Oberon, king of the elves

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Opera dates
Original title: Oberon, king of the elves
Title page of the libretto by Hüon and Amande

Title page of the libretto by Hüon and Amande

Shape: Singspiel in three acts
Original language: German
Music: Paul Wranitzky
Libretto : Carl Ludwig Giesecke
Literary source: Friederike Sophie Seyler : Hüon and Amande ,
Christoph Martin Wieland : Oberon
Premiere: November 7, 1789
Place of premiere: Theater on the Wieden , Vienna
Playing time: approx. 2 ½ hours
people
  • Oberon, King of the Elves ( soprano )
  • Titania, Queen of the Fairies (soprano)
  • Hebe and Aglais, confidante Titanias (2 sopranos)
  • Hüon, a German knight ( tenor )
  • Sherasmin, his squire ( bass )
  • Mahmud, Sultan of Egypt (speaking role)
  • Amande, his daughter (soprano)
  • Prince Babekan, her bridegroom (speaking role)
  • Fatime, Amande's confidante (soprano)
  • Balkis, a slave (speaking role)
  • Almansor, Bassa von Tunis (Bass)
  • Almansaris, his wife (speaking role or soprano)
  • Osmin, his confidante, a cut off (speaking role)
  • a kadi (speaking role)
  • 2 geniuses (2 speaking roles)
  • the oracle (bass)
  • Dervishes, fairies, wedding guests, janissaries, Moors, guards, slaves ( choir , extras)

Oberon, König der Elfen is a musical singspiel in three acts by Paul Wranitzky (music). The libretto by Carl Ludwig Giesecke is an adaptation of the five-act libretto Hüon und Amande by Friederike Sophie Seyler (1789), which in turn is based on the second version of the verse epic Oberon by Christoph Martin Wieland (1784). The premiere took place on November 7, 1789 in the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna.

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up of the Singspiel contains the following instruments:

Work history

Friederike Sophie Seyler's libretto Hüon und Amande was published in 1789, the year she died, and was dedicated to the actor Friedrich Ludwig Schröder . The original setting came from the Schleswig music director Karl Hanke (1750–1803?). Carl Ludwig Giesecke , a member of Emanuel Schikaneder's troupe , reduced the number of acts for his libretto from five to three in the same year by combining the first and second as well as the fourth and fifth acts. He also rewrote some prose texts into verse, added some aria texts and removed others. This text was then set to music by Paul Wranitzky . It is his first composition for music theater.

At the Vienna premiere on November 7, 1789 in the Theater auf der Wieden a . a. Josepha Hofer (Oberon), Benedikt Schak (Hüon) and Franz Xaver Gerl (Almansor). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably in the audience . The performance was a great success, which encouraged Schikaneder to write the text of the Magic Flute for Mozart . Mozart's music on the subject also has some similarities with Wranitzky's work. Oberon, King of the Elves enjoyed great popularity for a long time, which was only eclipsed in 1826 by Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Christoph-Hellmut Mahling : Oberon, King of the Elves. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 6: Works. Spontini - Zumsteeg. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-492-02421-1 , pp. 767-768.
  2. Thomas Bauman:  Seyler, Sophie. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  3. Milan Postolka / Roger Hickman:  Wranitzky, Paul. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).