Erwartung (translation: Expectation) is an
opera, composed in 1909 by the Viennese composer
Arnold Schoenberg, to a libretto by Marie Pappenheim. It was not premiered until June 6, 1924, in Prague, conducted by
Alexander Zemlinsky with
Marie Gutheil-Schoder as the soprano. The work takes the unusual form of a monologue for solo
soprano, backed up by a large orchestra. In performance, it lasts for about half an hour. It is often paired with
Béla Bartók's opera
Duke Bluebeard's Castle, as the two works are generally thought to be similar in character and psychological themes. Schoenberg's succinct description of the work was: "In Erwartung the aim is to represent in slow motion everything that occurs during a single second of maximum spiritual excitement, stretching it out to half an hour."
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