Object #79

Arnold Schönberg
Moses und Aron
Short score, Akt 2, Scene 3
1932

Arnold Schönberg Center, Wien

The third scene of Act II forms the most extensive section of the opera. It is not until this point that the dramatic possibilities of the stage are used to full advantage, and action in itself gains insignificance. The theme of the entire scene – in antithesis to Moses’ idea of God – is heathen ritual worship. The people, led by Aron, have renounced God. The seventy elders sing a stirring hymn.
“The elements of this tremendous subject that I myself have placed in the foreground are: the idea of the inconceivable God, of the Chosen People, and of the leader of the people. My Aron rather more resembles your Moses, although I have not portrayed him in so many aspects or shown him in terms of his human limitations, as you have. My Moses more resembles Michelangelo’s – of course only in outward aspect. He is not human at all. But what is interesting is that we come fairly close to each other in the introduction, formal presentation, and even in the orientation of the scene with the golden calf.
For me too this signifies a sacrifice made by the masses, trying to break loose from a soulless belief.” (Schönberg to Walter Eidlitz, 1933)