Lady Magnesia
Music by Mieczysław Weinberg · premiered 2009
Lady Magnesia (Russian: Леди Магнезия, Ledi Magneziya, Op. 112) is a 1975 comic opera by Mieczysław Weinberg to his own Russian libretto after the 1905 play Passion, Poison and Petrifaction by George Bernard Shaw. To celebrate Weinberg's 90th birthday in 2009, the opera was performed along with several of his works including his 1997 "Requiem." While engaged in the writing of the opera, Weinberg invited Soviet composer David Krivitsky to his home to play the music, of which an analysis was included in his book, "One-act opera of the 20th century."
Text from the Wikipedia article "Lady Magnesia", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. At the age of 12, he began formal music lessons. Later, he studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1939, Weinberg fled Warsaw when Germany invaded Poland and started World War II. His family was later murdered at the Trawniki concentration camp. Weinberg found refuge in the Soviet Union. He established himself successfully in Moscow with support from Dmitri Shostakovich and the Committee on the Arts. Postwar changes in Soviet cultural policy led to increased…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Mieczysław Weinberg", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Mieczysław Weinberg
- Congratulations! (1975)