About the work
Chamber opera in one act by Arnold Schoenberg, premiered on 1 February 1930 at Oper Frankfurt under William Steinberg. The libretto was written by his wife Gertrud Schoenberg under the pseudonym Max Blonda. It is the first opera composed entirely in twelve-tone technique.
Plot
A married couple comes home late from a party, each fascinated by someone they met there. Out of jealousy and boredom they stage a game of changing roles: the wife transforms herself into a glamorous seductress, the husband flirts with the idea of variety. When the friend and the singer call the next morning, the couple consciously chooses their marriage, realizing that love, unlike fashion, does not change from one day to the next.
Cultural significance
The premiere caused a genuine theatre scandal, and the work disappeared from stages during the Nazi era. Conceived as a light, ironic counterpart to Schoenberg's earlier expressionist works, it is regarded as a contribution to Neue Sachlichkeit alongside Krenek's "Jonny spielt auf" and Weill's "Die Dreigroschenoper".