Auden, Wystan Hugh/Kallman, Chester: Brief an Henze, Hans Werner. New York, Montag, 25. Januar 1960
author: Auden, Wystan Hugh; Kallman, Chester
language: en
availability: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Copyright by the Estate of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. By courtesy of the Estate of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

77 St Mark's Place
New York City 3
New York

Jan 25 60 (?) [This handwritten date was probably added by Hans Werner Henze.]

Dearest Hans:

Delighted to get your letter [The letter has so far not been located.] and to hear you are satisfied [Henze was most probably satisfied with Auden and Kallmans’ libretto for Elegy for Young Lovers.] We will do the synopsis and a little piece on the conception of the libretto right away.[^1]

[^1: It is very likely that the texts on the synopsis of the opera and the genesis of the libretto were written for the programme notes of the premiere of Elegy for Young Lovers. The text on the conception of the libretto was later printed in the libretto published by Schott under the title Genesis of a libretto .]

Two little musical suggestions.

- I) The Doctor– Gräfin [Gräfin means Countess in German and refers to Mittenhofer's secretary Carolina Gräfin von Kirchstetten.] duet in Act I. Blow where It will.This is Opera Buffa a'la Rossini. The passages of short lines in each stanza,ie Tooth decay,etc, Deal with mail,etc,Versification,etc should be prestissimo and sound as if they were delivered without taking breath.[^2]

- 2) Epilogue to Act III Since this occasion is Hinter's [Hinter is the Nickname for Hinterhofer, who is called Mittenhofer in the final version of the opera.] birthday, it would be appropriate if the orchestra were playing a birthday serenade which would sound muted so long as he is in his dressing room,suddenly swell when he comes on stage,and die away when he raises his hand to ask for silence.(ideally ,it should be for Organ,but I believe opera houses do not have organs with 32 foot stops,let alone 64. Hence,a sort o f wind-instrument Divertimento might be the most practical and fitting.[^3]

[^2: In this duet, Doctor Reischmann and Countess Carolina von Kirchstetten sing about the recognition they should receive for having kept the poet in good health with their care, despite the scant consideration they received. Musically, Henze follows the advice of the two librettists by writing a duet that recalls Rossini's syllabic way of singing in a progressive crescendo with a comic effect.]

[^3: This epilogue in Act III, Scene IX (Elegy for Young Lovers) features the appearance of Mittenhofer (at the time of this letter still known as Hinterhofer), who on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday in a Viennese theater presents his poem inspired by the tragic story of the two lovers who died during the snowstorm. Henze would not follow Kallman's musical suggestion. He does not compose a birthday serenade for organ or winds, but rather a largo for winds, piano and strings. See the study score of Elegy for young Lovers, pp. 521-524.]

For your curiosity and the historical record,here is the list of who wrote what. [The librettists attached a document specifying which parts were written by Auden and which by Kallman, but this document has not been located to date.]

We shall much look forward to seeing you in Kirchste t ten in the summer.[^4]

[^4: In his Autobiography, p. 166, Henze writes that in 1960 he left Naples to move to West Berlin for a few months and that during the trip by car he spent a weekend visiting his librettists in Kirchstetten. In this letter, Auden is probably referring to this meeting.]

love
Wystan
Love
Chester
x

P.S. will write soon