Der Weg der Verheißung

(The Eternal Road)

Biblical Drama in four parts by Franz Werfel

Edition: Performance material

Product Details

Description

The American theatre manager Meyer Weisgal brought Max Reinhardt, Franz Werfel and Kurt Weill together in 1934 to enlist their help in the implementation of his concept of a musical drama which would sketch out a vision of the future of the Jewish people. Werfel embedded the biblical history of the people of Israel in a framework plot: members of a Jewish community flee from a pogrom into a synagogue while the mob continues to rage outside. The Rabbi brings alive the various stages of Jewish history as preserved in the Torah – a tale of expulsion, exile and visions of the Promised Land. Ultimately, biblical history is merged with real events: as a parallel to the destruction of the temple in the Bible story, the real synagogue is devastated and both the people in the Torah story and the real Jewish community in prayer are forced to continue their journey towards the Promised Land.

Orchestral Cast

2(pic).1.3(1.Ebcl).2bcl.1(cbsn)-4.3.3.1-timp.2 or 3perc(glsp, xyl, vib, tri, gong, cym, Chinese cym, tam-t, tamb, 3tom-t, marching drum, s.d, b.d, cast)-[Hawaiian]gtr.hp.2pno.org-str

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 - SATB double chorus
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

More Information

Title:

Der Weg der Verheißung

(The Eternal Road)

Biblical Drama in four parts by Franz Werfel

English translation by Ludwig Lewisohn

Language:

German, English

Edition:

Performance material

Publisher/Label:

European American Music Corporation

Year of composition:

1934 - 1936

Duration:

175 ′

World Premiere:

January 7, 1937 · New York, NY (USA)
Manhattan Opera House
Conductor: Leopold Stokowski / Isaac van Grove / Leo Kopp
Original staging: Max Reinhardt · Costumes: Norman Bel Geddes · Set desing: Norman Bel Geddes

June 13, 1999 · Chemnitz (D)
Theater
Conductor: John Mauceri
Original staging: Michael Heinicke · Costumes: David Sharir · Set desing: David Sharir
(scenic) (European Premiere and World Première of the original German text version)

Technical Details

Product number:

LEA 4324-01

Delivery rights:

Distribution rights for Germany: Schott Music. Distribution rights for Europe excluding Germany: Universal Edition. Distribution rights for all other territories: European American Music Corporation