The Merry Wives of Windsor (Opera)
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| Title: | The merry women of Windsor |
| Shape: | Funny and fantastic opera in three acts with dance |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Otto Nicolai |
| Libretto : | Salomon Hermann Mosenthal |
| Premiere: | March 9, 1849 |
| Place of premiere: | Royal Opera House Berlin |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Windsor, early 17th century |
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The Merry Wives of Windsor is a funny and fantastic opera in three acts with dance by Otto Nicolai . The libretto was written by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor . The first performance took place on March 9, 1849 at the Royal Opera House in Berlin under the direction of the composer.
action
first act
Courtyard between the houses of Fluth and Reich
The married ladies Fluth and Reich discover that they have both received love letters from the impoverished country nobleman Falstaff at the same time. You decide to teach him a lesson and back off to come up with a plan. Enter the two gentlemen Fluth and Reich. Anna, the daughter of the Reichs, is of marriageable age and three gentlemen are asking for her hand: Dr. Cajus, a French galan , is the mother's favorite, father Reich wants the shy Junker Spärlich as his son-in-law, but Anna herself is in love with the destitute Fenton.
Room at Fluth
Mrs. Fluth has invited Falstaff to an alleged rendezvous , he appears with grand pathetic gestures and begins to clumsily ensnare her. When Mrs. Reich reports the return of the suspicious Mr. Fluth, as agreed, Falstaff is hidden in a washing basket, the contents of which are emptied into the moat shortly afterwards. In the meantime, Mr Fluth has searched the entire apartment without success and has to believe his wife, who protests her innocence.
Second act
Gasthaus "Zum Hosenbande"
In the tavern, Falstaff has recovered from his bath and sings crude drinking songs. A messenger brings him a letter in which Frau Fluth suggests another rendezvous. Her husband appears in disguise and introduces himself as Mr. Bach in order to engage Falstaff in a conversation about his love affairs. This unsuspectingly brags about his relationship with Mrs. Fluth, which incites the husband's anger.
Garden behind Reich's house
Sparlich and Cajus creep up and down in front of Anna's window, but before they dare to approach, they are serenaded by the Fenton and hide in the bushes. From there, they watch the rapturous love scene between the two lovers.
Room at Fluth
Again Falstaff is with Mrs. Fluth, and again Mrs. Reich warns both of them about their husband returning home. This time the fat knight Falstaff is put into women's clothes and pretends to be a washerwoman. Herr Fluth appears and finds nothing again, except for the old laundress, whom he angrily throws out of the house.
Third act
Room with Reich
Messrs. Fluth and Reich are finally let in on the plan by their wives and the four of them decide to trick Falstaff one last time. The knight is said to be embarrassed in a major masquerade in Windsor Forest. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Reich plan to pair Anna up with their favorite suitor in this game of confusion. Instead, she arranged a meeting with Fenton in the nocturnal forest.
Woods at Windsor
In the background the oak of the hunter Herne, in the foreground a hunting pavilion, shortly before midnight, moonlight
After a moonrise illustrated by the choir and orchestra, the disguise begins in the forest. Falstaff, disguised as a knight Herne, is initially lured by the two ladies, but then frightened by various extras disguised as ghosts, elves and insects. After the masks have been taken off and Falstaff has been mocked by everyone, Anna and Fenton appear, who have said yes in the forest chapel. Everyone involved is reconciled in a happy final act.
layout
music
Opera follows the Singspiel tradition, so the musical numbers are linked to spoken dialogues. Nicolai, as the term "comic-fantastic opera" shows, reached a consensus between the romantic opera in the style of Carl Maria von Weber and the comic operas by Albert Lortzing , which were very popular at the time . On the romantic side belong the love scenes between Anna and Fenton, the ghost and elf music and of course the moonrise. The Buffo element comes into play in the figure of Falstaff, the husbands and the two suitors spurned by Anna.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes (2nd also piccolo ), two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones
- Timpani , percussion : bass drum , cymbals , snare drum , triangle
- Strings
- Incidental music: bell in G, harp
Work history
Emergence
Otto Nicolai composed the music between 1845 and 1849. He had previously enjoyed great success with a number of Italian operas, but this opera was to become his masterpiece in German.
Nicolai wrote The Merry Wives of Windsor while he was first Kapellmeister at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, where he was also supposed to compose a German opera according to the contract. Since he had problems finding a suitable material and a competition in March 1842 did not produce a satisfactory libretto, the composition was delayed. Finally he decided on the suggestion of his friend Siegfried Kapper to use Shakespeare's comedy The Funny Wives of Windsor as a template. After some trial work by Jakob Hoffmeister, who could not be won over for the full libretto, Nicolai Salomon commissioned Hermann Mosenthal with the work, giving precise specifications for the musical parts and writing the spoken dialogues himself.
Nicolai finished the first act on July 9, 1846 and the second on September 10. At this point, however, the theater's director, Carlo Balocchino, refused a performance, as Nicolai should have delivered the opera as early as 1845 according to the contract. Nicolai continued to work on the work and finished the composition with the exception of the overture and the finale in October 1846. Since there was no extension of the contract in 1847, Nicolai moved on March 1, 1848 to the Royal Opera House in Berlin. The previous December he had finished the overture. On January 27, 1848, the duet Frau Fluth / Frau Reich was first presented in a court concert and was so well received that King Friedrich Wilhelm IV ordered the entire opera to be performed. However, due to the events of the revolution and due to occupation difficulties, it had to be postponed.
The first performance finally took place on March 9, 1849 under the musical direction of the composer. It sang August Zschiesche (John Falstaff), Julius Krause (flood), August Mickler (Reich), Julius Pfister (Fenton), Eduard Mantius (sparse), August Songs (Caius), Leopoldine Tuczek (Mistress Ford), Pauline Marx (woman Reich), Louise Köster (Anna Reich) and August Fischer (landlord). It was not a success, and the opera was canceled after four performances.
reception
It was only after Nicolai's death that the opera gradually gained acceptance, and its popularity continues to this day. Even if the libretto and the dramaturgy seem a bit old-fashioned to today's audience, the work has still been able to maintain its place in the repertoire of opera houses thanks to its musical qualities.
In 1893, Giuseppe Verdi presented his own treatment of the subject with his Falstaff .
The overture was played as a prelude to the New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1992 .
Web links
- The Merry Wives of Windsor : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Plot and libretto of ' currently unavailable at Opera-Guide target page due to URL change
- Opera "in nuce" sound samples (MIDI)
Recordings / sound carriers
- Artur Rother (cond.) With Wilhelm Strienz , Georg Hann , Ludwig Windisch, Walther Ludwig , Lore Hoffmann, Irma Beilke, Marie Luise Schilp, Berliner Rundfunk Sinfonie-Orchester, Chor der Städtische Oper Berlin, 1943; CD: Preiser, Cantus Classics, Aura.
- Hans Altmann (cond.) With Georg Hann , Clara Ebers , Benno Kusche , Josef Traxel , Paul Kuën , Gerhard Misske, Karl Mösch, Gisa Nerz, Maria Mühlenbeck, Bavarian Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Munich, 1949; CD: Gala.
- Wilhelm Schüchter (cond.) With Arnold van Mill , Walter Berry , Peter Klein , Karl Terkal , Wilma Lipp , choir and orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera , 1953.
- Robert Heger (cond.) With Gottlob Frick , Ernst Gutstein , Kieth Engen , Fritz Wunderlich , Edith Mathis , choir and orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera Munich , 1962; CD: EMI.
- Bernhard Klee (cond.) With Kurt Moll , Bernd Weikl , Peter Schreier , Edith Mathis , Hanna Schwarz , Helen Donath , choir of the German State Opera Berlin , Staatskapelle Berlin , 1976; CD: Berlin Classics.
- Rafael Kubelík (cond.) With Karl Ridderbusch , Wolfgang Brendel , Claes-Håkan Ahnsjö , Heinz Zednik , Helen Donath , Trudeliese Schmidt , Lilian Sukis , Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra , 1977; CD: Decca.
- Helmuth Froschauer (cond.) With Franz Hawlata , Dietrich Henschel , Heinz Zednik , Juliane Banse , Regina Klepper , Landesjugendchor NRW , WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln , Capriccio 2002.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d e Robert Didion : The merry women of Windsor. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 4: Works. Massine - Piccinni. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-492-02414-9 , pp. 423-426.
- ^ March 9, 1849: "The Merry Wives of Windsor". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..