Page 389 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2019. Vloga nacionalnih opernih gledališč v 20. in 21. stoletju - The Role of National Opera Houses in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 3
P. 389
the european musical context of the oper as of slavko osterc
1910 Schreker Der ferne Klang Schreker
Béla Balász
1911 Bartók Bluebeard’s Castle Schönberg
Leo Feld
1913 Schönberg Die glückliche Hand Hans Müller-Einigen
Gozzi
1914 Korngold Der Ring von Polykrates Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
Andreyev/Župančič
1916 Korngold Violanta Klabund/Skrbinšek
1916 Busoni Turandot
1924 Puccini Turandot
1927 Kogoj Črne maske
1928 Osterc Krog s kredo
One important aspect of the style that he used in Krog s kredo is the ap-
pearance of oriental-sounding pentatonic or near-pentatonic melodies and
the use of Chinese-sounding instruments, especially the flute and gong.
Chinese melodies had in fact already been used by Busoni and Puccini in
their operatic versions of the Turandot story. In 1905 Busoni had composed
incidental music for the Chinese fable Turandot, but later on, probably in
1913, he used some of this music to create an opera, which was completed
in 1917, to be a suitable companion piece for his own hour-long Arlecchi-
no.41 Busoni extracted the melodies for his Turandot from the Geschichte
der Musik by August Wilhelm Ambros, while Puccini’s version of Turandot
(incomplete at his death in 1924) used certain Chinese melodies to create a
suitable atmosphere. There does not appear to have been a performance in
Ljubljana of Puccini’s Turandot,42 but it may well have been performed in
Prague while Osterc was there.
Three ‘minute’ operas: Saloma, Medea, Dandin v vicah
Osterc’s three miniature operas (see Table 6) which date from 1929-30
caused great interest. With a duration of 10-15 minutes each they have to
make their points without delay and with no romantic overtones. Cvet-
ko summed up the purpose of the minute-opera very concisely: “the min-
41 “The Music for Turandot” in Beaumont (1985), 76–86.
42 Sivec, Dvesto let slovene opera, does not mention a performance in his lists of operas
in Ljubljana.
387
1910 Schreker Der ferne Klang Schreker
Béla Balász
1911 Bartók Bluebeard’s Castle Schönberg
Leo Feld
1913 Schönberg Die glückliche Hand Hans Müller-Einigen
Gozzi
1914 Korngold Der Ring von Polykrates Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
Andreyev/Župančič
1916 Korngold Violanta Klabund/Skrbinšek
1916 Busoni Turandot
1924 Puccini Turandot
1927 Kogoj Črne maske
1928 Osterc Krog s kredo
One important aspect of the style that he used in Krog s kredo is the ap-
pearance of oriental-sounding pentatonic or near-pentatonic melodies and
the use of Chinese-sounding instruments, especially the flute and gong.
Chinese melodies had in fact already been used by Busoni and Puccini in
their operatic versions of the Turandot story. In 1905 Busoni had composed
incidental music for the Chinese fable Turandot, but later on, probably in
1913, he used some of this music to create an opera, which was completed
in 1917, to be a suitable companion piece for his own hour-long Arlecchi-
no.41 Busoni extracted the melodies for his Turandot from the Geschichte
der Musik by August Wilhelm Ambros, while Puccini’s version of Turandot
(incomplete at his death in 1924) used certain Chinese melodies to create a
suitable atmosphere. There does not appear to have been a performance in
Ljubljana of Puccini’s Turandot,42 but it may well have been performed in
Prague while Osterc was there.
Three ‘minute’ operas: Saloma, Medea, Dandin v vicah
Osterc’s three miniature operas (see Table 6) which date from 1929-30
caused great interest. With a duration of 10-15 minutes each they have to
make their points without delay and with no romantic overtones. Cvet-
ko summed up the purpose of the minute-opera very concisely: “the min-
41 “The Music for Turandot” in Beaumont (1985), 76–86.
42 Sivec, Dvesto let slovene opera, does not mention a performance in his lists of operas
in Ljubljana.
387
