‘A man and wife return home after visiting friends one evening. The man is fascinated by a woman his wife knew in her youth and he is suddenly aware of the great difference between the elegant creature he talked to that evening and the decent housewife to whom he is married. His wife hides her annoyance by changing the subject and accuses him of allowing himself to be blinded by anyone who acts a little fashionable.’That is how Arnold Schönberg presented the storyline of his ‘opéra bouffe’ Von Heute auf Morgen (From one day to the next). It is not the first time that Straub and Huillet have allowed themselves to be inspired by this composer: Moses und Aaron (1975) and Einleitung zu Arnold Schönbergs Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene (1972) also illustrate their great affinity with the work of the inventor of twelve-tone music. The theme of this lesser-known work by Schönberg is very surprising. Certainly in comparison with other libretti that Schönberg wrote himself, this chamber opera about expressions of fashion in Schönberg’s own time is evidence of an extremely light-hearted theme. Straub and Huillet were typically stern in their work and they convincingly mastered the space in front of the camera and the sounds of the orchestra of seventy musicians.
