Letter from W. H. Auden to H. W. Henze, October 20, 1965
Kirchstetten
Hinterholz 6
N.-Ö.‡, Austria
Many thanks for your letter. I write in haste as I am off to-morrow[sic]‡ for
London and in ten days to
New York,(Chester intends to winter in Wien),*so can
only answer a few of the points you raise.
Die Bassariden. I assure you that the word exists – literal meaning,wearers
of fox-skins,hence,‡ all
followers,male or female,of Dyonysus. If you don’t
believe me,ask Professor Bruno Snell of
Hamburg Univeristyxxxxxxxxxx‡ University,the leading
German Greek Scholar. Of c xxxx‡
Euripides doesn’t use it because,‡ his chrouxxxxx‡ chorus
are all women.*
An Article about the genesis of the Opera
*. I am very much against trying to
state a myth in abstract
logical terms,which rob it of all its resonance,eg,
if one starts talking about recent history,one will
have fools saying that
Dionysus
is
Hitler. What can, I think,be written,and wouldxxxxx‡
Chester and I would
gladly write,‡ is a technical piece,explaining what had to be done in order to
turn
Euripides’ tragedy
into an opera libretto,eg, the uninstructed imagine
that what makes his play settable are the choruses,when in fact,it is precisely
with the chrousxxxxxx‡ chorus that one has to be sparing or else the thing turns into
oratorio. Then,the question of differentiating the characters,usw‡.*
For the Programme
I enclose what I think the audience should learn beifrxxxxx‡ before the curtain
rises.*
Philippo Saintjust was here yesterday and showed us sketches which we think
absolutely perfect. My,what an intelligent man he is!
We are puzzled at your sayingx[sic]‡
dx‡
Pentheus is on stage s‡inging in drag for
twenty minutes.* Surely,this cannot be so,since,from,his entrance in drag till
his exit,there is only a page and a quarter of text, none of it s‡ arioso.
How I wish I could hear some of the score. Philippo tells us that Schotts
think it your best so far.
lots of love
Wystan
Editorial
Responsibilities
- Editor(s)
- Elena Minetti
- Transcription
- Elena Minetti; Joachim Veit
Tradition
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Text Source: Basel (Schweiz), Paul Sacher Stiftung (CH-Bps), Sammlung Hans Werner Henze, Abteilung: Korrespondenz
Shelf mark: Auden, Wystan HughPhysical Description
- Document type: Letter
- Briefpapier_Auden_Kirchstetten
- Das Papier hat ein Wasserzeichen mit den Wappen der Papierindustrie und dem Namen Myrtle Mill.
- Faltung: 1mal längs, 1mal quer
- 1 folio
- 1 written page
- Dimensions: 296x210 [mm] (HxW)
- Gelocht.
- Rand: 2,5 cm
- anderthalbzeilig
- eingerückte Absätze
Material
Extent
Condition
Layout
Writing styles
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1.Typescript, Auden, Wystan Hugh.
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2.Handwriting, Auden, Wystan Hugh, ballpoint pen (dark blue).
Text Constitution
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"to-morrow"sic
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","added inline, handwritten, ballpoint pen (dark blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
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"Univeristy"deleted by overtyping
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"Of c "deleted by overtyping
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","added inline, handwritten, ballpoint pen (dark blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
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"chrou"deleted by overtyping
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"would"deleted by overtyping
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","added inline, handwritten, ballpoint pen (dark blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
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"chrous"deleted by overtyping
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"beifr"deleted by overtyping
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"sayingx"sic
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"d"deleted by overtyping
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"s""i" replaced with "s"
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"s"crossed out, handwritten, ballpoint pen (dark blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
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Following: handwritten, ballpoint pen (dark blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
Commentary
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"… Okt 20ten 1965"The dating of the year is derived from the fact that this letter contains answers and comments to Henze’s letter of 6 October 1965 regarding The Bassarids.
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"N.-Ö."abbreviation of "Niederösterreich".
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"… to winter in Wien ),"Auden had already told Henze about his trip in his previous letter.
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"… chrou chorus are all women."Regarding the much-discussed choice of the title The Bassarids, the meaning of which may not be easily understood, see the introduction to the correspondence.
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"… the genesis of the Opera"Here, Auden is referring to the request Henze made in his letter of October 6, 1965.
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"usw"abbreviation of "und so weiter".
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"… usw und so weiter ."The two authors wrote a text, later published in the Festspiele programme entitled "Warum ein Meisterwerk neu schreiben?", which deals precisely with the issues outlined here.
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"… beifr before the curtain rises."No attachment was kept together with this letter. It was probably separated from this one and could be preserved among the textual materials in the Henze Collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation.
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"… an intelligent man he is!"See Henze’s previous letter .
