Letter (with Enclosures) from C. Kallman/W. H. Auden to H. W. Henze, August 31, 1960

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Kirchstetten *
Aug 31‡ (60)* ‡
Hanzy-panzy * dear,

Enclosed is the new opening for the Third Act and a diagram showing quasi
how the sextet works out.* The atmosphere is morning-after. Emotional hangovers.
Everyone on his own. The exchanges-- "morning" "thank you" and the brief
interchange between Caroline and the Doc, and what others there are-- are all
completely mechanical meaningless courte‡sies, delivered flatly and without
any weight of thought and emotion. Things are falling apart. It is only
Hedwig *who makes any effort to contact the others, and that is when the
ensemble is over. I don’t know how clear I’m making all this, so do let me
have your reactions and questions. And then maybe in England in October,
if all else fails, we can talk abo‡ut it.

The Times has officially announced the Glyndebourne premier as the Ur[sic]‡‡. So what
gives with Schetz‡ingen?[sic]‡ Our agent writes us that Schott is still being a
bit vague on terms, and also that they say that the Schwetzy deal is far from
sure.*What is going on?

No news here much. Have met someone sheer heaven; a bundle of intelligent
sensuality who looks like Hardy Kröger[sic]‡ and has a skin like silk. Tekky may
be coming next week to visit. That’s all. When you give me your approval
of this new scene, I’ll type up a complete third act and send it to you.
And I do think that if this scene "comes off", Glyndebourne maybe won’t
object to their precious public eating just before it.* Have they, by the by,
thought of the mad costume changes that will have to be made in no time at all
if they stick to their two act scheme? And those changes are quite essential
if the action is not to seem obscure.

Will write again soon about some things in the second act. Sisterly love and kisses
Felice Romani * Chester
Kallman‡

‡ Act II & Tea-Quartet
the important thing here is not‡ to treat the‡ Mittenhofer,
Carolina, Toni &‡ Elizabeth, not as individuals, but as par‡
the four elements which make up the‡ a single‡ situation, which the ‡
ie, the music should express the situation and ignore their‡
character. I see each couplet as a two-part […]‡
phrase which goes on repeating itself, so that each
character has to sing whatever bit of the tune
happen‡to fall to him (or her) regardless of
what he has to say‡ is saying.

Halevy.*

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Errata

Synopsis

p 4. line 36-7. for definite negative negative read definite negative
p 5. l 33. for pale an shaken read pale and shaken

Genesis of a libretto

p 9. end. for Kallmann read Kallman

Act I

p II, line 8. for Mittenhoer read Mittenhofexxxxxxxxxx Mittenhofer
p II lines 25-9. " In[sic] these new songs he strikes a note of passionate delight
And shows a force no other poet of our time can match"....
"Again we recognise in him the Master of us all"....
"The peak of his achievement"...."flawless verse"..."authentic"
...."grand..."

(no inverted commas in copy)

p ll. l. 39. for Dont read Don’t
p l2. l l0 for Alvetern read Edelweiss
l 23 for Headache read headache
l 30 for Carolxxxxx Caronia read Carolina
p l3 line 2 for trompets read trumpets
p l7. line 9 for shall read Shall
l 42. dletexxxxx delete underlining of "I know I know"
p I8, linxxx after l 23 for Love too is also lost. read Love too is also lost.
Falala
(see preceding stanzas)
p I9, l l5 for Gorgeous read George
l l7 for Milksop read Rilke
l 20 for Huff-and-Puff read Hofmannsthal
l 24 for They went do read They won’t do!
p 2I. l l5 delete VII. Unwordly Weakness
l l7 The stage direction Tolls begin to be heard from the valley
should come after l 20,Death in fact lookexs dazzingly
attractive
l 2l For VIII read VII
p 22. l 2l l5 for IX read VIII
p 23 l 3 for X read          IX
p 24 l l for frtaxxxx Forta years read Forty years
l l3 for enterd eradxxxx read entered
l 35 for Hildas read Hilda’s
l 37 for XI read X
p 25 l ll for XII read XI

Act II

p 26. line 29-30 For I dwelt in a world read I dwelt in a world,
Of anonymous shadow,          An anonymous shadow,
p 27 l 36 for No older poets read Not older poets
p 29 l 38 for the ouides all cheat her read the guides all cheat her
p 3I l II for weren’t you,me dear, read weren’t you, my dear,
p 32 l 5 for To bee free for, read To be free for,
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Toni + Eliz: HedwigHildaDoctor Mittenhofer Doctor Carline[sic]
on yonder lofty mountain a lofty castle standswhere dwell 3 lovely maidens
the fairest in the land Farewell. It is today To day farewell
the eldest is called Susanna, the second Annamarie I dare not name the youngest Farewell Today To more than half my life a fool’s romantic hell She begged me to leave her Grieve her. Believe her. Deceive her
For my true love is She of being always interesting. No, No, No. Wooden leg. Mumbly peg. Thank God they’re out of sight
A stream runs down the valley a mill-wheel spins away It grinds the precious flour Morning. Mad Meg. Egg. Egg. Where’s the egg? Hedwig’s right. It’s best to go
of love both night+day Morning. oh dear oh dear.
And now the wheel is broken And love is at an end Thanks Lina , Thank you, you’re welcome, thank you
And two who walked together And yet he was the one Here. Type these notes up,
By different roads will wend. Man I could ever have Loved, Please. No jabs today. Skin’s too thin. of course.
of course.
Give [me] your hand, who ever Believed that we should part, A man who might have been great. So far behind. A few lines first.
As Summer change to winter Then they would beg for roses. Be back in a minute ........
and light to heavy heart? though, God knows, it with roses Antonia, Antonia! Out of Eden
[Figure: ]
 hardly was Great honor to his memory Moses proposes noses in modest medical doses what would you have done? The young lovers ........ ........ Hell...No
to make it play at God. God! Nothing goes! That spring after you Hold hands
Nothing, my dearest darling, died No.
goeses! I ate so much and lay
In the sun, loving it Cold
Elegy. Be. Fee. Me. Mimi. And thought my love for you had not been ample. Cold Lands. ..................... ......................
what can I really do? what prevent or delay? young lovers. Plovers in dish covers. No. No. No. What have I done to Toni? Am I vile? The snow falls. There is no welcome Yes. There. For now ____
Here are the keys to the town
I’m too young today. Here are his medicines. Tell them I’ve gone. house.
Prisoner’s cell. Dingly Dell. Of course.
I’m too old today. Hell. Thank you.
Hell. Hell. Passing. Bell Farewell. Farewell. you’re welcome

Kallman:
Organisation of the ensemble
at the beginning of act III

Editorial

Responsibilities

Editor(s)
Elena Minetti
Transcription
Elena Minetti; Irmlind Capelle

Tradition

  • Text Source: Basel (Schweiz), Paul Sacher Stiftung (CH-Bps), Sammlung Hans Werner Henze, Abteilung: Korrespondenz
    Shelf mark: Kallman, Chester

    Physical Description

    • Document type: Letter

      • Material

    • Dickes, helles Papier
    • Wasserzeichen: Leykam Hartpost 1935
    • Faltung: 3mal längs

      • Extent

    • 1 folio
    • 1 written page
    • Dimensions: 296x210 [mm] (HxW)

      • Condition

    • Das obere Drittel des Blattes war abgetrennt und ist professionell wieder angeklebt worden. Gelocht. Zwei Löcher mittig bei dem größeren unteren Teil und ein Loch oben bei dem angeklebten Drittel.
      •

      Layout

    • Erste Hälfte des Blattes Typoscript: 1 zeilig, Leerzeilen nach jedem Absatz.
      Zweite Hälfte des Blattes Manuskript: Rand: 2,5 cm.

Writing styles

Text Constitution

  • 1.
    "1""l" replaced with "1"
  • 2.
    " (60) "added below, handwritten, pencil, supposedly by Henze, Hans Werner
  • 3.
    "e""i" overwritten with "e", handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Kallman, Chester
  • 4.
    "o""p" replaced with "o"
  • 5.
    "Ur"sic
  • 6.
    "Schet x z ingen?"sic
  • 7.
    "z""x" replaced with "z"
  • 8.
    "Kröger"sic
  • 9.
    Following: handwritten, ballpoint pen (blue), Kallman, Chester
  • 10.
    " Chester Kallman"added in the left margin, handwritten, felt pen/fineliner (lilac), Henze, Hans Werner
  • 11.
    Following:
  • 12.
    "not"crossed out
  • 13.
    "the"crossed out
  • 14.
    "&"uncertain transcription
  • 15.
    "par"crossed out
  • 16.
    "the"crossed out
  • 17.
    "a single"added above
  • 18.
    ", which the "crossed out
  • 19.
    "their"crossed out
  • 20.
    illegible text
  • 21.
    "happen"uncertain transcription
  • 22.
    "has to say"crossed out

Commentary

  • 1.
    "… Kirchstetten"This letter contains references to issues probably discussed by the three authors in Kirchstetten during Henze’s visit from 4 to 6 August 1961.
  • 2.
    "… (60)"The year, which Henze later added in brackets, is correct, as can be inferred from the content of the letter.
  • 3.
    "… Hanzy-panzy"Literally the word "panzy" means the pansy flower, but it is also used offensively to refer to a gay man.
  • 4.
    "… how the sextet works out."The new opening of Act III is not attached to this letter, but the diagram is. Typescript copies of the libretto with various corrections are kept at the Paul Sacher Foundation. It is possible that the new opening of Act III may also be found among these documents.
  • 5.
    "… apart. It is only Hedwig"The name of this character changes over time in the correspondence: from January to July 1960 she is called "Hulda". Here she is referred to as "Hedwig", while from October 1960 her final name is "Hilda". See also the attached diagram, where Kallman first wrote "Hedwig" and then corrected it as "Hilda". The three authors probably discussed these changes during their meeting in Kirchstetten from 4 to 6 August 1960.
  • 6.
    "Ur"abbreviation of "Uraufführung".
  • 7.
    "… deal is far from sure."Auden and Kallmans’ agent would tell them that the premiere of Elegy for Young Lovers planned for Schwetzingen was not yet confirmed.
  • 8.
    "… public eating just before it."The expression "public eating" refers to the Glyndebourne audience’s custom of picnicking during the long 70-minute break in between opera performances, and described by Henze in his Autobiography, p. 171.
  • 9.
    "… Felice Romani"Kallman jokingly signs his name as the librettist Felice Romani.
  • 10.
    "… Halevy."Similar to Kallman above, Auden probably signed using the name of another librettist, Ludovic Halévy.

      Automatical Commentary

      • 1.
        "Tekky"Assignment not clear.

      XML

      Credits

      By courtesy of the Estate of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman.

      Legal notice

      Copyright by the Estate of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman.

      If you've spotted some error or inaccuracy please do not hesitate to inform us via henze-digital [@] zenmem.de.

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