Das Kalkwerk

Schneider, Stephan Marc (Libretto)

Stephan Marc Schneider's opera ‘Das Kalkwerk’ after Thomas Bernhard was awarded the ‘Johann-Joseph-Fux-Musikpreis’ opera competition as part of the Steirischer Herbst festival. The composer later created a reduced extract entitled ‘Kalkwerk-Frikassee’. The fact that he called his skilful compilation of the great operatic work ‘Fricassee’ rather than ‘Extract’ or ‘Chamber Version’ says a lot about the composer's unconventional way of working and thinking. The mood of his ‘Kalkwerk’ music is hardly depressive, although the subject matter could hardly be more gloomy and pessimistic.
The piece revolves around a man who experiments on his wife for years and finally murders her. We witness the final dialogue between the two, which Schneider makes extremely dramatic. At times, his musical language is reminiscent of Alban Berg and his opera of the century ‘Wozzeck’. Born in Karlsruhe on 17 May 1970, Stephan Marc Schneider studied composition with Ulrich Leyendecker. Other works include the orchestral piece ‘Bernarda Albas Haus’, which premiered in 2003, the ‘Doberstein-Lieder’ after poems by Volker Doberstein for soprano and piano and ‘Inschrift’ for solo clarinet, which are mentioned below.