Die Schöne Magelone

Die Schöne Magelone” is a song cycle by German composer Johannes Brahms (Op. 33), based on the romantic love story by poet Ludwig Tieck. The cycle consists of 15 romances that musically depict the romantic story of the beautiful Magelone and Count Peter of Provence, composed by Brahms in the 1860s.

The animation has been seen before in the following venues:

Kimmel Center, Philadelphia (2025)
With baritone Roderick Williams, pianist Julius Drake, and narrator Charlotte Blake Alston. Commissioned by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

92Y, New York City (2020)
With baritone Roderick Williams, pianist Julius Drake, and narrator Adam Gopnik.

Opera of San Francisco (2018)
With soprano Felicia Moore, bass-baritone Christian Pursell, pianist César Cañón, and narrator Albert Rubio. Stage director: Aria Umezawa

"In the 1860s, when Brahms used this tale as the basis for a set of 15 songs, German audiences may not have needed too much help following the plot. But when the San Francisco Opera Center presented the cycle under the title “Die schöne Magelone”, some spoken narration and charming animated projections were useful in providing the songs with a dramatic context."
Joshua Kosman, Classical Music Critic, newspaper San Francisco Chronicle

De Bazel in Arnhem, The Netherlands (2013)
With bariton Andre Morsch, pianist Jeroen Sapharti, and narrator Micha Wertheim.

International Chamber Music Festival, Delft, The Netherlands (2012)
Commissioned by Liza Ferschtman, with bariton Andre Morsch, pianist Joseph Breinl, and narrator Micha Wertheim.