Re: Moses und Aron at the Met

[elkahn <elkahn...>]

Ilana:

Please post the performance times, cost and phone info on LA JUIVE if you
have them. I am, and perhaps others are, interested.

Yes, my take on Act 2 of MOSES UND ARON was a completely subjective one
and I certainly wouldn't argue for it. It's my take alone.

My impression, however, was colored by several chapters in a book called 
Arnold Schoenberg: the composer as Jew by  Alexander Ringer (Oxford:
Clarendon Press: 1990).

It's a very straightforward (to say the least) book that deals with many
of the real anti-Semitic issues that faced Schoenberg in Germany and even
Mahler in turn-of-the-century Vienna.

Eliott Kahn




n Sat, 27 Feb 1999 IKochinska (at) aol(dot)com wrote:


> A very delayed response to Eliott's comments on Moses und Aron - I also saw it
> & found it very powerful - didn't feel let down dramatically by the absence of
> Act 3, but I agree with your indignation at the fact that one of our great &
> most important composers couldn't even get support to finish a major work..
> (Maybe things aren't getting that much worse after all, but have always been
> so... )
> As much of a genius as Schoenberg was, I'm not sure I can really go so far as
> to agree that the Golden Calf scenes were a warning to German Jewry in
> particular -- that is, that Schoenberg was a historical as well as a musical
> prophet -- but certainly Germany and other parts of Western Europe, as well as
> the US, could have provided him with inspiring examples of debauchery in the
> '20s & '30s.  Hmm.
> He was certainly a man of astonishing depth in both music and philosophy.
> While I think it's undeniable that he, as a beleaguered prophet of his art,
> identified with the character of Moses, I don't think that by itself is an
> interpretation of the opera, so much as it gives one insight into Schoenberg's
> passionate and intuitive grasp of the character of Moses & the people around
> him.
> Also, I thought we saw a fine performance (even British opera singers act
> well, if those two are any example).
> Any other thoughts on this -- or on other 'Jewish' operas?  For anyone
> interested in this -- a concert performance of La Juive is coming up, courtesy
> of the Opera Orchestra of NY.
> Ilana
> 
> 
> 

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