The poacher

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Work data
Original title: The poacher
Original language: German
Music: Albert Lortzing
Libretto : Albert Lortzing
Premiere: December 31, 1842
Place of premiere: Leipzig
Playing time: approx. 2 hours and 20 minutes
Place and time of the action: Count's village and castle in southern Germany around 1803
people
  • Count von Eberbach, ( baritone )
  • The countess, his wife, ( old )
  • Baron Kronthal, brother of the countess, ( tenor )
  • Baroness Freimann, widow, sister of the count, ( soprano )
  • Baculus, schoolmaster, ( bass )
  • Gretchen, his bride, ( soprano )
  • Pancratius, steward, ( baritone )
  • Nanette, maid, ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Servants and hunters of the count, villagers and school children ( choir and two-part children's choir)

The Wildschütz or the Voice of Nature is a comic opera in three acts by Albert Lortzing . The composer wrote the libretto himself based on the comedy Der Rehbock or Die schuldlos Schuldconscious by August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue .

The premiere of the opera took place on 31 December 1842 in the Municipal Theater of Leipzig instead. The performance of the opera is around 140 minutes.

Background information on the work

Like Hector Berlioz or Richard Wagner, Lortzing is one of the literary composers who wrote practically all of their texts themselves. Usually, as was the case with Zar and Zimmermann , Der Waffenschmied or Die Zwei Schützen , he used already successful models, which he was able to assess well because of his work as a singer and actor. He reworked these templates according to his intentions and purposes. In his opera Der Wildschütz he captured the comedy The Roebuck or The Guiltless Conscious of Guilt, which has been successful on the stages since 1815 . In addition, he added the Greek antique fashion with the figure of the countess, which had recently broken out by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Antigone, into the piece, just as he allows a regular parlor game to flow into the plot in the famous billiards scene.

Like all of Lortzing's works, Der Wildschütz is based on disguise, confusion, disguise, role play, that is to say on basic elements of theater itself. With this work he succeeds in creating a musical comedy with a few social swipes at the still ruling nobles and the Biedermeier period. The music always sounds relaxed and cheerful throughout the opera, despite the hidden social criticism.

At the end of the overture, a shot can be heard in the background, which immediately indicates what is to come.

action

first act

The schoolmaster Baculus celebrates his engagement to Gretchen in front of the village inn. The count's hunters burst into this celebration and deliver a letter to the schoolmaster informing him that he has been dismissed from his post because he has killed a roebuck in the count's forest for this festival without his consent. He thinks of having his Gretchen audition for him at the Count's. However, he quickly dismisses this idea because he knows the count's weaknesses for young girls. Baroness von Freimann, the count's sister, appears disguised as a student. The baroness, who recently became a widow, has disguised herself so that she can travel undetected through the country. Her brother wants to marry her off to Baron Kronthal, but she wants to examine him first. When the baroness heard of the schoolmaster's misfortune, she offered to intercede with the count, disguised as Gretchen. Then the count appears with his hunting party and the baron disguised as a stable boy at the party. The count and the baron are immediately enchanted by Gretchen, but even more so by the disguised baroness (Aria: I'm a simple child from the country) . The count invites the whole company to his birthday party on the coming day at his castle.

Second act

The Countess has a weakness for ancient tragedies, especially Sophocles, and bores her servants with her lectures on these ancient subjects. Steward Pancratius advises Baculus to take advantage of the countess's weakness. Baculus impressed the countess with quotations from ancient times. The count intervenes and wishes not to see Baculus again. The termination also remains. Baculus therefore calls the baroness to help, who appears as Gretchen in disguise. This helps; the baron woos the beautiful farmer's child, the count has meanwhile also kept an eye on the supposed Gretchen. Because of an upcoming storm, he convinces Baculus and Gretchen to spend the night in the castle. During a game of billiards, the lights go out all of a sudden. The count and the baron see their chance to seduce Gretchen . However, with the help of the countess, she escapes into her bedchamber. The baron then negotiates a deal with Baculus. For five thousand thalers he gives his Gretchen to the baron. An overwhelmingly high sum for the schoolmaster (aria: five thousand thalers) .

Third act

Heinrich Rehkemper sings the aria of Count von Eberbach from "Wildschütz" by Albert Lortzing

The Count celebrates his birthday in a good mood (cheerfulness and happiness) . Baculus has now brought the right Gretchen to the castle. Gretchen doesn't like the prospect of becoming a baroness at all badly. All the less so for the baron. He had been looking forward to yesterday's Gretchen . Baculus reveals to him that the other Gretchen from the previous day was actually a student in disguise. When the baron demands clarification from the schoolmaster, the baroness reveals herself. When the baroness is alone again, she is harassed by the count. At this moment the countess and the baron appear. In the following interrogation, the entire disguise and family relationships are cleared up. The baron and the baroness say yes. Baculus keeps his Gretchen and is put back into the school service because it turned out that he shot his own donkey instead of a roebuck in the dark of the night.

literature

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