Irrelohe is an opera in three acts by the Austrian composer Franz Schreker, libretto by the composer. Composition history Schreker wrote the libretto in a very short time (just a few days) in 1919. The work takes its name from a train station called Irrenlohe which Schreker passed through during a journey to Nuremberg in March 1919. Composition occupied Schreker from 1920 until 1922. The score was published in 1923 by Universal Edition Vienna. Performance history The opera was first performed on 27 March 1924 at the Stadttheater Köln, conducted by Otto Klemperer. Productions in a further seven cities followed (including Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Leipzig), but critical response was mixed and, together with changing audience tastes and the complexity of the score, the work failed to maintain its place in the repertoire. The first production in modern times was at the Bielefeld Opera in 1985, followed by a concert performance in Vienna in 1989. Further stagings have taken place at the Vienna Volksoper (2004), the Bonn Opera (2010), the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern (2015) and Opéra de Lyon (2022). Roles Instrumentation The orchestral score requires: 3 flutes (all doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling English horn), 3 clarinets (in A/B-flat, 3rd doubling clarinet in E-flat), bass clarinet in B-flat (doubling basset horn in F), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon; 6 horns in F, 4 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, bass tuba; 2 sets of timpani, 3 high kettle drums, percussion (9 players, including xylophone, glockenspiel and 3 anvils), 2 harps, harpsichord, celesta, guitar, mandolin; strings (16 violins I, 14 violins II, 12 violas, 10 violoncellos, 8 double basses). Additionally, an on-stage orchestra is required consisting of 2 piccolos, 2 clarinets, 6 horns, 3 trumpets, percussion, bells and organ. Synopsis The opera is set in the village and castle of Irrelohe, during the 18th century. Act 1 Lola, an ageing woman, lives with her son Peter. Peter asks about the dark and sinister castle of Irrelohe which stands on a distant hill, overlooking the village. Lola tells him the story of the curse surrounding the castle which for generations has led each of its inhabitants to rape a woman and soon afterwards die insane. Peter, suspicious, wants to know the identity of his father, but Lola keeps putting the moment off. He learns the truth from Christobald, Lola’s former fiancée who has now returned. Lola was raped by the then residing lord of Irrelohe during