Arnold Schoenberg (September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) composed this twelve-tonal composition Moses und Aron (Moses and Aron), a three-act German opera. Libretto was written by Schoenberg himself in German, original work based on Biblical story. It was premiered in Zürich, International Society for Contemporary Music, June 6, 1957. The setting is in Egypt and Judaea in Biblical times.
Moses und Aron is an opera purposely left incomplete by Arnold Schoenberg. He set the role of Moses in what is termed "speak-singing" which makes the tenor's role in Aron penetrating. The opera is based in the Bible's book of Exodus. The "Dance Round the Golden Calf" is one of the highlights of the opera. In the Bible the spelling is 'Aaron' but Schoenberg changed it to 'Aron.'
Main Character Roles of Opera Moses und Aron
- Aron, interprets the God of Moses for the Israelites (tenor)
- Moses, a prophet of God (speaking or bass baritone)
- Young girl, she embraces the new god (soprano)
- Young man, he embraces the new god (tenor)
- Priest, he warns the Israelites against Moses (bass)
Plot Summary / Synopses of Schoenberg's Moses and Aron
Act 1. Egypt
God appears in a burning bush and calls on Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. Moses begs not to do it, doubting that people would follow him. God told him that Aron will be his voice.
Moses meets Aron in the desert and tells him of his visitation. They discuss God's almighty but unseen presence.
The people, skeptical of the new God, nevertheless agree to worship him if he frees them from the Pharaoh's might.
Moses and Aron tell the people not to make offerings to their new God or graven images. The Israelites reject this God until Aron convinces them of His power by changing Moses's rod into a serpent. Moses's hand becomes leprous, a symbol of the weakened spirit of the Israelites, but is cured. Aron, who proposes to lead them through the desert to a land of milk and honey. He turns Nile water to blood symbolizing the toil of the Israelites on behalf of their Egyptian masters. *Interlude* The Israelites fear they have been abandoned by their leader.
Act 2. The Mountains of Judaea
The numerous elders who have waited for Moses before the mountain of revelation for forty days, complain that life in Judaea is harder than it was in Egypt. An angry crowd demands the restoration of order and the old gods. Aron tells them to gather their gold and he will fashion an image of their god.
The Israelites sacrifice to a golden calf. They dance, and when an invalid woman is cured, everybody gives the calf their last scraps of food. Tribal leaders abase themselves before the altar. A youth who conjures the people to destroy the false idol is slain by the tribal leaders. Fight ensues and four virgins are sacrificed to the calf.
Moses returns and destroys the golden calf; the crowd flees.
Moses reprimands Aron and gives him the commandments. Aron justifies that he loves the people and they need an image to sustain the image of a god. In despair, Moses breaks the tablets of the commandments. A pillar and cloud of fire are seen.
Act 3. The Mountains of Judaea
Soldiers detain Aron. Moses tries to explain to him that image is not enough: He must follow the word and the idea, that of the true God of Moses. Aron is freed, but drops dead. (The opera is left incomplete on stage.)
Sources:
Concise Guide to Opera, Penguin, London, 2005
Opera by Alan Riding and L.D. Downer, DK, 2006
The Da Capo Opera Manual by Nicholas Ivor Martin, 1997
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