| Die Dorfschule | |
| Genre: | Opera |
| Composer: | Felix Weingartner |
| Language: | German |
| Based On: | Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami |
(The Village School), Op. 64, is a 1918 German opera in one act by Felix Weingartner[1] based on act 4, scene 3, "Terakoya" (temple school), from the Japanese kabuki play Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami.[2] The plot of the scene "Terakoya" concerns the samurai Matsuōmaru, who on learning of a plot to kill the son of his feudal lord sends his own son to the village school where the son dies in his master's son's place, fulfilling the family duty.[3]
The subject of the opera had already been treated by the 18-year old Carl Orff as Gisei – , in June 1913, one of the juvenile works which Orff withdrew after 1935. Orff's treatment was based on the German translation of "Terakoya" by .[4]
A 2012 recording of the opera has been issued on a 1-disc set by the German label cpo, in 2015[5] with the German Opera Orchestra, chorus and soloists conducted by Jacques Lacombe.
The work was published in 1919[6] but composed in March 1918.[7]