Die Frau Ohne Schatten - Instrumentation

Instrumentation

The opulent 164 piece instrumentation includes:

• woodwind: 4 flutes (2 doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (one doubling English horn), 4 clarinets, bass clarinet, basset-horn, E-flat clarinet, 4 bassoons (1 doubling on contrabassoon)

• brass: 8 French horns (4 doubling on 4 Wagner tubas), 6 trumpets, 4 trombones, bass tuba

• percussion: musical glasses, 4 timpani, 5 Chinese gongs, cymbals, snare drum, rute, sleigh bells, bass drum, tenor drum, big field drum, triangle, tambourine, 2 castanets, tamtam, whip (slapstick), xylophone, bells,

• other instruments: strings (16 I violins, 16 II violins, 6 I violas, 6 II viola, 6 I celli, 6 II celli, 8 double basses), glass harmonica, 2 celestas, 2 harps, glockenspiel

• stage orchestra: 2 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets in C, bassoon, horn, 6 trumpets, 6 trombones, wind machine, thunder machine, organ, 4 tamtams

• on-stage: woodwind and horn may play in pit if necessary; two of the on-stage trumpets move to the pit for Act III, thus a total of 10 trumpets is required.