Letter from W. H. Auden to H. W. Henze, August 16, 1964
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- 1960-08-31: to Henze
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- 1964-08-29: to Henze
- 1964-08-27: from Henze
[Typescript]
Kirchstetten
Hinterholz 6
N.-Ö.‡, Austria
Many thanks for the annotated copy of Bassy.*
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[sic]‡ 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 thr‡oughout – there is no free verse.
In listenex‡ing to your opera,no on xxxxx‡ 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 omit‡ted from the printed text,the reader’s ear
will be vexed.* Similarly,for the reader,certain mythological and genealogical
information is a help, to undxxx‡ undersax‡tanding the work,even though,from a
musical point of view,it can and should be dispensed with.*
Now,as to details.
- p‡ 5,eight lines from bottom. for Great Dionysus read Greet Diony‡sus.*
-
p‡ 7. instead of cutting stanza 3( xx‡ 4(Sun-baked Persia submitted) cut
stanza 3(The Nile paid homage)* -
p‡ 8. middle. Revise thus.
| Capax‡tain | I had not been told to go there,Madam.‡ |
| Agave | Your brave dog,I trust, is well. |
| Captain | He’s well,Madam. Please. The King etc* |
- p‡ 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 Te‡ebes pros‡pered when I was King. |
| Pentheu‡s | How great Thebes was! We shall root out that greatness etc* |
-
p‡ I6.
Pentheus’ aria. revise thus.
Faithful Beroe/!To you alo‡neCan I open my heart.The best In[sic]‡ Thebes O‡f the True Good (over)
(2
Truth and righteousnessGlimmer throughThe ancient rites:But they shall not worshipThe Ungood*
-
p‡ 25 seexxx‡
Stranger’s Aria. Seeex‡ comments on text (sent under separate cover).*
The only possible cut is stanza 2(Blue[sic]‡ into white)* and cutting will
require some alterations in the next stanza) - p.‡ 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.* |
| Captain | ...and shepherdesses. |
| All | Ayayalya |
| Tiresias | Whom Bacchus blesses. |
| Autonoe | Or so wie hope.
But She...* |
-
p.‡ 34. Middle. NO! The wranglesx‡ between Proserpine and Venus gives us a little
accx‡tion without which the scene will become too static.* -
p‡ 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 troxxx‡ trio
by the principal characters is essential here.* - p‡ 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 firstxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx‡ Now dance,your right foot and right hand at the same time, Your head up. Now a cry etc.* |
- P‡[sic]‡ 40. Bottom. The last three lines (Who will know Pentheus etc.) must‡ stay.*
-
p‡ 47. five lines from bottom. Agave’s couplet
Behold the head of the young wil‡d lion,
The cub I hunted and have brought home! Must stay * -
p.‡ 52. Agave’ aria.[sic]‡
No!No!No! She must have a proper three
stanza aria as
bellini[sic]‡ -like as you can make it.* -
p.‡ 53. exchange between Dionysus and Cadmus. If you keep Cadmus’ outcry
"All/find peace beyond Acheron. Not I" *,and I agre‡e that you
should,then you must keep the preceding lines by Dionysus.
Otherwise,there is no explanation for what he says.
As you will see when you get back the text,all your other cuxx‡ suggested cuts
are O.K. by us with certain queries raised in the margin.
love
Wystan
Editorial
Responsibilities
- Editor(s)
- Elena Minetti
- Transcription
- Elena Minetti; Joachim Veit
Tradition
-
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
- Wasserzeichnen "Myrtle Mill" und Wappen mit "B" und dem üblichen Vordruck
- Faltung: 1mal längs, waagerecht 1mal in der Mitte und dann nochmal halbiert
- 1 folio
- 2 written pages
- Dimensions: 292x210 [mm] (HxW)
- Rand: 2,8cm
- 1,5zeilig
- Eingerückte Absätze
Material
Extent
Layout
Writing styles
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1.Typescript, Auden, Wystan Hugh.
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2.Handwriting, Auden, Wystan Hugh, ballpoint pen (blue).
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3.Handwriting, Henze, Hans Werner, pencil (black).
Text Constitution
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" 1954 "added inline, handwritten, pencil (black), Henze, Hans Werner
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"whatevercuts"sic
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"It""i" (uncertain transcription) overtyped with "It"
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i
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"indicating""indicated" overtyped with "indicating"
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"p""f" overtyped with "p"
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"r""o" overtyped with "r"
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"e"deleted by overtyping
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"no on "deleted by overtyping
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"t""i" overtyped with "t"
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"und"deleted by overtyping (uncertain transcription)
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und
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"a"deleted by overtyping
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"y""i" overtyped with "y"
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"3( "deleted by overtyping
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"a"deleted by overtyping
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"… been told to go there,Madam."Text with verses right aligned, stands quasi centrally within the cell
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"e""H" overtyped with "e"
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"s""p" overtyped with "s"
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"heu""eus" overtyped with "heu"
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"o""O" overtyped with "o"
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"In"sic
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"O""o" overtyped with "O"
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"see"deleted by overtyping
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"e"deleted by overtyping
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"2(Blue"sic
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"/"added inline, handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
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"8""’" overtyped with "8"
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"s"deleted by overtyping
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"c"deleted by overtyping
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"tro"deleted by overtyping
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"Now dance,your right foot first"deleted by overtyping
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"P"sic
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"must"Underlining, handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
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"l""o" overtyped with "l"
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"Agave’ aria."sic
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"bellini"sic
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"e""g" overwritten with "e"
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"cu"deleted by overtyping (uncertain transcription)
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cu
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Following: handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Auden, Wystan Hugh
Commentary
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"N.-Ö."abbreviation of "Niederösterreich".
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"… 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.
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"… annotated copy of Bassy ."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.
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"… 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.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… Greet Dion y sus ."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.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… stanza 3(The Nile paid homage)"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.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… 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.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… 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!" -
"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… shall not worship The Ungood"The revisions of Pentheus’ aria matches that of the final version of the libretto.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… 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.
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"… is stanza 2(Blue into white)"This stanza is indeed not present in the final version of the libretto.
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"p."abbreviation of "page".
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"… 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.
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"p."abbreviation of "page".
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"… wie hope. But She. .."Seemingly these verses quoted from page 31 were cut for the final libretto.
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"p."abbreviation of "page".
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"… scene will become too static."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.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… principal characters is essential here."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.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… up. Now a cry etc."Dionysus’ lines in Movement III, Part II, are in the final version of the libretto, as quoted here.
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"P"abbreviation of "Page".
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"… know Pentheus etc.) must stay."As requested by Auden, these lines remain in the final libretto.
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"p"abbreviation of "page".
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"… have brought home! Must stay"As requested by Auden, this remains in the final libretto.
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"p."abbreviation of "page".
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"… as you can make it."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.
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"p."abbreviation of "page".
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"… peace beyond Acheron. Not I"Cadmus’ verse is not in the final libretto.
