Friedenstag

Friedenstag (Peace Day) is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his Opus 81, to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor. Strauss had hoped to work again with Stefan Zweig on a new project after their previous collaboration of Die schweigsame Frau, but the Nazi authorities had harassed Strauss over his collaboration with Zweig, who was of Jewish ancestry. While the idea for the story was from Zweig, he then suggested Gregor as a "safe" collaborator for the actual writing of the libretto. Zweig's influence on the work nonetheless remained in its "form and dramatic substance".

The opera was premiered at Munich on July 24, 1938. and dedicated to Viorica Ursuleac and her husband Clemens Krauss, the lead and conductor. 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.

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.

Roles

		Premiere, July 24, 1938 (Clemens Krauss)
Commandant of the beleaguered town	baritone	Hans Hotter
Maria, his wife	soprano	Viorica Ursuleac
A sergeant	bass	Georg Hann
A corporal	baritone
A private soldier	tenor
A musketeer	bass
A bugler	bass
An officer	baritone
A front-line officer	baritone
A Piedmontese	tenor	Peter Anders (tenor)
The Holsteiner, commanding the besieging army	bass	Ludwig Weber
The burgomaster	tenor
The bishop	baritone
A woman of the people	soprano
Soldiers of the garrison and of the besieging army, elders of the town and women of the deputation to the commandant, townspeople

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 the watch 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's 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 Commandment 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.

Maria, the Commandant's wife, enters the citadel, and remarks on the crowd and her husband. Her husband enters, noting that she has disobeyed his order to her not to enter the citadel. Their voices contrast in their duet, she tired of war, he exulting in it and saying how he plans to explode the fortress, taking all its occupants with it. Even so, the Commandant offers her the chance to flee, for her safety. Maria vows to stay at her husband's side.

A cannon shot sounds, apparently signaling an enemy attack. The sergeant hands the Commandant the fuse, but he will not use it, preferring combat. The next sound, however, is of distant bells, and other bells from the town join in. The sergeant then reports that the Holstein troops are approaching, but not to attack, rather decked with streamers, flowers and white flags. The Commandant thinks that this is a ruse. The Mayor and prelate, however, are overjoyed to see this procession, mistaking it for the Commandant's promised signal.

The Holstein commander then enters to seek the Commandant, and offers the news that the Thirty Years' War is over that very day, as an armistice has been signed. The Commandant is harsh in his acknowledgement of the Holstein commander, and insults him to the point where he draws his sword. The Holstein commander reaches for his own sword, but does not draw it. Maria then throws herself between the two military commanders, pleading for peace between them. Suddenly, the Commandant and the Holstein commander embrace. The opera concludes with a chorus of reconciliation.

Selected recordings

• KOCH International Classics: Richard Cassilly, Alessandra Marc, William Wildermann, George Shirley, Ruben Broitman, Max Wittges, Peter van Derick, Paul Schmidt, Stephen Lusmann, Roger Roloff, James Wood, Terry Cook; Collegiate Chorale and Orchestra; Robert Bass, conductor
• Koch Schwann 3-1465-2: Hans Hotter, Viorica Ursuleac, Herbert Alsen, Josef Witt, Hermann Wiedemann, Carl Bissuti, Nikolaus Zec, Anton Dermota, Hermann Gallos, Georg Monthy, Karl Kamann, Willy Franter, Viktor Madin, Mela Bugarinovic; Orchestra and Chorus of the Vienna State Opera; Clemens Krauss, conductor (live recording from 10 June 1939)
• EMI Classics: Bernd Weikl, Sabine Hass, Jaakko Ryhänen, Jan Vacik, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Alfred Kuhn, Gerhard Auer, Florian Cerny, Thomas Woodman, Eduardo Villa, Kurt Moll, Robert Schunk, Karl Helm, Cornelia Wulkopf; Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera; Bavarian Radio Choir and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor
• Deutsche Grammophon: Albert Dohmen, Deborah Voigt, Attila Jun, Johan Botha, Alfred Reiter, Tom Martinsen, Jochen Kupfer, André Eckert, Jürgen Commichau, Jon Villars, Sami Luttinen, Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Matthias Henneberg, Sabine Brohm, Norbert Klesse, Ekkehard Pansa, Rafael Harnisch; Dresden Staatskapelle; Dresden State Opera Chorus; Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor

References