OPERA SEARCH
Der lange Weg zur Großen Mauer
(The Long Way to the Great Wall) (1974)Libretto by Richard Bletschacher (G)
S,2M,3T,4Bar,9speakers; chorus;
2(=picc).1.corA.1.Ebcl.bcl.1.dbn-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(2):3tom-t/2cym/
susp.cym/whip/large tam-t/BD/bell-vib-harp-strings
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
Ulm
Peter Borchardt, director
Conductor: Friedrich Pleyer
Company: Ulm Opera
| WANG SI-LANG, a young landowner | Baritone |
| MENG TJANG-NU, his wife | Lyric Soprano |
| NEIGHBOUR | Mezzo Soprano |
| NEIGHBOUR'S SON | Spoken role |
| A YOUNG WOMAN | Spoken role |
| CHUAN, an old man from the village | Bass |
| INNKEEPER | Mezzo Soprano |
| A PEASANT | Spoken role |
| A BALLAD SINGER | Tenor |
| 1ST SOLDIER | Baritone |
| 2ND SOLDIER | Tenor |
| 4 OLD AND 5 YOUNG WORKERS | Spoken roles |
| AN OLD WOMAN | Spoken role |
| THE SUPERVISOR | Baritone |
| SHI HUANG-TI, the emperor | Tenor |
| THE ORACLE | Baritone |
| Workers, Peasants, Soldiers, Bigshots, Court officials and Imperial women | Chorus |
China, in ancient times
A young woman from the southern part of the Chinese empire bids farewell to her husband, who is part of the town’s quota to be forcibly taken off to the North during the building of the Great Wall. He hopes to return the following Autumn, but the omens are not good. She starts work on a jacket to keep him warm and when it is ready she sets out on the ‘Long Way’ to the North in search of her husband. The progressive long journey reveals the woman’s devotion for her husband. After many difficulties she reaches the building site and discovers that he has been accidentally killed and lies buried beneath the stones of the Wall. Her tears cause part of the wall to collapse and the young Emperor takes an interest in this unusual woman. She succeeds in persuading the Emperor to allow her to look for the body of her dead husband and arrange to have it buried. The Emperor orders the Wall to be pulled down and the dead man is found. At his burial, the woman throws her husband’s jacket upon his body in the grave and embraces eternity.
Poetic, Tragic