Performance History of The Second Version
After its premiere in Vienna the second version was first performed in Berlin on 1 November 1916, followed by Zurich on 28 January 1917 (in a production by the Mannheim Opera). It was first presented in Budapest on 19 April 1919 (in Hungarian in a translation by Z. Harsányi), and in German in Graz on 12 March 1920, Amsterdam in January 1924, and London at the Royal Opera House on 27 May 1924 with Lotte Lehmann as Ariadne, Maria Ivogün as Zerbinetta (in her debut with the company), Elisabeth Schumann as the Composer, Karl Fischer-Niemann as Bacchus, and Carl Alwin conducting. Despite the stellar cast the production was not successful, with one of the lowest box office returns of the season, and was repeated only once.
It was first performed in Italy in Turin at the Teatro di Turino on 7 December 1925 (in an Italian translation by O. Schanzer); in Sweden in Stockholm on 27 November 1926 (in Swedish); in Brussels on 17 March 1930 (in a French translation by P. Spaak); in Helsinki on 12 May 1931 (in a Finnish translation by A. af Enehjelm); in Rome at the Teatro Reale on 28 March 1935 (in German); Antwerp on 28 September 1935 (in Flemish); and in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on 10 September 1937 (in German).
The United States premiere of the opera was given in German by the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company at the Academy of Music on 1 November 1928. Conducted by Alexander Smallens, the cast included Alma Peterson as the Primadonna/Ariadne, Charlotte Boykin as Zerbinetta, Irene Williams as the Composer, and Judson House as the Tenor/Bacchus. It was presented by the Juilliard School in New York City in English in a translation by A. Kalisch on 5 December 1934 with a cast of students including Josephine Antoine as Zerbinetta, Mack Harrell as Truffaldino, and Risë Stevens as Dryad. The opera was performed for the first time in Canada by the New York City Opera on tour at the Montreal Festivals in 1946.
Read more about this topic: Ariadne Auf Naxos
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