Das Schloß Dürande (opera) explained

Das Schloß Dürande, Op. 53, is an opera by Othmar Schoeck to a libretto by based on by Joseph von Eichendorff.^[1] A commission for Berlin by Werner Reinhart, the libretto was heavily weighted with the Nazi ideology of the librettist Bunte, putting the composer in conflict with his own Swiss nationalist feelings. Theater Bern staged a reworking of the music to a new libretto by on Eichendorff's novel in 2018.^[2]

Recordings

• Maria Cebotari, Peter Anders, Josef Greindl, Rut Berglund, Marta Fuchs, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Orchester der Staatsoper Berlin, Robert Heger, 1943
• Chorus, Konzert Theater Bern, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Mario Venzago; Claves Records 2018^[3]

Notes and References

1. Chris Walton Othmar Schoeck: Life and Works 2009, p. 261: "Das Schloss Dürande is a wonderful score. While it is not Schoeck's finest, it is arguably the one that has the richest palette of musical invention. But its libretto is so drenched in Nazisms that it will in future at best be heard only in concert or on ..."
2. https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/wie-befreit-man-eine-oper-vom-gedankengut-der-nazis-ld.1389694 "Wie befreit man eine Oper vom Gedankengut der Nazis?"
3. https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/politisches-biedermeier-aus-zweiter-hand-ld.1390685 "Politisches Biedermeier aus zweiter Hand"