Mannes Opera presents the U.S. Premiere of The Silent Serenade (Die Stumme Serenade), by composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold and librettist Victor Clement.

Written in the late 1940s after Korngold’s celebrated Hollywood tenure, and based on a short story by Austrian writer Raoul Auernheimer, The Silent Serenade is a romantic farce brimming with mistaken identities, amorous intrigue, and glittering melodies. The operetta-revue hybrid was intended for Broadway, at a time when works like Regina, The Consul, and Trouble in Tahiti found success on theatrical stages. But after a troubled production history—including an aborted Shubert Brothers run—the piece slipped into obscurity. Now, in a long-overdue U.S. premiere presented in English, Mannes Opera brings back this sophisticated confection, illuminating a facet of Korngold’s genius rarely seen by American audiences.

Composer, Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Librettist, Victor Clement
Conductor, Cris Frisco
Director, Emma Griffin
Set Design, Amy Rubin
Light Design, Masha Tsimring
Costume Design, Terese Wadden

Featuring Mannes Orchestra

Free with Registration while seats last.

This production will be available for online on-demand viewing following the live event at 4:00 PM ET on March 23. Please stay tuned for more details.

MANNES OPERA

Under the leadership of Managing Artistic Director Emma Griffin (since 2018), Mannes Opera has become a vital program in the training and study of opera for the next generation of performers and makers. In both workshops and full productions, Griffin, her team, and their students have collaborated with and produced work by composers such as Mark Adamo, Ricky Ian Gordon, David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Rachel Peters, Huang Ruo, Kamala Sankram, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Kate Soper and Greg Spears. Establishing the school as a new work incubator, Mannes Opera has partnered with industry leaders in the support of contemporary opera, bringing companies such as Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, Opera Saratoga and others into collaborative projects with students and guest artists. This close engagement and collaboration with industry leaders is crucial to preparing students to thrive as impactful and empowered professionals.

Balancing the focus on contemporary work is a robust program of classical works in innovative productions — operas by composers such as Mozart, Puccini, Gluck, and Handel. By engaging with the rich tradition of classical repertoire, and by drawing on the best opera and theater makers that NYC has to offer, Mannes Opera trains students to be professional artists with a curiosity for the new, an understanding of the past, and a devotion to the multi-dimensional craft of opera.

Students at Mannes flourish in a one-of-a-kind creative community, with opportunities to collaborate across performance, design, technology, and entrepreneurship. In this vibrant and supportive environment, emerging artists are uniquely prepared to thrive as versatile, impactful and empowered creative professionals.

Presented by the College of Performing Arts at The New School.