Kevin Clarke / Dario Salvi
Operetta Research Center
28 August, 2021
With a title like Die Antisemiten (The Antisemites) attached to a “Grand Opera” you have the immediate attention of most people today. Add to that the name of Richard Genée as composer and text author. Genée, as you will recall, is the famed Johann Strauss collaborator who wrote Die Fledermaus and various other classics. He also wrote operettas of his own, which conductor Dario Salvi has been reconstructing in recent years.
Composer and lyricist Richard Genée in 1877. (Photo: Julius Gertinger / Theatermuseum Wien)
During his research, Mr. Salvi came across this 1868 “Grand Opera in four acts.” And found the piano score as well as orchestral parts in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. This prompted him to translate the libretto into English. A version we present here for the first time, with Mr. Salvi’s permission.
Front cover of the vocal score of “Die Antisemiten.” (Photo: Dario Salvi Collection)
What you’ll notice right away it that the “Grand Opera” is a “solo scene” for one (!) singer. That singer was Felix Schweighofer, for whom this piece was composed.
Schweighofer was a famous Viennese operetta performer, among many things he created the role of Ollendorf in Der Bettelstudent, he was Pappacoda in the first Viennese production of Eine Nacht in Venedig, he was part of the original Spitzentuch der Königing team etc. But all that came later, as well as guest appearances in New York City.
A portrait of Felix Schweighofer from 1895. (Photo: Rudolf Krziwanek / Theatermuseum Wien)
So the grand opera Genée wrote is for a comedian performing a spoof of a grand opera, and the spoof includes stereotypical opera situations known from Meyerbeer and Halévy that involve the clash between Jewish and non-Jewish lovers who cannot be together because of their religion. In this case, the Christian tenor hero of Die Antisemiten is in love with a Jewish girl, against the backdrop of a medieval central European society (very much along the lines of La Juive). The tenor’s uncle, residing in a castle and ruler of the lands, abhors Jews, and he forbids the relationship.
Cornélie Falcon as Rachel, the title role in Halévy’s “La Juive,” portrait by A.Colin (1835).
So what happens next? The nephew decides to convert to Judaism, while at the same time his beloved converts to Christianity. Which means, at the end, that they still can’t be together because they are, once more, each of the wrong “faith.” It ends with cries of despair.
The solo scene presents musical selections from the “grand opera” which includes a dungeon scene à la Spamalot, and it offers the rest of the story as “narrative” printed in the libretto.
Considering the ongoing debates about antisemitism, it would be interesting to put Die Antisemiten on today and discuss the historical context, then and now. How did an author like Genée, who worked so much with Jewish artists in the operetta world, handle the topic of antisemitism? What happens when a topic such as antisemitism is ridiculed and presented as nothing more than a terrible social convention? What would happen if you performed this solo scene today, in Israel, in Austria, the USA, in the United Arab Emirates (to name just a few places)?
A modern man praying. (Photo: Toa Heftiba / Unsplash)
Because the soloist has to perform all the roles – tenor, soprano, baritone etc.– it doesn’t necessarily have to be a man singing/reciting, it can be anyone. As long as he or she can guarantee that this is a spoof. Very much in the style of Jacques Offenbach’s famous “Italian trio” in M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le …, it premiered in 1861, so just a few years before Die Antisemiten.
We present the full translation of the libretto below, created by Dario Salvi. If you wish to contact him about the performance material, click here.
THE ANTISEMITES
Grand Opera in 4 Acts for one Voice by Richard Genée
To stage an opera
And to perform it alone
without further cast,
everything is tout égal to me.
Is the Lord here only offering,
to lend his help to me,
I don’t need anything else
Nothing further is necessary,
Nothing further is necessary,
because I do everything all by myself
all alone, all alone;
yes I do everything all by myself
all alone!
The opera bears the promising title “The Antisemites”, but deals with this eminently contemporary material in the most suitable medieval garb, because the top hat, umbrella and overcoat cannot be represented well. We now end the overture; why should one play an overture to people that don’t listen to it? It only disturbs the conversation: (imitating different voices) “You, it’s going to be rubbish again today!” “Well, of course, such a sweet, melodic stuff” says a young devotee of musical incomprehensibility with contempt. ”“ Wait! Take it off ”“ I beg you, the poor thing has no voice at all. ”“ Shh, silence ”“ Please, my lady, 195 is my number! ”“ I’m sitting on 194 ”“ Oh, excuse me, my mistake…. because you were so broad ”- “Hello, Fräulein Krempelmeier! ”And so the conversations carry on and on. Well … let’s carry on with the grand ending spectacle, which remains the same in all overtures:
Tra ta ta ta ta
Tra ta ta ta ta
Tra ta ta ta ta
Ta te ra te,
Ta ta ta ta ta
Ta ta ta ta
Brri, boom, brri
Boom, brii, boom, brii,
Boom, ta ta tatschin!
Now, of course, everyone is thinking “Thank God, we’re finally starting! “Everything settles down, even those armchair-goers who, in principle, only allow an overture to work on their back muscles, slowly turn their better half towards the stage. Everything looks tense and sharp. – But no, – the curtain has to stay down; – first comes the certain preparatory “Hm, hm!“ The orchestra’s throat clearing usually consists of a horn call – then a few isolated pizzicato” ; – Everything just to tighten the already high tension even more.
Puh! Plimm, plimm, plum, plum, plumm!
Puh, plimm, plum, plum, plum, plumm!
Taiti, taiti, taiti, taiti.
These triplets indicate the Semitic element in a crossed manner.
Ha, the curtain goes up!
Ah!
You can see the choir in full festive joy. About what? Doesn’t matter, – it is enough, – everyone is happy and celebrates some sort of festival, as it should be at the beginning of every decent opera. In front of the stage, on the right, stand the nobles of the empire, recognizable by the flowing feathers and yellow boots – in the self-assured, arm-crossed posture. They wrap themselves tightly in the short Spanish coats, from which one immediately recognizes their oppositional sentiments. To the left, – somewhat shyly withdrawn – we can see the female choir as innocent country girls – harmless 15 to 16 year old creatures; they are happy without any ulterior motives and forego any opposition. The middle space is filled by the ballet, which is immediately recognizable by its even greater shyness and even shorter skirts. The men begin singing:
(NB. The change of male and female voices is to be marked by the contractor by using breast and falsetto tones, or, if this causes difficulties, only to be characterized by stronger and gentler nuances.)
On to the party! On to the party!
On to the party! On to the party!
Felix Schweighofer cross-dressed in “Charleys Tante,” 1885. (Photo: Atelier Rudolf Krziwanek / Theatermuseum Wien)
The women in turn respond with gentle femininity:
(with dashing falset)
Yes to the feast
this is the best!
On to the party!
(Chest voice) Off to the party!
(Falset) Let’s go to the party!
(Chest voice) Off to the party!
(Falset) On to the festival,
for the feast, for the feast!
(Chest voice) Ha!
Now all the men suddenly make “eyes to the left” and point with outstretched right arm into the coulisse while singing:
But look, oh look, oh look!
With the a Tempo the Ballet gets ready like this: (known ballet attitude). The country girls, who let their dreamy glances walk through the upper galleries, repeat without showing the slightest surprise:
(Falset) But look, see!
(Chest voice) But look!
(Falset) But look!
(Chest voice) But see!
(Falset) But look!
(Chest voice) See who’s there -
(Falset) See who’s standing there!
(Chest voice) Whoever stands there
(Falset) who is standing there!
(Chest voice) Who is standing there!
(Falset) Who is standing there!
(Chest voice) It is the Count’s son!
Love won’t let him sleep!
(Falset) He loves Rebecca
her father is Jewish!
(Chest voice) O misfortune!
(Falset) The old Count is an anti-Semite.
(Chest voice) O misfortune!
(Falsetto) Withdraw!
(spoken) The ballet is slowly withdrawing
(Falsetto) Withdraw!
(Breast voice) Withdraw!
(Falsetto – marking the departure with ballet poses in small steps)
Withdraw, Withdraw!
(Chest voice) Back!
(Falsetto) Back!
(Chest voice) Back!
(Falsetto) Back!
Pull back , -draws, -
draws, – get back!
Felix Schweighofer as Luther in “Defizit,” 1885. (Photo: Rudolf Krziwanek / Theatermuseum Wien)
Enter the young Count; that is the first tenor; – It is well known that young counts like to sing the first tenor role. – This primo tenor is marked with bold letters on the Theatre poster and thus enjoys the privilege of singing in the Italian language in spite of his surroundings, – but this is by no means embarrassing, since one can understand the others, who sing in German, just as little. Incidentally, he is dressed entirely in black velvet and has the habit of leaving his coat behind him when he appears and shoving his hat off without bothering about these wardrobe items.
(copies the self-confident demeanour of the tenor)
Sono infausto!
Il mio padre rabbiato!
Il mio cuor´ innamorato!
O maledetto destino!
Per L´Ebrea io sento palpito,
palpito, palpito, palpito!
Il padre mio e´ un Antisemito,
semito, semito, semito!
Parche´ non sono un Israelito?
O Rebecca, becca, becca, becca, becca,
io t’amo, t’adoro!
O Rebecca, becca, becca, becca, becca,
io t’amo, t’adoro!
Ma non posso dimenticarti,
giuro, giuro semper amarti, ah!
O Rebecca, becca, becca, becca, becca,
io t’amo, t’adoro!
O Rebecca, becca, becca, becca, becca,
io t’amo, t’adoro!
O Rebecca, becca, becca, becca, becca,
becca, becca, bebecca!
O tesoro, t’adoro!
(spoken) And now he goes backwards to take the approach to the final effect.
Ah! Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta!
Loia, loia, loialla la la
Io t’amo!
The curtain must always fall on such chest C, and then be pulled back at least 10 times – otherwise it wouldn’t be fun! -
At the beginning of Act II, harp chords herald the rush of the waters of Babylon.
Dudelu, dudelu, dudelu, dudeludu!
Dudelu, dudelu, dudelu, dudeludu!
A scene from “Die Jüdin von Toledo” with Rosa Albach-Retty and Josef Kainz in Klosterneuburg. (Photo: Adolf Bernhard / Theatermuseum Wien)
There sits the beautiful Jewess Rebecca with her playmates – because playmates must have such a prima donna, even if she has not played childish games for a long time. To the harp she sings the waltz that has already become inevitable:
(in falsetto)
My beloved is a Christian and a Count,
but I am Jewish;
if chance wasn’t involved
the story would be too prosaic!
Du dlu dlu dlu dlu dlu
Dudluludlu ping ping
Dudl ping ping ping.
This is actually followed by a duet between Rebecca and her father, in which she confesses that she cannot breathe without the Count, that she wants to surprise him with her conversion and therefore secretly goes into Christian faith, whereupon the father curses her in F sharp minor . But since it is better to hear the young Jewish women sing than the old Jews, this duet is simply deleted and the act ends with Rebecca’s three curtain calls. The third time, a bouquet of two square meters from the orchestra is handed up to her, which she throws with a tear of emotion.
In the third act, the old Count, although he is an anti-Semite, still appears to be “acting” that role. He has gathered the well-known nobles of the empire in a pillared hall around him. The old count is distinguished from the others by red tricots. Red Tricots always suggest tyrannical desires in opera. In order to have a decent pretext for a drinking song, he orders the miners to fill the cups – and sings:
Up, you drinkers, fill the cups,
pour the golden wine!
(spoken) The choir agrees and sings:
Up, you drinkers, fill the cups,
pour the golden wine!
No sooner has he quenched his thirst for wine that a tremendous thirst for action awakens in him. “Thirst for action” is always treated at a marching pace. While he lets his faithful servants march by, he explain his entire anti-Semitic program for his party in this march:
VIII:
Solo: I am anti-Semite!
Chorus: He’s an anti-Semite!
Solo: Why, – I don’t know!
Choir: Why, – he doesn’t know that!
Solo: I have no reason for that,
but you have to be something;
that’s why I’m an anti-Semite!
Chorus: That’s why he’s an anti-Semite!
Solo: Why, – I don’t know!
Choir: Why, – he doesn’t know that!
(Pretending to play the bass drum and marching)
Tschin, Tschin, Tschin, Tschin, Tschin,
Tschin, Tschin, Tschin, Tschin, Tschin!
August Maria Markowsky as “Eleazar” in “Die Jüdin,” at Jubiläums-Stadttheater in Vienna, 1914. (Photo: Ludwig Gutmann / Theatermuseum Wien)
“My son should be coming now!” So says the old Count; – The young count comes in looking very embarrassed and asks: “Did you call me? Why do you hate? ” A terrible thought arises in the anti-Semite:“ Bizarre, how come do you appear so Jewish? ” The son now confesses to him that, to surprise his Rebecca on this Saint’s-day, he has secretly converted to Judaism. The old anti-Semite is so furious that he cruelly uses the following act to have his son and his friend tenor thrown into the dungeon. It happens to be the same spacious salon-dungeon in which the last act of an opera has often played.
When the curtain rises, one sees a terrible chain, at one end of which the neatly made-up young count is attached. Since becoming a Jew, he has forgotten all of his Italian and has returned to the Galician language; he rattles, – namely with the chain:
The pain rummages through his inside,
He’s chattering his teeth;
Then he begins to moan cruelly:
(gloomy) all ties of kinship are loosened,
(clenching his fist threateningly) because this gang hit me a bunch!
Furthermore, I only seek acquaintance with rabbis;
(very sentimental) who knows
can I tolerate the matzos?
Who knows, who knows!
Sudden noise from outside; the gate opens:
But what do I see? My beloved Rebeca – here with me!
(as soprano) O my beloved,
I have you back
I am forever yours!
(as tenor) Is it you, beloved one?
With me here in the dungeon?
How do you get in?
Oh if you knew!
Nothing separates us anymore!
(as soprano) Oh if you only knew
(as tenor, frightened) Why, what, where?
(as soprano) I’m a Christian now!
(as tenor) Ha!
(as soprano) Isn’t that okay with you?
(as tenor) No!
(screaming) I’m a Jew now!
(as soprano) Ha! It is so bad!
We are separated now until the end!
(as tenor) We are separated just from now!
Ha!
This is what the old count sings, who stepped in backwards unnoticed and then continues maliciously:
(as bass, with a rasping voice)
Ha, sweet revenge is granted to me:
Now it’s just the other way around!
(as a tenor by stabbing himself)
Take the dagger,
Red from my blood!
(as soprano) Just bring it on, I’m already dead!
(as a chorus) They are now united by death,
they are now united by death,
they are now united by death,
they are now united by death!
(with a natural voice, funny)
To stage such an opera
And then to perform alone
without further cast,
everything is tout égal to me!
I’ll do it all by myself
all alone, all alone!
Yes! I do everything all by myself
all alone!