ROTE TAGE, WEISSE NÄCHTE, DOSTOJEWSKIJ UND DIE RUSSISCHE REVOLUTION VON 1905 IN ERIC-PAUL STEKELS OPER WEISSE NÄCHTE

Abstract

Eric-Paul Stekel’s opera Weisse Nächte (1929–1932), loosely based on Dostoevsky’s White Nights (1848), has thus far been overlooked in the context of the reception of the author’s work in the German-speaking world. Despite its limited impact and success, it stands out as a rare document of left-wing ideology in the conservative landscape of musical theatre in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In relocating the story to the first Russian Revolution of 1905, Stekel, along with libretto-authors Wilhelm Stekel and Fritz Oesterreicher, radically politicises the previously innocent novella and transforms it into a glorification of the ideals of the Russian Revolution. This transformation establishes a link between the state-governed appropriation of Dostoevsky within the Soviet Union and the widespread reception of his work in German-speaking countries. This article aims to offer an overview of the reception of Dostoevsky’s work in the German-speaking world in order to contextualise and position Stekel’s opera within the broader landscape of Dostoevsky’s influence during the 1920s German-speaking reception.