Engel's music is powerful, deeply rooted in the fin de siècle and full of intoxicating chromatic sound.
— Roland H. Dippel, concerti
Grete Minde, the only opera by German-Jewish composer Eugen Engel, is now available exclusively from G. Schirmer/Wise Music as part of the Exilarte Edition catalog.
Completed in 1933, the opera remained unperformed for nearly 90 years before receiving its world premiere at Theater Magdeburg in 2022. Based on Theodor Fontane's novella, it tells the story of Margarethe Minde, a historical figure accused of setting fire to the town of Tangermünde after being denied her rightful inheritance. Although historians now largely believe she was innocent, the story's themes of exclusion, injustice, and social punishment continue to resonate today.
Engel's own story lends the opera particular historical significance. A Berlin-based textile merchant and self-taught composer, he entrusted the manuscript to his daughter when she fled to the United States in 1941. Engel was deported and murdered at Sobibór in 1943, and Grete Minde remained unheard until its rediscovery and eventual premiere at Theater Magdeburg.
“Schirmer/Wise has done an incredible job preparing this piano/vocal score, and now my grandfather’s music can finally be shared with the world,” said Janice Lowen Agee, Eugen Engel’s granddaughter.
“Because he was Jewish, his opera was never performed during his lifetime. I am grateful to Schirmer/Wise for its commitment to bringing his music the attention it deserves.”
A grand opera, Grete Minde is composed for large orchestra, SATB and children’s choruses, a stage band, and twelve principal solo roles. The score balances intimate character moments with large ensemble and crowd scenes. In Opernwelt, Susanne Westenfelder described the music as becoming “increasingly diverse and captivating,” creating “a sonic kaleidoscope” for the drama onstage. Udo Badelt in Der Tagesspiegel characterized the work as an example of “grounded late Romanticism,” while Manuel Brug in Die Welt praised the opera as “as original as it is unconventional.”
A live recording of the world premiere, performed by the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Anna Skryleva, was released by Orfeo/Naxos. The recording received the 2024 Opus Klassik Award for "World Premiere Recording of the Year" and was also nominated for "Best Opera Recording," following the production’s nomination at the 2022 International Opera Awards.
For more information, please contact Allen Pearcy Galeana.
About the Exilarte Edition
G. Schirmer/Wise Music’s Exilarte Edition exclusively publishes works by composers who were persecuted, forced into exile, or murdered by the Nazi regime. All original manuscripts of these works are archived in the Exilarte Center at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in Austria.
