About the work
Der singende Teufel is an opera in four acts by Franz Schreker to his own libretto, written in 1924; the music followed in 1927/28. Erich Kleiber conducted the premiere on 10 December 1928 at the Berlin Staatsoper.
Plot
In an early-medieval struggle between advancing Christianity and rebellious pagans, the young organ builder Amandus is to complete a giant organ begun by his father, who went mad over the task. Now a monk, Amandus finishes the instrument, hoping its sound will bring peace, but the militant Father Kaleidos exploits its apparent success to have the disarmed pagans slaughtered. Broken, Amandus withdraws until his former love Lilian ends his suffering by setting fire to the monastery.
Cultural significance
Alongside Die Gezeichneten, the work counts among Schreker's most expansive compositions, but it was a commercial failure: the premiere, disrupted by SA supporters, marked the beginning of his decline in the late Weimar Republic. It remains one of Schreker's least frequently staged operas.