1795–1861, German

Heinrich Marschner, the German composer, had the best possible backer for his first opera, Heinrich IV und d’Aubigné (1817–18), which was set around the turn of the seventeenth century. It featured King Henri IV of France and his follower the Huguenot poet Théodore d’Aubigné. Carl Maria von Weber, no less, staged the opera in Dresden, where Marschner became his assistant in 1824. However, their friendship faded when Weber became convinced that Marschner was imitating his style and using it, not for the advancement of German opera, but for his own commercial purposes. After Weber’s death in 1826, Marschner was passed over as his successor and left Dresden. For a time Marschner’s fortunes faltered, as he failed as music director in Danzig. However, after moving to Leipzig, Marschner began to work on Der Vampyr (‘The Vampire’, 1828), which scored a welcome success despite its resemblance to Weber’s Der Freischütz. This was followed by his third and last success, Hans Heiling (1833). Although his work was uneven – none of his five other operas reached the same heights as his successful trio – Marschner pioneered the hero torn between good and evil, the real and supernatural worlds and showed how music could typify melodrama and emphasize its emotional effects.

Introduction | Early Romantic | Opera
Major Operas | Hans Heiling by Heinrich Marschner | Early Romantic
Personalities | Jean-Blaise Martin | Early Romantic | Opera