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| Lortzing together with his pal Philipp Reger, 1844. Daguerreotypie. |
The yr 2026 marks a double anniversary for the composer Albert Lortzing. The creator Spieloper, German comedian opera, was born in Berlin 225 years in the past and died there 175 years in the past, though he spent a lot of his life travelling. Finest identified for Zar und Zimmermann (1837), Der Wildschütz (1842) and Undine (1845). But when you examine Operabase, there are not any performances of his works deliberate for the UK.
Fifteen years youthful than Weber, Lortzing developed the Spieloper out of the Singspiel custom, with spoken dialogue within the lineage of Dittersdorf and Mozart and have become
the German counterpart to French opéra comique. As lately because the
Eighties, Lortzing remained one of the crucial regularly carried out composers
on German opera phases. Lortzing comes at a dividing level within the German operatic stage: in a single route Weber then Mozart, within the different both Wagner (who would base a comic book opera on the identical topic as Lortzing’s Hans Sachs) or Johann Strauss II.
Like Weber, Lortzing was introduced up in a theatrical household. He made his first stage look aged 12, and would develop into an viewers favorite. He and his spouse (additionally an actress) can be members of the Hoftheater in Detmold after which Leipziger Stadttheater. It was right here that he wrote Zar und Zimmerman (Tsar and Carpenter) primarily based on a narrative about Peter the Nice (in disguise in fact). It had bother with the Leipzig censors. Lortzing sang the carpenter function however the opera didn’t make an influence until it was carried out in Berlin in 1839.Â
He was kapellmeister in Leipzig after which on the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, and eventually in Berlin on the newly opened Friedrich-Wilhelmstädtisches Theater. However there have been gaps when he needed to return to being a touring actor, and also you get the impression he was not the best of individuals! But luminaries from the musical world, together with Meyerbeer, attended his funeral in 1851.
Der Wildschütz oder Die Stimme der Natur (The Poacher, or The Voice of Nature) was one other comedian opera premiered in Leipzig (in 1842) and that is the opposite work that went on to present him foreign money within the operatic world. It’s a comedy tailored from a play by August von Kotzebue. Undine, premiered in Magdeburg in 1845, is a extra critical piece, described as a romantische Zauberoper (‘romantic magic opera’). Based mostly on Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué’s novella, different composers would discover the topic together with Tchaikovsky, ETA Hoffmann (in 1816) and Henze (in his ballet for Frederick Ashton). Lortzing drew on Fouqué’s authentic story, including the comedian characters Veit and Hans and concluding the story with an ambivalent pleased ending. Romantic orchestral writing is mixed with folk-inspired songs, dramatic scenes, masterful ensembles and efficient ballet music.
There was a surprisingly political facet to him too. On the behest of the Freedom Motion he wrote his opera Regina in 1848. It’s named for his spouse and he wrote the libretto. Written in Berlin in 1848, the yr of revolutions within the German states, the plot considerations a manufacturing unit with employees who strike and chant freedom songs! Not surprisingly, it didn’t premiere until 1899 (in closely edited type) and the unique didn’t see the sunshine of day till 1998 in Gelsenkirchen directed by Peter Konwitschny. There may be now a vital version of the opera from Ricordi, and 2011 recording on CPO carried out by Ulf Schirmer (which acquired a fairly temperate evaluation on Musicweb Worldwide – ‘Not the unknown masterpiece we all the time hope for however nice sufficient‘). Goodness is aware of whether or not we’d get to see it within the theatre!
To mark the double anniversary the excellent news is the Deutsche Grammophon is making 4 historic opera highlights recordings of main works by the composer – Der Wildschütz, Der Waffenschmied and Undine – accessible digitally for the primary time, or for the primary time in full type. That includes artists comparable to Rita Streich, Irmgard Seefried, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gundula Janowitz and Josef Greindl, these releases doc a major period of German-language operatic efficiency. The recordings have been conceived and produced particularly as opera highlights recordings for LP launch – a publication format that was widespread on the time and introduced collectively key scenes and musical highlights from a piece.
Undine has simply been launched, see the Deutsche Grammophon web site, and Der Waffenschmidt got here out final month [link] with Der Wildschütz to come back [link]
