Behle:Hermann:Soltesz - Zemlinsky: The Chalk Circle

Der Kreidekreis was composed in 1931/32, and was the then 61-year old Zemlinsky's seventh and last completed opera.The story is a blend of fairy-tale Utopia, social criticism and inwardness, all of which make themselves felt in Zemlinsky's music which seeks to combine varied stylistic components.