Talk20251 h 4 min1920×1080

Happy Little Seahorses: Brahms’ Unwritten “Melusine” Opera

Sommerfeld, Paul

At the Library of Congress

Clips are not offered for this film: the Library of Congress states its rights in its own words, not as a public licence, which leaves reuse unclear.

About

Laurie McManus of Shenandoah Conservatory discussed an unfamiliar opera libretto that was given to Johannes Brahms for consideration. While Johannes Brahms excelled in many musical arenas, he never managed to compose an opera, despite a lingering interest and encouragement from his friends. The most persistent of those friends was Hermann Levi, a Jewish conductor whose later advocacy for Richard Wagner overshadowed his relationship with Brahms in the 1860s and early 70s. The Library of Congress holds extensive correspondence between Brahms and Levi, including a drafted opera libretto that Levi sent to Brahms in a letter from July 1871. The libretto was a joint effort between Levi and a local mutual friend, Anna Ettlinger, an author and women’s rights advocate. The libretto might be called a “hidden gem” of the Library’s Brahms collection, given that it has never been transcribed or discussed in any substantial form until now. Presented in association with the American Musicological Society.

Archive
Library of Congress, in Library of Congress: talks and concerts
Licence or status
Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.
Credit
Library of Congress
Language
English
Country
United States
Who can watch
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