FULL DER PROZESS (von Einem) Vienna 2024 Robert Murray, Anne-Fleur Werner, Alexander Grassauer, Timothy Connor
MORE VIDEO FILES: VIDEO, VIDEO
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Der Prozess
- Composer: Einem Gottfried von, Arrangement für kleines Orchester von Tobias Leppert
- Libretto: Boris Blacher, Heinz von Cramer, based on the novel by Franz Kafka Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: MusikTheater an der Wien in der Kammeroper, Wien, Austria
- Recorded: December 12, 2024
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Robert Murray, Anne-Fleur Werner, Alexander Grassauer, Timothy Connor, Valentino Blasina, Lukas Karzel, Philipp Schöllhorn, Fabian Tobias Huster
- Conductor: Walter Kobéra
- Orchestra: Klangforum Wien PPCM Academy
Information about the Recording
- Published by: OperaVision
- Date Published: 2025
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs, desubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Der Prozess or The Trial is an opera in two parts (nine scenes) by Gottfried von Einem . The libretto was written by Boris Blacher , the composer’s former teacher, together with Heinz von Cramer . It is based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka . The work had its premiere on 17 August 1953 at the Salzburg Festival .
Plot
First Part
First picture: The Arrest – two rooms
One morning, like a bolt from the blue, bank employee Josef K. is declared arrested by two men without being told the reason for this measure. However, he is also told that he can still go about his job and move around freely until further notice. From then on, Josef K. suffers from mental anguish because he is not aware of what he might have done wrong.
Second picture: Miss Bürstner – two rooms
After work, Josef K. visits his neighbor, Miss Bürstner, and explains his strange arrest to her. He sits down at the table and starts taking notes. When there is a knock on the door, Miss Bürstner tries to get her uninvited guest to leave the room. The guest presses a passionate kiss on her lips.
Third picture: The summons – street
At night, Josef K. is walking down the street. He feels threatened by invisible forces. A stranger walks past him without saying a word, but then turns around and explains that there will be a small investigation into his case next Saturday. He must not miss the appointment under any circumstances.
Fourth picture: First examination – attic
Josef K. only finds the court, which is sitting in an attic, with difficulty and an hour late. The audience is waiting anxiously for the trial to begin. Josef K. protests angrily that the court is only treating him very superficially. Among the audience is a student who suddenly makes indecent advances towards the court clerk’s wife. The examining magistrate then interrupts the trial and withdraws with his assessors. The harassed woman assures Josef K. that she will do everything in her power to help him. She has hardly finished speaking when the student approaches her again and carries her away. When the investigation of the case is about to continue, Josef K. curses the High Court and flees.
Second Part
Fifth picture: The Beater – Hallway
From the hallway, Josef K. discovers the two men who had recently informed him of his arrest in a poorly lit room. The two are being beaten. Josef K. believes that this is the result of his complaint about these men. Suddenly the passer-by from the other day comes down the stairs and orders him to go to the court office immediately.
Sixth picture: The lawyer – two rooms
Josef K. is taken by his uncle Albert to an old lawyer who has a good reputation throughout the city and beyond. But instead of questioning Josef K., the lawyer prefers to chat with his uncle. Meanwhile, the protagonist is talking to Leni, the lawyer’s maid, in the next room. The two grow closer, fall into each other’s arms and kiss.
Seventh picture: The manufacturer – office in the bank
Josef K. once again tries to do his job as a manager in the bank, but the trial weighs so heavily on his conscience that he is unable to concentrate. This does not go unnoticed by the customer he is serving. The customer, a factory director, recommends that he visit the painter Titorelli and ask for help. Titorelli has painted portraits of almost all of the city’s dignitaries and therefore has important connections.
Eighth Picture: The Painter – Studio
In front of Titorelli’s house, Josef K. has to squeeze through a group of screaming girls to get into the studio. The painter is a real braggart who overestimates himself. He gives Josef K. three possible outcomes for how the trial could end: a real acquittal, an apparent acquittal, or a delay, the latter being better for him than an apparent acquittal. He must carefully assess the possibilities and not waste any time in doing so. Josef K. is more confused than before.
Ninth picture: In the cathedral and in the quarry
The accused is so desperate that he hopes for help from the church as a last resort. But even a conversation with a chaplain brings him no consolation. On the contrary. The priest accuses him of seeking help too much from strangers, especially women, and of not being able to see two steps ahead himself.
The stage is transformed into a quarry. Two elegant men in top hats take the desperate man into their midst. One of them pulls a huge butcher’s knife, sharpened on both sides, from his frock coat. With extreme politeness he passes it to the other man over Josef K.’s head. After that it goes completely dark.
Quoted from Wikipedia