Der Weg der Verheissung (1934-36)
Biblical Drama in four parts by Franz Werfel.
First performed in English adaptation as The Eternal Road, English translation by Ludwig Lewisohn.
Synopsis
Performance Information
Principal Productions
Recordings
Sam Jaffe as the Adversary, from the original production.
Synopsis
A massive spectacle, The Eternal Road is nothing less than the story of the Jews as set forth in the Old Testament. Beginning in a synagogue, where a group of modern Jews has gathered to escape persecution, the Rabbi begins reading from the Torah, portions of which motivate the succeeding scenes: the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, Moses, Ruth, Saul and David, and Jeremiah, among others. The action moves back and forth from biblical re-enactments to the synagogue. Eventually the group is driven out of the synagogue by soldiers, but their sorrow is turned to joy by a vision of the Messiah.
Performance Information
English title: The Eternal Road (literally, The Road of Promise)
Cast: Singing roles -- Rabbi (tenor), Eliezer (baritone), White Angel (tenor), 2 Dark Angels (tenor, baritone) , Abraham (baritone), Sarah, Isaac, Jacob (tenor), Rachel (soprano), Joseph (baritone), His Brothers, Moses (baritone), Miriam (soprano), Voice of God (baritone), Angel of Death (bass), Ruth (mezzo-soprano), Boaz (baritone), Reaper (baritone), Saul (baritone), David (tenor), Solomon (baritone), Chananjah (baritone), Jeremiah (high baritone), Voice of the Angel of the End of Days; double chorus, SATB.
Speaking roles -- Pious Men, President, Elders, Women, and Boys of the Congregation, The Estranged One and his son, The Adversary, The Timid Soul, The Rich Man, The Watchman, The Youth, The Strange Girl, The Witch of Endor, Bath-Sheba, Uriah, Zedekiah, Pashur.
Orchestra: 2.1.3 (E-flat cl).2 bass cl.1; 4.3.3.1; 2 pianos, harp, organ, guitar, timp, perc; strings.
Duration: full evening
Performance Rights and Rentals: All territories: EAMC
Principal productions
- January 4, 1937, New York, Manhattan Opera House, Max Reinhardt, dir., Isaac van Grove, cond.
- June 13, 1999, Chemnitz, Theater Chemnitz, Michael Heinicke, dir., John Mauceri, cond.
Recordings
|
Naxos CD |
Karl Dent, James Maddalena, Ted Christopher, Barbara Rearick, Ernst Senff Chor, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gerard Schwarz, cond. [excerpts performed in English] |
See also Propheten, a concert adaptation of the fourth act of Der Weg der Verheissung.