Die Bakchantinnen, Op. 44, is a 1931 German-language opera by Egon Wellesz to a libretto by the composer after Euripides' play The Bacchae.Michael Haas, Forbidden Music: The Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis 2013: "Die Bakchantinnen, 1929–30, would be the culmination of this experimentation with dance, movement, chant and pageantry."Julia Meszaros, Johannes Zachhuber, Sacrifice and Modern Thought 2013, p. 242: "More ambiguous is Egon Wellesz's opera Die Bakchantinnen (1931), for which he wrote the libretto. Wellesz outdoes Euripides by directly representing the death of Pentheus, and the massed, torch-bearing Maenads who advance on him may represent the gathering forces of National Socialism."
Wellesz explicitly saw the figure of Dionysos, who gathers the people behind him with "illusion" and drives them to madness, as a parallel to the political seducers of his time. His opera was a clear warning against the delusion and seduction by Hitler and his followers.
Subject Euripides' drama of the punishment of Pentheus by the followers of Dionysos, the maenads, has been put into music several times during the 20th century – by composers from Poland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, the UK and the USA: Karol Szymanowski's wrote his cantata Agawe in 1917, Giorgio Federico Ghedini his opera in 1947. Most probably most often performed in this category was the opera Die Bassariden, composed by Hans Werner Henze, first performed at the Salzburg Festival in 1966. Finally, also John Buller (1992) and Daniel Börtz (1999) realized operas based on the Euripides plot.
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 20 June 1931Conductor: Clemens KraussDionysosbaritone Alfred JergerTeiresiasbassJosef von ManowardaKadmos, king of ThebesbassFranz MarkhoffKönigin Agave, daughter of KadmossopranoRose PaulyIno, daughter of KadmossopranoEva HadrabovaPanthea, daughter of KadmossopranoDora WithPentheus, son of Agavetenor Josef KalenbergDiener des PentheusbaritoneViktor Madin
The production was directed by Lothar Wallerstein, with sets and costumes by Alfred Roller. Including the premiere, there were four performances at the Vienna State Opera. The last one was on 17 June 1932.Die Bakchantinnen, Vienna State Opera archive. Retrieved 16 March 2026
Performance history In 1985, a concert version was produced at the Konzerthaus, Vienna, with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Slovak Philharmonic Chorus, conducted by Peter Gülke. The singers were Heinz Jürgen Demitz (Dionysos), Brenda Roberts (Königin Agave), László Polgár (Teiresias), Rudolf Mazzola (Kadmos), Magdalena Schuchter (Ino), Gabriele Sima (Panthea), Wolfgang Müller-Lorenz (Pentheus) and Rudolf Katzböck (Diener des Pentheus).Wellesz Theatre: Egon Wellesz: Die Bakchantinnen (1928/1929) Atto I°, retrieved on 15 March 2026
In 2003, a concert version was produced by the Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Slovak Philharmonic Chorus, conducted by Marc Albrecht. The singers were Roman Trekel (Dionysos), Georg Zeppenfeld (Teiresias), László Polgár (Kadmos), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Königin Agave), Alexandra Reinprecht (Ino), Márta Rozsa (Panthea) and Raymond Very (Pentheus).Salzburg Festival (archive): "Die Bakchantinnen", retrieved 15 March 2026
In 2005, another concert version was produced at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and the Groot Omroepkoor, conducted by Edo de Waart. The singers were Elizabeth Byrne, Claudia Barainsky, Abbie Furmansky, Martin Gantner, Henk Neven, Henk van Heijnsbergen, Gerd Grochowski and Burkhard Fritz. Live transmission: Radio 4 (AVRO / NPS / TROS)"Egon Wellesz – Composer, Musicologist, Byzantinist (Archive): 2005", egonwellesz.at, retrieved 15 March 2026
Recording Thomas Mohr (Dionysos), Michael Burt (Teiresias), Harald Stamm (Kadmos), Roberta Alexander (Königin Agave), Claudia Barainsky (Ino), Michelle Breedt (Panthea), Hans Aschenbach (Pentheus), Jörg Gottschick (Diener des Pentheus); Rundfunkchor Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, conducted by Gerd Albrecht, January 2001. Orfeo – Musica Rediviva (C136002H)"Die Bakchantinnen", Orfeo 2001, recording details
References
External links "Work details", Boosey & Hawkes