Auden, Wystan Hugh: Brief an Henze, Hans Werner. Kirchstetten (Westbahn), Sonntag, 16. August 1964
author: Auden, Wystan Hugh
language: en
availability: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Copyright by the Estate of W. H. Auden. By courtesy of the Estate of W. H. Auden. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

August I6th 1964 1954 probably (Bassarids, premiered ’66 in Salzburg) [Henze writes 1954 here, but certainly intended to write 1964, when the three authors were working intensively on The Bassarids, as confirmed by the reference to the premiere of The Bassarids in 1966.]
Dearest Hans:

Many thanks for the annotated copy of Bassy.[^1]

[^1: Since Henze writes in his letter of 6 August 1964, that he had annotated the 55-page manuscript of the libretto and in this way suggested cuts to the text, it is evident that the two librettists are referring here to this text, which is lost. See the chapter Kürzungen am Originalentwurf in Schottler, Die Bassariden von Hans Werner Henze , pp. 133-169.]

First,a general observation.

C and I are vain enough to believe that our text is worth reading an-und-für-sich. That is to say,whatevercuts are made in the setting – and,of course,we have always known that there would have to be many – we want our text to be printed as is. It should be quite easy to devise a way of indicating which bits have not been set. One of our reasons for wanting this is a p rofessional one which you will,I know,appreciate. The libretto is strictly metered th r oughout – there is no free verse. In listening to your opera, the ear cannot,of course,detect this,but, when,as you have every right to do,you omit words or parts of lines in your setting,if these are also omi t ted from the printed text,the reader’s ear will be vexed.[^2] Similarly,for the reader,certain mythological and genealogical information is a help, to understanding the work,even though,from a musical point of view,it can and should be dispensed with. [In the published score, the synopsis of the plot, the religious attitudes of the characters, the genealogical tree and the mythological background are published at the beginning.]

[^2: The librettists’ request would only be fulfilled in the libretto published by Schott in the original English version, while it was not heeded in the German version of the libretto, also published by Schott.]

Now,as to details.

- page 5,eight lines from bottom. for Great Dionysus read Greet Dion y sus.[^3]
- page 7. instead of cutting stanza 4(Sun-baked Persia submitted) cut stanza 3(The Nile paid homage)[^4]
- page 8. middle. Revise thus.

[^3: This verse is sung by Agave, the mother of Pentheus, in Movement I of the opera, when a voice (off stage) has announced the arrival of the god Dionysus on Mount Cytheron and members of the royal family of Thebes discuss their position toward the new cult. Agave, doubts the divinity of Dionysus, her nephew as the son of her sister Semele and Zeus.]

[^4: This proposal was also carried out. Indeed, in the final libretto the stanza sung by the chorus of Bassarids in the Movement I (Sun-baked Persia submitted / When she heard his timbrels; / India dropped her spears / When she saw his thyrsus. / Ayayalya) would be retained.]

Captain	I had not been told to go there,Madam. [Text with verses right aligned, stands quasi centrally within the cell]
Agave	Your brave dog,I trust, is well.
Captain	He’s well,Madam. Please. The King etc [These verses in Movement I correspond to the final version. Since no comparison with the first version of the libretto is possible, it is not feasible to ascertain what was revised.]

- page I5 from line 4. Revise thus.

Cadmus	No,King Pentheus,no. I fear most for my king. But,King,have you no awe? No fear?
Pentheus	Cadmus’ gods may punish: the gods do not. Chance rules us when we now them not. I fear Man that sly chaos of need. The true gods Have my awe. Your shrine was to a lie.
Cadmus	Great T e ebes pro s pered when I was King.
Pent heu s	How great Thebes was! We shall root out that greatness etc [The revision of the beginning of Movement II proposed here is slightly different to the final version of the libretto, which is as follows: Cadmus: I fear most for my King. / Have you no awe? No fear? Pentheus: Cadmus's gods may punish, the gods do not. / Your fear, Cadmus, taught Thebes to worship lies. Cadmus: Great Thebes prospered when I was King. Pentheus: Rich and soft and for your false god ripe, – / Whom we shall find, kill. / Captain. The Guard. At once!]

- page I6. Pentheus’ aria. revise thus.

Faithful Beroe/!
To you al o ne
Can I open my heart.
The best In Thebes
O f the True Good (over)

(2

Truth and righteousness
Glimmer through
The ancient rites:
But they shall not worship
The Ungood
[The revisions of Pentheus' aria matches that of the final version of the libretto.]

- page 25 Stranger's Aria. See comments on text (sent under separate cover). [The comments on the text in the separate cover were not preserved with this letter, however this document may be among the materials on The Bassarids preserved at the Paul Sacher Foundation.] The only possible cut is stanza 2(Blue into white) [This stanza is indeed not present in the final version of the libretto.] and cutting will require some alterations in the next stanza)
- page 27. from line 5. Revise thus.

Pentheus (nodding)	You/are right(to Captain )No. Wait. Go.Go lock the gate Yes. Go. And then you must return. Close by. We must think first. We are King. [Pentheus’ verses to the Captain are presented in this way in the final version of the libretto, at the beginning of Movement III.]

- page 3I from line 8 . Revise thus

Captain	...and shepherdesses.
All	Ayayalya
Tiresias	Whom Bacchus blesses.
Autonoe	Or so wie hope. But She... [Seemingly these verses quoted from page 31 were cut for the final libretto.]

- page 34. Middle. NO! The wrangle between Proserpine and Venus gives us a little action without which the scene will become too static.[^5]
- page 36 Trio . If by off you don't mean off-stage,but cut,NO. Surely,from a purely musical point of view,let alone a dramatic,a trio by the principal characters is essential here.[^6]
- page 40. after line 8 a line is missing. the passage should go thus.

Dionysus	Herself. Look. Blood will tell. Take this. Hold it above you. Now dance,your right foot and right hand at the same time, Your head up. Now a cry etc. [Dionysus’ lines in Movement III, Part II, are in the final version of the libretto, as quoted here.]

- Page 40. Bottom. The last three lines (Who will know Pentheus etc.) must stay. [As requested by Auden, these lines remain in the final libretto.]
- page 47. five lines from bottom. Agave's couplet Behold the head of the young wi l d lion, The cub I hunted and have brought home! Must stay [As requested by Auden, this remains in the final libretto.]
- page 52. Agave' aria. No!No!No! She must have a proper three stanza aria as bellini -like as you can make it.[^7]
- page 53. exchange between Dionysus and Cadmus. If you keep Cadmus' outcry All/find peace beyond Acheron. Not I [Cadmus’ verse is not in the final libretto.],and I agr e e that you should,then you must keep the preceding lines by Dionysus. Otherwise,there is no explanation for what he says.

[^5: This sentence refers to the Intermezzo in the middle of Movement III entitled The Judgement of Calliope . In this pastoral drama in the middle of the opera, Agave (mother of the king Pentheus) plays the goddess Venus, Autonoe plays her rival Proserpine, Captain plays the young Adonis loved by both goddesses, Tiresias plays Calliope, the arbiter of the dispute between the two goddesses for the possession of Adonis. In the revised 1992 score of The Bassarids, Henze eliminated the Intermezzo, thus shortening the opera by about 20 minutes.]

[^6: Here, Auden alludes to the Trio just before the finale of the Intermezzo, where Proserpina, Venus and Adonis sing together in a Tempo di Menuetto. See the study score of The Judgement of Calliope, pp. 59-65.]

[^7: Agave's aria at the end of the opera introduced by the exclamation No! No! does not develop into a three-stanza aria, but into a desperate lament due to the realisation that she has the head of her son Pentheus in her hands, whom she killed herself in the Dionysian trance.]

As you will see when you get back the text,all your other suggested cuts are O.K. by us with certain queries raised in the margin.

love
Wystan