Hindemith's Cardillac, Op. 39, is an opera in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story Das Fräulein von Scuderi by E. T. A. Hoffmann. The first performance was at the Staatsoper, Dresden, on 9 November 1926. It was promptly performed throughout Germany.

Hindemith revised both the score and the text, for the reason that, according to Ian Kemp, the musical idiom "seemed crude and undisciplined". This second version was first performed at the Zürich Stadttheater on 20 June 1952.  Hans-Ludwig Schilling has published a comparison of the two versions. After 1953, Hindemith sanctioned only the 1952 revised version for theatrical performances. However, after the composer's death in 1963, the original version became available again for production.

PAUL HINDEMITH

(1895–1963)

Cardillac

[version of 1926]

• Cardillac, the goldsmith – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
• Cardillac's daughter – Leonore Kirschstein
• The Officer – Donald Grobe
• The gold merchant – Karl Christian Kohn
• The cavalier – Eberhard Katz
• The lady – Elisabeth Söderström
• The Provost Marshall – Willi Nett 

Joseph Keilberth, conductor

Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester

Kolner Rundfunkchor

Mathis der Maler

(excerpts)

• Mathis – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
• Regina – Pilar Lorengar
• Albrecht von Brandenburg – Donald Grobe

Leopold Ludwig conductor

Berlin Radio Symphonie-Orchestra

Hindemith's Mathis der Maler (Matthias the Painter) is an opera to the composer's own libretto about Matthias Grünewald, an artist who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspired many creative figures in the early 20th century.

By the time Hindemith completed the opera in 1935, the rise of Nazism prevented him from securing a performance in Germany. The story, set during the German Peasants' War (1524–25), concerns Matthias's struggle for artistic freedom of expression in the repressive climate of his day, which mirrored Hindemith's own struggle as the Nazis attained power and repressed dissent. The opera's obvious political message did not escape the regime.

The opera was first performed at the Opernhaus Zürich on 28 May 1938, conducted by Robert Denzler.