Erwartung, op. 17
Erwartung (Expectation), Op. 17, is a one-act monodrama in four scenes by Arnold Schönberg to a libretto by Marie Pappenheim. Composed in 1909, it was not premiered until 6 June 1924 in Prague conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky with Marie Gutheil-Schoder as the soprano. The opera takes the unusual form of a monologue for solo soprano accompanied by a large orchestra. In performance, it lasts for about half an hour. Schönberg described Erwartung, saying "the aim is to represent in slow motion everything that occurs during a single second of maximum spiritual excitement, stretching it out to half an hour."
Synopsis
Time: Night
Place: A forest
A woman is in an apprehensive state as she searches for her lover. In the darkness, she comes across what she first thinks is a body, but then realises is a tree-trunk. She is frightened and becomes more anxious as she cannot find the man she is looking for. She then finds a dead body, and sees that it is her lover. She calls out for assistance, but there is no response. She tries to revive him, and addresses him as if he were still alive, angrily charging him with being unfaithful to her. She then asks herself what she is to do with her life, as her lover is now dead. Finally, she wanders off alone into the night.
- Szene: "Hier hinein?..."
- Szene: "Ist das noch der Weg?"
- Szene: "Da kommt ein Licht!"
- Szene: "Er ist auch nicht da..."
Synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recommended recordings
- Jessye Norman · Metropolitan Opera Orchestra · James Levine YouTubeSpotify (subscription)
- BBC Symphony Orchestra · Pierre Boulez YouTubeSpotify (subscription)