishes.’ The libretto, incidentally, is by Oskar Kokoschka, who wrote it during his imprisonment in Russia.