From Prop to Producer
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From Prop to Producer: The Appropriation of Radio Technology in Opera during the Weimar Republic Katy Vaughan Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bournemouth University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2020 2 Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. 3 Katy Vaughan From Prop to Producer: The Appropriation of Radio Technology in Opera during the Weimar Republic Abstract This thesis explores the appropriation of radio technology in opera composed during the Weimar Republic. It identifies a gap in current research where opera and radio have often been examined separately in the fields of musicology and media history. This research adopts a case study approach and combines the disciplines of musicology and media history, in order to create a narrative of the use of radio as a compositional tool in Weimar opera. The journey begins with radio as a prop on stage in Ernst Krenek’s Jonny speilt auf (1927) and ends with the radio as a producer in Walter Goehr’s radio opera Malpopita (1931). Max Brand's Maschinist Hopkins (1929) provides an interlude between these two works, where its analysis serves to pinpoint compositional techniques used in radio opera. The opera case studies reflect the changing attitudes towards technology and media in Weimar musicology, as shown in the journal, Musikblätter des Anbruch (1919-1937). The purpose of this research is to view opera through a lens of media history and in doing so it considers debates on entanglements within media history. The appropriation of radio in Weimar opera shattered the borders of traditional performance practice, resulting in the merging of these two media. The analysis explores the materiality of the radio as a prop on the stage and subsequently the lack of materiality within radio opera, by exploring the application of the so-called ‘invisible voice’ in order to compensate for the lack of visual stimuli. This thesis will show radio’s journey from prop to producer in Weimar opera performance, mirroring the changing attitude towards radio within Weimar musicology. It will offer new perspectives on existing analyses by placing Jonny spielt auf and Maschinist Hopkins within the context of media history, and it will offer the first academic examination of Goehr’s Malpopita, contributing to the narratives of both opera and radio history. 4 Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 INTRODUCTION 10 Opera as Multimedia 12 Methodology 16 Theoretcial Approaches 17 Definition of the Key Terms 23 Modernism 23 Mass Culture and The Masses 23 Technology and Materiality 24 The Invisible Voice 24 Outline of the Thesis 25 CHAPTER 1 HISTORIOGRAPHY: CONTEXT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 29 Beyond Berlin 31 Modernism and Weimar Culture 33 Expressionism 33 Neue Sachlichkeit 36 Rejection of Romanticism 38 Weimar Opera 39 Approaches to Weimar Modernity 40 New Media and Technology 41 Technology in Weimar Art 41 Weimar Cinema 43 Weimar Radio 45 Zeitoper 51 Americanisms in Weimar Culture 54 Mass Culture and Artistic Identity 58 Conclusion 67 5 CHAPTER 2 CHANGING ATTITUDES IN WEIMAR MUSICOLOGY TOWARDS RADIO: AN EXAMINATION OF THE JOURNAL MUSIKBLÄTTER DES ANBRUCH 71 Introduction to Anbruch 71 Weimar Musicology 76 Music and the Machine 79 Music on the Radio 87 Opera and Radio 95 Music for Radio 98 Conclusion 100 CHAPTER 3 ZEITOPER AS AN ENTANGLED MEDIUM DURING THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE USE OF RADIO IN ERNST KRENEK'S JONNY SPIELT AUF 102 Introduction to Jonny and His World 103 Scene 7 – The Hotel Terrace 110 Jonny and the Representation of Radio in Weimar Germany 123 Conclusion 130 CHAPTER 4 INTERLUDE: MAX BRAND'S MASCHINIST HOPKINS AS A PRELUDE TO RADIO OPERA 131 Introduction to Maschinist Hopkins 131 The Machines 135 Maschinist Hopkins and the ‘invisible voice’ 153 Conclusion 157 CHAPTER 5 WALTER GOEHR'S MALPOPITA: OPERA FOR RADIO 158 Music and Experimental Radio 159 6 Introduction to Malpopita 162 The Music of Malpopita 164 The Themes of Malpopita 189 Malpopita, Weimar Musicology and Radio Theory 195 Conclusion 199 CONCLUSION 201 Emerging themes from the Case Studies 201 Observations of Entanglements 206 Music in The Third Reich and Exile 208 Impact and Future Research 211 APPENDIX: 214 SYNOPSES OF OPERA PLOTS 214 Ernst Krenek: Jonny spielt auf 214 Max Brand: Maschinist Hopkins 216 Walter Goehr: Malpopita 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 Primary Source Material 219 Secondary Source Material 222 Audio Visual Material 232 List of Illustrations Figure 1: Front cover from ‘Musik und Maschine’, special issue of Musikblätter des Anbruch (1926/8-9) ................................................................................................................................... 80 Figure 2: Oskar Strnad, Bühnenbildentwurf: Jonny spielt auf, (31.12.1927), (Pastell auf Schwarzem Papier), from the Austrian Theatre Museum. ........................................................ 111 Figure 3: Chromatic points of anguish from scene 2 of Ernst Krenek's, Jonny spielt auf, (Piano and Vocal Score: Universal Edition, 1927), 19-21. .................................................................. 114 Figure 4: Dissonance added by the hotel guests in scene 7 from Ernst Krenek's, Jonny spielt auf, (Universal Edition, 1927), 146-148. .................................................................................. 119 Figure 5: Max Brand, Maschinist Hopkins (Zwölf Bildern) Op.11, (Piano and Vocal Score, 1928), 25. .................................................................................................................................. 138 Figure 6: Max Brand, Maschinist Hopkins (Zwölf Bildern) Op.11, (Piano and Vocal score, 1928), 117-118. ......................................................................................................................... 141 Figure 7: Max Brand, Maschinist Hopkins (Zwölf Bildern) Op.11, (Piano and Vocal score, 1928), 124-125. ......................................................................................................................... 144 Figure 8: Max Brand, Maschinist Hopkins (Zwölf Bildern) Op.11, (Piano and Vocal Score, 1928), 254. ................................................................................................................................ 148 Figure 9: Max Brand, Maschinist Hopkins (Zwölf Bildern) Op.11, (Piano and Vocal Score, 1928), 99. .................................................................................................................................. 156 Figure 10: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 3. ......................................................................................................................... 165 Figure 11: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 5. ......................................................................................................................... 167 Figure 12: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 13. ....................................................................................................................... 168 8 Figure 13: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 23. ....................................................................................................................... 169 Figure 14: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930),63-64. ................................................................................................................... 173 Figure 15: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 95. ....................................................................................................................... 177 Figure 16: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 96. ....................................................................................................................... 178 Figure 17: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 97. ....................................................................................................................... 179 Figure 18: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 100. ..................................................................................................................... 181 Figure 19: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 103. ..................................................................................................................... 183 Figure 20: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 134. ..................................................................................................................... 186 Figure 21: Goehr, Mendelssohn and Seitz, Malpopita: Kleine Funkoper, (Piano and Vocal Score: 1930), 143. ..................................................................................................................... 188 Acknowledgements I must firstly thank Bournemouth University for the studentship award which