Moses und Aron

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Moses und Aron (Moses and Aaron) is a two-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with a third act unfinished. The German libretto was by the composer after the Book of Exodus.

Originating in a cantata that turned into an oratorio and then into an opera, it was composed between 1930 and 1932. Despite its unfinished status is is widely regarded as Schoenberg's master work.

Performance history

Schoenberg always intended to finish the work, and the two acts were not performed until after his death. There was a concert performance in Hamburg on 12 March 1954 with Hans Herbert Fiedler as Moses and Helmut Krebs as Aron, conducted by Hans Rosbaud. The first staging was in Zurich at the Stadttheater on 6 June 1957, again with Hans Herbert Fiedler as Moses and conducted by Hans Rosbaud, but with Helmut Melchert as Aron.

Georg Solti conducted the first performance at the Royal Opera House, London on 28 June 1965. The singers were Forbes Robinson (Moses) and Richard Lewis (Aron). The American premiere was produced by Sarah Caldwell's company in Boston Back Bay on 30 November 1966 with Donald Gramm and Richard Lewis, conducted by Osbourne McConathy. (The Metropolitan Opera did not stage it until 1999.)

Recordings

There are several recordings. Hermann Scherchen recorded it with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Josef Greindl and Helmut Melchert in 1966 (Opera D'Oro). There is a more recent one by Pierre Boulez and The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with David Pittman-Jennings and Chris Merritt (DGG).

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