Letter from H. W. Henze to W. H. Auden, April 19, 1966
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Preceding
- 1966-04-15: to Sacher
- 1966-04-18: from Sacher
Following
- 1966-05-23: to Sacher
- 1966-05-08: from Auden
Castelgandolfo (Roma)
Via dei Laghi, 18
Mr. W.H. Wystan Auden
77 St. Mark’s Place
New York City 3, N.Y. 10003
enclosed a letter from Schott’s
* who have been asked
by Ernesto Schnabel’s office for the permission to do
a public reading* of Bakchae a few days before the
Berlin premiere.* This thing is an idea of Ernesto’s
and would take place as follows:
On the stage of the Akademie der Kuenste some qualified
actors like Charles Regnier, Joana Maria Gorvin, per-
haps Folker as Pentheus etc., one or two people f‡or the
chorus would sit around and read out of the libretto.
The director (which Ernesto thinks should be I) would
read the stage-directions. The action might even be
slightly shown, but only very slightly, a few movements,
changes of places and so on. The whole thing is
calles‡
"Lesebuehne" and quite a success in the third
TV– program.*
I’m very much in favour of this idea because it would
help those peoples[sic]‡ who a few days later will go to
listen to the opera. We have not asked Sellner’s per-
mission yet but I hardly think he will object but we
must have your permission and I would beg of you to
give it. I suppose you can ask some special fee for it
as there is no music involved.
Please tell Schott’s about this at your earliest con-
venience.
Love,
Editorial
Responsibilities
- Editor(s)
- Elena Minetti
- Transcription
- Elena Minetti
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
- Durchschlagpapier
- 1 folio
- 1 written page
- Dimensions: 280x220 [mm] (HxW)
- Gelocht.
- Rand: 3,7 cm
- anderthalbzeilig
- Absätze nicht eingerückt
Material
Extent
Condition
Layout
Writing styles
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1.Typescript, Henze, Hans Werner.
Text Constitution
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"f""a" replaced with "f"
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"peoples"sic
Commentary
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"… enclosed a letter from Schott’s"The enclosed letter from Schott is not kept among the correspondence between Auden and Henze, preserved at the Paul Sacher Foundation, because this letter only constitutes a copy for Henze’s own documents, not to be sent.
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"… to do a public reading"Already in a letter from Hamburg dated 17 October 1964, Ernst Schnabel, as editor of the "Drittes Programm" at the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, had written to Henze about various future plans. Among these Schnabel writes that they had agreed on a "public reading" in Berlin about the preparations for his opera premiere, with music and an actor.
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"… days before the Berlin premiere."The German national premiere of The Bassarids took place at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin on 28 September 1966, conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi.
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"calles"recte "called".
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"… in the third TV– program."Whether and, if so, when the "Lesebühne" Henze talks about in this letter was held, has yet to be ascertained.
