Poor Heinrich (opera)

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Work data
Title: Poor Heinrich
Original language: German
Music: Hans Pfitzner
Libretto : James Grun
Premiere: April 2, 1895
Place of premiere: Mainz , city ​​theater
Playing time: about two and a quarter hours
Place and time of the action: Castle in Swabia , monastery in Salerno, around 1100
people
  • Heinrich, a German knight ( tenor )
  • Dietrich, one of his men ( baritone )
  • Hilde, Dietrich's wife ( soprano )
  • Agnes, daughter of Dietrich and Hilde ( soprano )
  • Doctor and monk ( bass )

Poor Heinrich is an opera in three acts by Hans Pfitzner . His first work was written between 1890 and 1894. The libretto by James Grun is based on a Middle High German verse by Hartmann von Aue .

action

first act

Only Dietrich with his wife Hilde and their daughter Agnes stand by the knight Heinrich, who is afflicted by a hopeless disease. Dietrich travels for his master to a monastery in Salerno to consult a well-known monk and doctor. The latter explains to him that only the voluntary sacrificial death of a virgin could save Heinrich. When the knight finds out, he tries to kill himself with the sword, but his body is already too weak.

Second act

Her parents, tormented by foreboding, learn from Agnes that she is ready to sacrifice her life for knight Heinrich. All attempts by Hilde and Dietrich to dissuade their daughter from their plan fail. Finally, Hilde blesses Agnes, and Dietrich brings his daughter to Heinrich to get him to accept the sacrifice.

Third act

After accepting the victim, all those involved travel to Salerno. At the entrance to the monastery church, knight Heinrich recognizes his selfishness. With superhuman strength he destroys the church door and snatches the knife from the monk with which he wanted to kill Agnes. Through this self-conquest, the knight miraculously becomes healthy again.

music

Pfitzner's opera is strongly influenced by the works of Richard Wagner . In contrast to Wagner's redemption dramas, Heinrich is not cured by someone else's sacrifice, but rather at the moment when he feels the agony of another more than his own. A musical leitmotif runs through the entire opera , a technique that Wagner also used.

Sound recordings

literature