ABSTRACT
Paul Griffiths’ verdict on Lear, the opera by Aribert Reimann, may well be just, but he is too severe on a genre that includes such works as Berg’s Wozzeck and Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten. Griffiths would probably argue, however, that such works properly considered are not Literaturopern at all. How each composer transcends the conventions of Literaturoper is a topic which, properly explored but a few points can be made. What is particularly interesting, however, is Othmar Schoeck’s spoken attitudes, which have more in common with Literaturoper than do those of either of the other two composers. Schoeck composed Penthesilea in 1923–1925, between Elektra and Lulu, and its style has features in common with both; Elektra in fact influenced him deeply. ‘Kein Komma, das nicht bei Kleist steht!’ Schoeck enjoined his librettists, showing a reverence for the text worthy of a Reimann.
