Opera Books
THE OPERA
EDITED BY
ALBERT HILLERY BERGH
VOLUME I.
1909
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Marschner.
Heinrich August
Marschner was born August 16, 1795, at Zittan (Saxony), and died
December 14, 1861, at Hanover. lie attended the college at Zittau,
and went (1813) to the Leipzig University in order to study law; but
he soon gave himself up entirely to music, and had the advantage of
Schicht as teacher. In 1816 he accompanied Count Thaddäus von Amadée to
Vienna, where he made Beethoven’s acquaintance, and, in 1817, received
the post of music-teacher at Pressburg. He wrote there the operas Der
Kyffhäuserberg, Saidor, and Heinrich IV. und Aubigné. The
latter opera was produced at Dresden in 1820 by Weber.
In 1822 Marschner went to Dresden, where Weber received him in a
friendly manner, and in 1824 procured him the post of musical director
at the Opera. When Weber died in 1826, and Marschner saw no prospect of
taking his place, he left Dresden and went to Leipzig as capellmeister
of the theatre. There he wrote the operas, Der Vampir (1828) and
Der Templer und die Jüdin. (1829), which speedily made his name
known, and which were produced at all the great theatres of Germany. In
1831 he received the post of court capellmeister at Hanover, and labored
there for twenty-eight years, a favorite with the musicians, the actors
and also
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the public. In 1859 he received a pension with the title “Generalmusikdirector.”
Marschner married three times: Eugenic Jäggi (1819, at Pressburg),
who died early; Marianne Wohlbrück (1826, at Dresden), who was engaged
as vocalist at Hamburg; and, finally the vocalist Therese Janda (really
Jander; 1854, at Hanover), who survived him.
The titles of his numerous operas include: Der Holzdieb
(1825, Dresden), Lucretia (1826, Danzig), Des Falkner’s Braut
(1832, Leipzig), Das Schloss am Aetna (1838, Berlin), Der
Bäbu (1837, Hanover), Adolf von Nassau (1843, Hanover),
Austin (1851, Hanover). lie wrote, besides, music to Kleist’s
Prinz Fri ed rich von Homburg, to Kind’s Schön Ella, to Hall’s Ali
Baba, etc. His last work was the opera Hjarne, produced at Frankfort in
1863.
Marschner, though not a pupil of Weber, was strongly influenced by
his music, and carried on the traditions of the romantic school worthily
and well. He was a man of vivid imagination, and revelled in uncanny
legends of the supernatural. His works are performed with tolerable
frequency in Germany, and still please by reason of their inexhaustible
flow of melody and their brilliant and elaborate orchestration. Hans
Heiling, his masterpiece, is founded upon a sombre old legend of the
Erzgebirge. There is much in this strange story which suggests the
legend of the Flying Dutch-man, and, bearing in mind the admiration
which in his early days Wagner, felt for the works of Marschner it is
interesting to trace in Hans Heiling the source of much that is
familiar to us in the score of Der Fliegende Holländer.
Templer and Judin, founded upon Sir
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Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe,” is a fine work, suffering from a confused and
disconnected libretto. Der Vampine, is a tale of unmitigated
gloom and horror.
Opera in three acts
and a prologue by Heinrich Marschner. Libretto by Eduard Devrient.
Characters: The Queen of the spirits of the earth; Hans Heiling;
Anna, his bride; Gertrud, her mother; Konrad, huntsman to the burgrave;
Stephan and Nikolaus, peasants.
Place, the Hartz Mountains. Time, Sixteenth century. First produced
at Hanover in 1833.
The text to this opera, which was written by the actor, Devrient,
and sent to Marschner anonymously, so struck the composer by its beauty
that he adapted music to it, music which ought to be heard much oftener
on our stages, on account of its freshness and of its healthy dramatic
action, which never flags, but continues to interest and move the hearer
with ever-increasing effect till the end is reached.
According to the legend, Hans Heiling, King of the gnomes, has
fallen in love with a daughter of the earth, the charming Anna. This
maiden, a poor country-girl in the first freshness of youth, has been
induced by her mother to consent to a betrothal with the rich stranger,
whom she esteems, but does not love.
In the prelude we are introduced into the depths of earth, where
the gnomes work and toil incessantly carrying glittering stones, gold
and silver, and accumulating
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all the treasures on which men’s hearts are set. Their King announces to
them that he will no longer dwell among them, and, therefore, resigns
his crown. All the passionate entreatings of his mother and of the
gnomes are of no avail. At the Queen’s bidding he takes with him a magic
book, without which he would lose his power over the gnomes, and after
giving to her beloved son a set of luminous diamonds, mother and son
part, Heiling with joy in his heart, the mother in tears and sorrow.
In the first act Heiling arises from the earth, for ever closing
for him the entrance to the gnomes. Anna greets him joyously and Gertrud,
her mother, heartily seconds the welcome. Heiling gives to his bride a
golden chain, and Anna, adorning herself, thinks with pleasure how much
she will be looked at and envied by her companions. She begsHleiling to
visit a public festival with her, but Heiling, by nature serious and
almost taciturn, refuses her request. Anna pouts, but she soon forgets
her grief when she sees the curious signs of erudition in her lover’s
room. Looking over the magic book, the leaves begin to turn by
themselves, quicker and quicker, the strange signs seem to grow, to
threaten her, until stricken with fear Anna cries out, and Heiling,
turning to her, sees too late what she has done. Angry at her curiosity,
he pushes her away, but she clings to him with fervent entreaties to
destroy the dreadful book. His love conquers his reason; and he throws
the last link which connects him with his past into the fire. A deep
thunder-peal is heard. Anna thanks him heartily, but from this hour the
seed of fear and distrust grows in her heart.
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Heiling, seeing her still uneasy, agrees to visit the festival with
her upon condition that she refrains from dancing. She gladly promises,
but as soon as they come to the festival, Anna is surrounded by the
village lads, who entreat her to dance. They dislike the stranger, who
has won the fairest maiden of the village, and Conrad, the hunter, who
has long loved Anna, is particularly hard on his rival. He mocks him,
feeling that Heiling is not what he seems, and tries to lure Anna away
from his side. At last Heiling grows angry, forbidding Anna to dance.
She is wounded by his words, and telling him abruptly that she is not
married yet, and that she never will be his slave, she leaves him. In
despair Heiling sees her go away with Conrad, dancing and frolicking.
In the second act we find Anna in the forest. She is in a deep
reverie. Her heart has spoken, but alas, not for her bridegroom, whom
she now fears. It only beats for Conrad, who has confessed his love to
her. Dark. ness comes on and the gnomes appear with their Queen, who
reveals to the frightened girl the origin of her bridegroom and entreats
her to give back the son to his poor bereft mother. When the gnomes have
disappeared, Conrad overtakes Anna, and she tells him all, asking his
help against her mysterious bridegroom. Conrad, seeing that she returns
his love, is happy. He has just obtained a good situation and will now
be able to wed her.
He accompanies her home, where Gertrud welcomes them joyously,
having feared that Anna had met with an accident in the forest. While
the lovers are together, Heiling enters, bringing the bridal jewels.
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shrinks from her bridegroom. When he asks for an explanation, she tells
him that she knows of his origin. Then all his hopes die within him, but
determined that his rival shall not be happy at his cost, he hurls his
dagger at Conrad and takes flight.
In the last act Heiling is alone in a ravine in the mountains. He
has sacrificed everything and gained nothing. Sadly he decides to return
to the gnomes. They appear at his bidding, but they make him feel that
he no longer has any power over them, and by way of adding still further
to his sorrows they tell him that his rival lives and is about to wed
Anna. Then indeed all seems lost to the poor dethroned King, but the
gnomes, seeing that he really has abandoned all earthly hopes, swear
fealty to him once more and return with him to their Queen, by whom he
is received with open arms.
Meanwhile Conrad, who only received a slight wound from Heiling’s
dagger and has speedily recovered, is about to marry Anna. But when Anna
looks about her, Heiling is at her side, come to take revenge. Conrad
endeavors to aid her, but his sword breaks before it touches Heiling,
who invokes the help of his gnomes., They appear, but at the same moment
the Queen is seen, exhorting her son to pardon and to forget. He
willingly follows her away into his kingdom of night and darkness, never
to see earth’s surface again.
Opera in three acts by
Marschner. Libretto adapted by Wohlbriick from Walter Scott’s romance,
Ivanhoe.
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Characters: Cedric, a Saxon knight; Wilfrid of Ivanhoe his son;
Rowena, his ward; Beaumanoir, grand master of the Templars; Brian do
Bois Guilbert, templar; Maurice do Bracy; Albert Malvoisin; the Black
Knight; Locksley, chief of the outlaws; Wamba, Cedric’s servant; Oswald,
Cedric’s steward; Robert, shield bearer of Bois Guilbert; Elgitha,
Rowena’s maid; Friar Tuck, hermit; Isaac of York, a Jew; Rebecca, his
daughter.
Place, county of York, England. Time, 1194. First produced at
Leipzig in 1829.
In the opening scene of the opera we are introduced to the
Knight-Templar, Brian do Bois Guilbert, who has fallen in love with the
beautiful Jewess, Rebecca, and has succeeded in capturing and detaining
her in his castle. At the same time, Sir Cedric of Rotherwood, a Saxon
knight (father of Ivanhoe, whom he has disinherited), has been taken
captive with his ward, the Lady Rowena, by their enemies, the Normans.
Rebecca refuses to hear the Templar’s protestations of love, and
threatens to precipitate herself from the parapet, if he dares to touch
her. When the opportunity offers itself, Ivanhoe, the wounded knight to
whom Rebecca is assigned as nurse, tells her that friends have come to
deliver them all.
The outlaws, commanded by Richard Cœur de Lion, under the guise of
the Black Knight, assault the castle, burn it and deliver the captives.
Poor Rebecca alone falls into the hands of the Templar, who does not
cease to press his suit. Brian’s deed soon becomes known, and his
brother-Templars, believing Brian to be innocent, but led astray by a
sorceress, condemn Rebecca to
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the stake. She makes use of her right to ask for a champion, and is
allowed till sunset to find one. Brian himself tries all he can to save
her, but she rejects his aid, for she loves Ivanhoe, though she is well
aware that this noble knight loves his beautiful cousin, Rowena.
The sun is about to set, the funeral pile awaits its victim, and no
champion appears. The trumpets sound for the last time, when Ivanhoe
presents himself in the lists to fight Brian, whom the Templars have
appointed as his adversary. Ivanhoe is victorious; Brian falls lifcless,
even before the enemy’s sword touches him. All recognize the judgment of
God and Rebecca is given ;. back to her desolate father. At the last
moment King Richard, who has long been absent on a crusade to Jerusalem,
appears on the scene. He announces that henceforth he alone will govern
the land and punish all injustice. Ivanhoe and Rowena are united by
consent of Sir Cedric, who is now wholly reconciled to his valorous son.
Opera in four acts by
Marschner. Libretto by Wohlbrück.
Characters: Sir Humphry; Malvina, his daughter; Edgar Aubrey, a
relative; Lord Ruthven; Sir Berkley; Tanthe, his daughter; George Dibdin,
in the service of Jlumphry; John Perth, bailiff of the earl of Marsden;
Emmy, his daughter; Gadshill,. Blunt, Scrope and Green, countrymen;
Suse, wife of Blunt.
Place, Scotland. Time, Seventeenth Century. First produced at
Leipzig in 1828.
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The libretto was adapted from Lord Byron’s tale of the same name,
and was written by Marschner’s own brother-in-law. The scene is laid in
Scotland in the seventeenth century, and illustrates the old Scottish
legend of the Vampire, a phantom-monster which can only exist by sucking
the heart-blood of sleeping mortals.
Lord Ruthven is such a Vampire. He victimizes young maidens in
particular. His soul is sold to Satan, but the demons have granted him a
respite of a year, on condition of his bringing them three brides. His
first victim is Lanthe, daughter of Sir John Berkley. She loves the
monster and together they disappear into a cavern. Her father assembles
followers and goes in search of her. They hear dreadful wailings,
followed by mocking laughter proceeding from the ill-fated Vampire, and
entering they find Lanthe lifeless. The despairing father stabs Ruthven,
who, wounded to death, knows that he cannot survive but by drawing life
from the rays of the moon, which shines on the mountains. Unable to move,
he is saved by Edgar Aubey, a relative to the Laird of Davenant, who
accidentally comes to the spot. Lord Ruthven, after having received a
promise of secrecy from Aubrey, tells him who he is, and implores him
to carry him to the hills as the last favor to a dying man.
Aubrey complies with the Vampire’s request, and then hastily flies
from the spot. Ruthven revives, and follows him in order to win the love
of Malvina, daughter of the Laird of Davenant and Aubrey’s betrothed.
His respite now waxing short, he tries at the same time to gain the
affections of Emmy, the daughter of the bailiff, John Perth.
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Malvina meanwhile greets her lover, Aubrey, who has returned after
a long absence. Both are full of joy, when Malvina’s father enters to
announce to his daughter that he has chosen the Earl of Marsden as her
future husband. Great is Malvina’s disappointment, and she now for the
first time dares to tell her father that her heart has been given to
Aubrey. The Laird’s pride, however, prevents him from retracting his
word, and when the Earl of Marsden arrives, he presents him to his
daughter. In the supposed Earl, Aubrey at once recognizes Lord Ruthven,
but the villain stoutly denies his identity, maintaining that Lord
Ruthven is his brother, who has been traveling for a long time. Aubrey,
however, recognizes the Vampire by a scar on his hand, but he is bound
to secrecy by his oath, and so Ruthven triumphs, having the Laird of
Davenant’s promise that he will be betrothed before midnight to Malvina,
as he declares that he is bound to depart for Madrid the following
morning as Ambassador.
In the second act all are drinking and frolicking on the green,
where the wedding is to take place. Emmy awaits her lover, George Dibdin,
who is in Davenant’s service. While she sings the ghastly romance of the
Vampire, Lord Ruthven approaches, and by his sweet flattery and promise
to help the lovers, he easily causes the simple maiden to grant him a
kiss in token of her gratitude. In giving this kiss she is forfeited to
the Evil One., George, who has seen all, is very jealous, though Emmy
tells him that the future son-in-law of the Laird of Davenant will make
him his steward.
Meanwhile Aubrey vainly tries to make Ruthven renounce
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Malvina. Rutliven threatens that Aubrey himself will be condemned to be
a Vampire, if he breaks his oath, and depicts in glowing colors the
torments of a spirit so cursed. While Aubrey hesitates as to what he
shall do, Ruthven once pore approaches Emmy, and succeeds in winning her
consent to follow him to his den, where he murders her.
In the last scene Malvina, unable any longer to resist her father’s
will, has consented to the hateful marriage. Ruthven comes very late to
his wedding. Aubrey implores them to wait for the coming day, but in
vain. Then he forgets his own danger, and only sees that of Malvina, and
when Ruthven is leading the bride to the altar, he loudly proclaims
Ruthven to be a Vampire. At this moment a thunder-peal is heard, and a
flash of lightning destroys Ruthven, whose time of respite has ended at
midnight. The old Laird, witnessing Heaven’s punishment, repents his
error and gladly gives Malvina to her lover.
Last updated January 17, 2007