Schwergewicht

Schwergewicht
Burleske Operette by Ernst Krenek
Motif: Ochsenschwanz locks up his wife
Translation	Heavyweight
Other title	Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation
Librettist	Krenek
Language	German
Premiere	6 May 1928 (1928-05-06) Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Schwergewicht, oder Die Ehre der Nation (Heavyweight or The Glory of The Nation) is a burleske Operette with text and music by Ernst Krenek, his Op. 55 and (with Der Diktator and Das geheime Königreich) the third of his 1928 one-acters. This satirical skit (as the composer was to call it in Horizons Circled) was provoked by the German ambassador's comment that sports heroes – and not artists – were the true ambassadors of nations, and the title character Ochsenschwanz ("oxtail") is a reference to the boxer Max Schmeling.

Like Jonny spielt auf, it makes frequent allusions to jazz, both in its use of percussion and banjo and in its "Tempo di Blues". There is even a nod to Mendelssohn's Wedding March (see example).