Kurt Weill's opera Der Silbersee: ein Wintermarchen (1932): An example of 'Der Neue Oper'

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research report examines the opera Der Silbersee: Ein Wintermärchen (The Silver Lake: a Winter’s Tale), 1932, by Kurt Weill and Georg Kaiser, as an example of what Weill defined as ‘new opera’, in his essay ‘Der Neue Oper’.1 It will discuss reasons for the work’s rarity in its relative neglect as well as its significance as an example of what Kim Kowalke has called a synthesis of Weill’s ‘mature style’. Thus it will also be demonstrated that the work, even though rarely performed and often overlooked, is an important bridge between the works of Weill’s ‘German period’ and his later works in the United States. It will be established that the work is of musicological significance as well as of interest and relevance to present-day theatregoers. The research argues that the work, though written in Germany during the 1930s as a form of operatic protest, is worthy of being seen as a timeless and universal piece, deserving of more attention. This investigation will be accomplished through an analysis of Weill’s own writings found in his many essays, translated and collected by Kim Kowalke in his book Kurt Weill in Europe, through an examination of the historical and socio-political perspective of the work, as well as in a musical analysis.