which Neher's libretto was based, is the "Bava Metzia" section of the Talmud. Interpreted accordingly, the social parable of Die Bürgschaft is the covenant of rabbinical teaching: the bonds between men, between men and their community, and between forces within the community of men such as the law, the state, and the government. Performance history After its 1932 Berlin premiere (directed by Carl Ebert), Die Bürgschaft was produced in two additional German cities in 1932, Wiesbaden and Düsseldorf (12 April 1932; directed by Walter Bruno Iltz, conductor: Jascha Horenstein), before political events led to its removal from the German stage. After two radio revivals of heavily edited, if not mutilated, versions of the opera in 1957 and 1980, respectively, the original version was performed with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam choir and conducted by Jean-Marie ten Velden in February 1987 in the Paradiso concert hall, Amsterdam; and by the Bielefeld Opera conducted by Rainer Koch and Geoffrey Moull in 1998. One German critic noted of the Bielefeld production that "all the intendants of Germany's top-ranking opera houses should be required to attend a performance." Soon after, the original version received its American premiere, and first recording, at the 1999 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, under Julius Rudel. Music critic for The Wall Street Journal, Heidi Waleson, wrote of the opera, in a review the Spoleto Festival production, that Die Bürgschaft is "a stunning work that knits together Weill's intense social and political concerns with compositional skill and invention of the highest order." Roles Recordings First complete recording: Julius Rudel, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, with Ann Panagulias (soprano), Margaret Thompson (mezzo-soprano), Katherine Ciesinski (alto), Joel Sorensen (tenor), Frederick Burchinal (baritone), Dale Travis (bass), The Westminster Choir References Notes Sources 1932 operas Operas by Kurt Weill German-language operas Zeitoper Operas Johann Gottfried Herder