Clemens Erwein Heinrich Karl Bonaventura Freiherr von Franckenstein
Born: 14 July 1875, Wiesentheid , (Kitzingen) Germany
Died: 19 August 1942, Hechendorf (Munich)
Operas
- Griseldis, Opera in 3 acts; libretto by Oskar Mayer.
(2 Feb. 1898, Troppau)
- Fortunatus, (op. 10) Grand Opera in 3 acts;
libretto after J. Wasserman. (First version unperformed, 1901);
Full score, Berlin, 1905.
- Rahab (Op. 32) Opera in one act;
libretto by Oskar Mayer. (4 Dec.1909, Budapest)
- Die Beine, Pantomime after Hugo von Hofmannsthal, (1916, Darmstadt)
- Li-Tai-Pe, Der Kaisers Dichter
Opera in 3 acts; libretto by Rudolf Lothar.(2 Nov. 1920, Berlin)
About Clemens von Franckenstein:
Although scarcely known outside of Germany today, Clemens von Franckenstein
was an influential conductor and composer who was instrumental in bringing
forth first performances of operas by Korngold, Pfitzner, Braunfels and
Courvoisier at the turn of the 20th century. His relationship with Richard
Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal was contemporaneous with the development
of their operas, and Strauss' recommendation led to Franckenstein's
appointment to the Royal Prussian Opera in Berlin in 1907. His one-act
opera Rahab is redolent of the exoticism
found in such Straussian scores as Salome, but his more widely
performed work was the three-act Li-Tai-Pe, produced on German
stages from 1920 to 1933, when Franckenstein withdrew from the musical
scene with the advent of the Nazi regime.
contributed by John Mucci
Monday, 08-Dec-2003 21:45:21 PST