Class 11: The Voice of God

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11. The Voice of God. Moses und Aron, the unfinished opera by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), is a key work in the history of music, and an opera about a truly important subject. Yet it is undeniably hard to listen to, in both its musical language and Talmudic theology. It presents a more difficult problem for the Stage Director than anything we have seen so far. Yet the reason for its difficulty is not merely a stylistic choice on the part of the composer, but intrinsic to its basic subject.

Schoenberg was not the first to tackle the subject of Moses and the Exodus. Its inherent drama attracted Rossini in 1818, and of course we have the blockbuster Ten Commandments (1956) by Cecil B. De Mille, which actually appeared before the first staging of Schoenberg's opera. Both these focus on the spectacular, such as the twelve plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. But Schoenberg was not interested in events so much as ideas. How can you persuade a people to follow a god who cannot be seen or even put into words? Moses' half-brother Aaron, who serves as his mouthpiece, is a Madison Avenue man always looking for the sales pitch, But for Moses, God is irreducible. If He can be decribed at all, it would be by the mathematical perfection of Schoenberg's music, that deliberately avoids all reference to traditional melody, harmony, or even key. Difficult, as I say.

Willy Decker's staging for the Ruhrtriennale in 2009 is similarly uncompromising, in sacrificing everything to clarity of argument. Yet it is magnificently inventive, using a purpose-built theater where even the audience seating moves to create a changing configuration ringing numerous variations on the one basic idea. Given an opera that demands intellectual engagement rather than sensual submission, its power to engage an audience is a truly magnificent achievement. rb.

The script, videos, and images will be posted immediately after class.

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VIDEO LINKS

The bad news is that there are no complete videos of the opera with English titles on YouTube. The good news is that there are three complete performances available, including the Willy Decker staging we sampled in class; I have given cues to the separate scenes we watched. The Romeo Castellucci Paris production is a lot more radical than Decker's, and is well worth watching, though the titles are only in French. Similarly, the 1975 film by Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet is titled in Spanish only; antedating all the stage productions here, it was a major achievement in its time, using real-life settings.

If you want to get a sense of the range of production out there, why not browse through the 10 trailers, all marked with *asterisks? Several of these additional productions include other clips, though only those from Vienna are more than a few minutes long. However, I would recommend the interview with British baritone Robert Hayward about performing the role of Moses at the Komische Oper, Berlin; it is an unusual view of the opera from within. My final section includes a video summary of performance history and a large gallery of photos from various productions. rb.

WILLY DECKER, BOCHUM 2009

Complete opera * from beginning (as watched in class; no titles)
* — entrance of Aaron
* — miracle of the serpent
* — Golden Calf
* — return of Moses
* — ending

Other clips * trailer
* excellent review (blog post)

ROMEO CASTELLUCCI, PARIS 2015

Complete opera * from beginning (French titles)

Trailers * 2015 production
* 2025 revival

Other clips * excellent review (NY Times)

STRAUB/HUILLET FILM 1975

Various clips * complete opera (Spanish titles)
* trailer

OTHER PRODUCTIONS

Dutch National Opera 1995 * trailer (very short)

Vienna 2006 * opening (all substantial clips)
* beginning of Calf scene
* end of Calf scene

Welsh National Opera 2014 * trailer

Komische Oper Berlin 2015 * excerpt 1
* excerpt 2
* trailer
* Robert Hayward on performing Moses (excellent, in English)

Dresden 2018 * trailer

Basel 2026 * trailer

DOCUMENTARIES

Performance history * video

IMAGES

The thumbnails below cover the slides shown in class, though there may be a few small discrepancies.
Click the thumbnail to see a larger image.
Click on the right or left of the larger picture to go forward or back, or outside it to close.

WILLY DECKER, BOCHUM 2009
	Complete opera	* from beginning (as watched in class; no titles) * — entrance of Aaron * — miracle of the serpent * — Golden Calf * — return of Moses * — ending
	Other clips	* trailer * excellent review (blog post)
ROMEO CASTELLUCCI, PARIS 2015
	Complete opera	* from beginning (French titles)
	Trailers	* 2015 production * 2025 revival
	Other clips	* excellent review (NY Times)
STRAUB/HUILLET FILM 1975
	Various clips	* complete opera (Spanish titles) * trailer
OTHER PRODUCTIONS
	Dutch National Opera 1995	* trailer (very short)
	Vienna 2006	* opening (all substantial clips) * beginning of Calf scene * end of Calf scene
	Welsh National Opera 2014	* trailer
	Komische Oper Berlin 2015	* excerpt 1 * excerpt 2 * trailer * Robert Hayward on performing Moses (excellent, in English)
	Dresden 2018	* trailer
	Basel 2026	* trailer
DOCUMENTARIES
	Performance history	* video


IMAGES
The thumbnails below cover the slides shown in class, though there may be a few small discrepancies. Click the thumbnail to see a larger image. Click on the right or left of the larger picture to go forward or back, or outside it to close.