Travel tips for opera lovers – Vienna and Korngold

When Korngold’s ballet “der Schnemann” was performed at the Vienna State Opera (then the Court Opera) in 1910, he was probably the youngest composer to do so, at the age of 13. Korngold, who was born in 1897 in Brno in the Austrian Empire, was often described as the greatest musical child prodigy ever, greater even than Mozart. Even as a child, his compositions had the quality of a mature composer. He was encouraged but also protected by his father, the respected (and sharp-tongued) Viennese music critic Julius Korngold. At the age of 19, Erich wrote “der Ring des Polykrates,” his first one-act opera, which delighted audiences.

He began composing “The Dead City” at the age of 19, but the First World War put a stop to the plans. “Die tote Stadt” then became his greatest success and audiences clamored for seats. In Hamburg, the work was given 26 times in the first season alone. Shortly thereafter, the work was also staged in Vienna, New York, Prague and Zurich and became a perennial hit for 10 years. This phase was abruptly halted by the Nazi seizure of power, when the works of Jewish composers were banned from performance. Korngold then emigrated to the United States, where he died in the 1950s.

His most famous piece is probably “Glück, das mir verblieb” from “Dead City,” which shines in the purest Korngold style. Already at the beginning the orchestra glitters, with glockenspiel, celesta and harp, a typical late romantic coloration. The bells of the celesta conjure a romantic, almost childlike naive mood.