Eugen d' Albert
Der Golem
Short instrumentation: 3 3 3 3 - 4 4 3 1 - timp, perc, hp(2), cel, str, IM: cornet(B)(2), tbn(2), bass tbn, perc / OM (opt.): alto sax(Eb), t.sax(Bb), t-tam, musical saw
Duration: 180'
Dichter der Textvorlage: Arthur Holitscher
Libretto von: Ferdinand Lion
Dedication: an Isis
Choir: SATB
Roles:
Der Golem
Bariton / Rabbi Loew
Baß / Lea
seine Pflegetochter
Sopran / Sein Jünger
Tenor / Kaiser Rudolf ll.
Bariton / 2 Juden
Tenor und Baß / Tycho Brahe
Gelehrter
und Gefolge des Kaisers
stumme Rollen (Pantomimen)
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
3rd flute (+picc)
1st oboe
2nd oboe (+c.a)
cor anglais
1st clarinet in Bb (+cl(A))
2nd clarinet in Bb (+cl(A))
3rd clarinet in Bb (+bass cl(Bb))
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
3rd bassoon
1st horn in F (+hn(E))
2nd horn in F (+hn(E))
3rd horn in F (+hn(E))
4th horn in F (+hn(E))
1st trumpet in C (+tpt(Bb)
tpt(F)
tpt(E))
2nd trumpet in C (+tpt(Bb)
tpt(F)
tpt(E))
3rd trumpet in C (+tpt(Bb)
tpt(F)
tpt(E))
4th trumpet in C (+tpt(Bb)
tpt(F)
tpt(E))
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
bass tuba
timpani
percussion
1st harp
2nd harp
celesta
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
incidental music: 1st cornet in Bb
2nd cornet in Bb
1st trombone
2nd trombone
bass trombone
percussion
incidental music (optional): alto saxophone in Eb (sop.sax(Bb)
tenor saxophone in Bb
harmonium
tam-tam
musical saw
Albert - Der Golem
Audio preview
Work introduction
The storyline of Eugen d’Albert’s opera Der Golem (1926) was taken from
the famous ancient Jewish legend of the Golem of Prague. After the great
success of the world première in 1926 (“with its absolute tonal character, the
work ranks alongside the operas of Schreker”), no-one imagined that the piece
would be forgotten after 1945. In Bielefeld (Germany) in 1997 it was referred to as “a
worthwhile excavation.”