In September 2024, Nastasia gave a lecture at Yale University (New Haven, CT) on the topic “Transatlantic Opera Networks in the Viennese Avantgarde: The Case of Wozzeck.” Drawing on newly discovered sources from the Von Wymetal Family Collection in Pittsburgh and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she reconstructed the network and performance context of the Wozzeck productions that took place in Philadelphia and New York City in 1931. The talk was hosted by the Opera Studies Working Group.
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In June 2024, we accomplished several research trips to European cities where significant Wozzeck premieres took place, continuing our work on the group of opera houses and conductors initiated at the beginning of the year. Nastasia’s journey began at the Aachen City Archive, where she explored documents related to the 1930 premiere of Wozzeck in a reduced version. She then visited the Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung of the University of Cologne at Schloss Wahn, examining stage designs and photographs of various early Wozzeck productions. Simultaneously, Constanze conducted research in Prague, investigating the 1926 Wozzeck production, which was scandalously cancelled after only three performances. She gathered sources from the National Theatre archives, the Czech National Museum’s music and theater departments, and the National Archives of the Czech Republic. Following their individual research, Nastasia and Constanze traveled to Brussels together. At the Royal Library of Belgium, the Literary Archives, the Théâtre de la Monnaie archives and the Brussels City Archives, we investigated documents on the first French performance of Wozzeck in 1932 and the context of the planned but unrealized premiere of Lulu in 1935. These research trips not only reviewed known sources but also uncovered previously unknown documents, enhancing our understanding of the historical and cultural contexts surrounding early Wozzeck performances.
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Starting in May 2024, Constanze Köhn joined our team. She will be taking over for Annkatrin during her maternity leave over the next few months. Welcome, Constanze!
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As part of the “Jour fixe” series at the Department of Musicology and Performance Studies at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Annkatrin and Nastasia gave a presentation in mid-March 2024 providing insights into the ongoing work on the FWF project. The talk focused on initial findings, the current state of the project and ongoing research questions which were subsequently discussed with the participants.
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In early March 2024, Nastasia was invited to give a lecture at the Conservatory of Music FRANZ LISZT in Weimar on the topic "Making of" Symphonische Stücke aus der Oper Lulu. The project's objective, including its methodology and preliminary results, were presented during the lecture. The presentation was part of the "Opernwerkstatt Lulu", a student project embedded in a seminar led by Michael Klaper. Its aim was to foster both artistic and intellectual exploration of Berg's opera Lulu.
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Starting in October last year, we examined the extensive correspondence between Alban Berg and his publisher, Universal Edition Vienna, for our edition over the following three months. What is striking is the publisher's central role in the entire production process—it was not only involved in the printing of the works but also a central actor in negotiations with opera houses and conductors and an important contact for the composer concerning artistic questions. Around 700 documents are being prepared for the database and the volumes.
At the beginning of the year, we turned to other groups of actors and are currently working on correspondence with conductors and opera houses. For the latter, we evaluate the records of those theaters where productions of Wozzeck and Lulu were performed up to 1935 and 1953, respectively, as well as those theaters with which negotiations for a production failed. Archive visits to Berlin—where Wozzeck and the Symphonic Pieces from the opera Lulu were premiered under Erich Kleiber in 1925 and 1934—as well as in Vienna itself, have already been undertaken.
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On December 4th and 5th, 2023, the workshop Musical Practice / Kulturelles Handeln / Musicking was held, organized by the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Department of Musicology and Performing Studies) in collaboration with the Alban Berg Foundation. Working with key texts by Andreas Reckwitz, Theodore Schatzki, Susanne Rode-Breymann, and others, praxeological approaches from social theory were discussed regarding their potential to be applied in culturally oriented music research in general and their benefits for our research project in particular. Alongside the speakers, Annkatrin Babbe, Gesa Finke, Martin Eybl, Nastasia Heckendorff, Susanne Rode-Breymann und Melanie Unseld, numerous guests also participated in stimulating discussions. In addition, Annkatrin and Nastasia introduced the research project and its initial outcomes.
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On October 1, 2023 the research project "Composing | Publishing | Performing Opera: The Making of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Lulu" was launched. Over the next three years, we will examine the steps in the genesis of Wozzeck and Lulu through the interaction between the various actors involved, such as individuals from the composer’s personal and professional networks, the publishing house staff as well as employees at the opera houses.
The results will be published in two volumes in the Alban Berg critical edition. In addition, they will be released in the database hosted by the Alban Berg Foundation. Another project objective is to organize a conference and publish the proceedings.
In the initial phase, we focus on the Universal Edition Wien staff and self-employed persons working for the publishing house. After our initial archival research, the publishing house's outstanding role in the operas' entire production process – from composition to performances and printing – is becoming clear.