First performance
The world premiere was presented at the Stadtische Buhnen in in Frankfurt am Main by the Frankfurt Opera on June 8, 1937, with Bertil Wetzelsberger conducting. The premiere was a big hit and spread to other opera houses.
The first performance outside Germany was at the Scala Milan on 10 October 1942.
After the second World War it developed into an international triumph.
Orff saw the potential of a colourful dance and song drama. Early performances
included a cosmological music-drama, an epic of world-theatre, as a country
manor Minnespiel, a Hessian-Bavarian peasant play and an allegorical
medieval mystery play. Now, a traditional staging has been established.
Generally, the work is performed in the concert hall and the 'total theatre' used in the first performance (music words and movement) may not have been duplicated entirely, however there have been many staged performances worldwide. Refer to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians to see the staging used in the original performance (as well as on Mehta's Teldec CD).
First performance
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