Die Ruinen von Athen

Text by August von Kotzebue, adapted by Hugo von Hofmannsthal (G)

S,2B; 2speaking roles; silent role; chorus; ballet;
2.2.2.0-2.2.2.0-timp-strings

1800, Athens, during the occupation by the Turks

In an Athens square, with a view towards the Acropolis, townsfolk await the regular appearance of a stranger, and bemoan the occupation of their once proud city by Ottoman forces. The stranger, a German poet, appears and muses on the ruins of the past, invoking the goddess Pallas Athene. His ideal is to achieve artistic perfection, mending the fragments of lost culture, and joining with the ancients in a celestial round-dance. Darkness falls and he finds himself transported as if in a dream back to Ancient Greece. In a moonlit grove, with statues of the Gods silhouetted against the night sky, bacchic revellers and maidens appear and dance before him. They encourage him to join their celebrations and attempt to crown him with vine leaves. He declines these Dionysiac pleasures, being intent on loftier pursuits. A procession of priests leads him away from the bacchanale, to celebrate his marriage to Pallas Athene, symbolising a new union between the modern and ancient cultures. Illuminated by a rosy light, the Acropolis becomes visible in its pristine state.

Poetic