Leben des Orest (The Life of Orestes) is a grand opera in five acts (eight scenes) with words and music both by Ernst Krenek. It is his opus 60 and the first of his own libretti with an antique setting. The score is inscribed with the dates of composition: August 8, 1928 – May 13, 1929, and includes indications of recommended cuts made for the first production. It premiered at the Neues Theater in Leipzig on 19 January 1930, and opened at the Kro...
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Leben des Orest (The Life of Orestes) is a grand opera in five acts (eight scenes) with words and music both by Ernst Krenek. It is his opus 60 and the first of his own libretti with an antique setting. The score is inscribed with the dates of composition: August 8, 1928 – May 13, 1929, and includes indications of recommended cuts made for the first production. It premiered at the Neues Theater in Leipzig on 19 January 1930, and opened at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin in early March of the same year (Leichtentritt 1930, 366).
Leben des Orest had 13 productions by 1933, when the Nazis seized power and banned Krenek from German stages. The first postwar revival was in 1947 in Linz and performances in Frankfurt (1951), Graz (1952), Düsseldorf (1954) and Wiesbaden (1961) followed. The 1961 Darmstadt performances were conducted by Krenek imself, but drew loud demonstrations against its supposed musical conservatism. Pierre Boulez wrote an open letter denouncing the management's actions...
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