Friedenstag (Peace Day) is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his Opus 81 and TrV 271, to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor. The opera was premiered at the National Theatre Munich on 24 July 1938 and dedicated to the leading singer Viorica Ursuleac and her husband, conductor Clemens Krauss. Strauss had intended Friedenstag as part of a double-bill, to be conducted by Karl Böhm in Dresden, that would include as the second part his next collaboration with Gregor, Daphne. The opera thematically expresses anti-war sentiments, which William Mann has described as "a determined counter to the militaristic policies of Nazi Germany". These caused the work to be shelved after the outbreak of World War II.
Composition history
Stefan Zweig came up with the idea of the opera, which he outlined in a letter to Strauss following up a meeting between the two at the Salzburg Festival in 1934. Both Zweig and Strauss were united in their common opposition to the growing militarism and anti-Semitism of the Nazis. Strauss had hoped to work again with Stefan Zweig on a new project. However, since their previous collaboration of Die schweigsame Frau had ended in the work being banned, Strauss could not work openly with the Jewish Zweig. While the idea for the story was from Zweig, he then suggested Gregor as a "safe" collaborator for the actual writing of the libretto. Strauss reluctantly agreed. Zweig's influence on the work nonetheless remained in its "form and dramatic substance". The libretto and draft of the opera were completed quickly, by 24 January 1936 and the orchestration six months later on 16 June.
Performance history
The opera was premiered at the National Theatre Munich on 24 July 1938 with Clemens Krauss conducting. The opera was performed often around Germany, with Adolf Hitler and other top Nazis attending a performance in Vienna on 10 June 1939, which formed part of the celebrations of Strauss' 75th birthday. Performances were halted soon after the start of the second world war. In May 1949, to celebrate his 85th birthday, there were simultaneous performances of the opera in Paris and Brussels, broadcast by French radio. In Germany, Friedenstag was revived in Munich in 1960 and in Dresden in 1995. Pamela Potter has performed a scholarly analysis of the pacifist and anti-war subtext of the opera. The work was given its United States premiere under the direction of Walter Ducloux at the University of Southern California in 1967. The first professional production in the US took place at the Santa Fe Opera on 28 July 1988 with a cast that included Richard Lewis, Alessandra Marc, and Mark Lundberg.
Roles
Synopsis
Place: The citadel of a beleaguered Catholic town in Germany under siege by Protestant troops from Holstein
Time: 24 October 1648, the last day of the Thirty Years' War
The Sergeant of the Guard receives a report from a private that the enemy has just set fire to a farm. A young Italian messenger from Piedmont arrives with a letter from the Emperor to the town Commandant, and then sings of his homeland. The munitions officer, a musketeer and other soldiers mockingly comment on the youth as one who has never known war, just as they have never known peace. The soldiers then hear distant noises, thinking at first that these are the enemy, but then realizing it is the townspeople approaching the fortress, the Commandant appears to address the townspeople. The Mayor and a prelate appeal to the Commandant to surrender the town, claiming that both their side and the enemy are suffering needlessly. The Commandant, however, wants only total victory and dismisses the sentiments. An officer from the front appears and informs the Commandant that the town will fall unless the ammunition under the fortress is used. The Commandant refuses to release the ammunition for combat.
The Commandant reads the letter from the Emperor to the townsfolk. The Emperor has declared that the town must hold, with no surrender. The people protest strongly, at 30 years of continuous war. The Commandant is shaken by the reaction, and orders the crowd to disperse and wait a further signal from him. He then orders his soldiers to collect the gunpowder underneath the fortress and to give him the fuse. The Commandant recalls how the Sergeant saved his life at the battle of Magdeburg, and now in turn offers the Sergeant a chance to leave the fortress. The Sergeant declines, along with the munitions officer and private. After thanking the Italian messenger, the Commandant orders his troops to work.