Korngold's Opera *Die tote Stadt* Rediscovered

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was twenty-three years old when he wrote his opera The Dead City premieres in December 1920, on the same day in Hamburg and Cologne! It is already his third opera, and with it he definitively establishes his reputation. The libretto is based on Bruges-la-Morte (1892) by the Belgian writer Georges Rodenbach. This Symbolist novel centers on a widower who cannot come to terms with his wife’s death. He becomes captivated by a young, sensual dancer, in whom he believes he sees the image of his wife.

Between Dream and Reality
The “dead city of Bruges” appears in the background, “in contrast to an exuberant group of comedians, depraved temptations, and intoxicating dances. ‘Everything balancing between dream and reality,’ according to Korngold Sr., who co-wrote the libretto with his son. The young Korngold delivered an ecstatic score that foreshadows his career as a film composer. Ukrainian Oksana Lyniv will conduct the performance this afternoon. She is the chief conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and has appeared as a guest conductor at Bayreuth and many other major opera houses.