The Singspiel was a German form of opera in which songs and other music alternated with dialogue. Although the Singspiel originated in the seventeenth century, the term was not generally used until the eighteenth. Croesus (1711) by Reinhard Keiser (1674–1739) was an early example of Singspiel. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, other forms of opera – the ...
most, as well as far greater popularity. His treatment of the theme was imaginative and his melodies were inspired by well-known German folk songs. There were echoes of the Singspiel tradition that originated in the sixteenth century, and a skilful recreation in music of the mysteries and supernatural feel of the forest. In this, Der Freischütz was the ...
and the threat of death is going to make her give herself to her captor, Pasha Selim. Personalities | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Classical Era | Opera Techniques | Singspiel | Classical Era | Opera ...
, the final version of Fidelio is a fundamentally different opera from the 1805 original. There is now much less emphasis on the gaoler’s daughter Marzelline and her world of Singspiel domesticity. Although the fate of Florestan and Leonore remains central, the individual characterization becomes more idealized and stereotyped. The human element is now subordinate to the opera’s moral message; ...
(Kärl Dit’-ters fun Dit’-ters-dôrf) 1739–99 Austrian composer One of the most important Viennese composers in the age of Haydn and Mozart, Dittersdorf held appointments as violinist, composer and Kapellmeister in Vienna, Grosswardein (now Oradea, Romania) and other courts in the Austrian Empire. He was a prolific composer, particularly of symphonies (among them 12 based on texts from ...
(Kârl Ma-re’-a fun Va’-ber) 1786–1826 German composer Weber was a central figure in the growth of the Romantic movement in Germany, and one of its most important composers. He resuscitated and spread an enthusiasm for German opera, to which his own three-act opera Der Freischütz (‘The Free-shooter’, 1812) contributed. A gifted Kapellmeister and astute critic, he raised standards of ...
Souci – ‘without care’ – where he gave shows called table entertainments. Introduction | Classical Era | Opera Personalities | Charles Simon Favart | Classical Era | Opera Techniques | Singspiel | Classical Era | Opera ...
(Frants Dant’-se) 1763–1826 German composer At the age of 15 Danzi was a cellist in the famous Mannheim orchestra. He was appointed deputy Kapellmeister in Munich in 1798, and in 1807 became Kapellmeister in Stuttgart, where he befriended Weber, before holding a similar position in Karlsrühe. Danzi’s positions as theatre Kapellmeister encouraged him to compose extensively for the stage ...
which comprised comedy, ballads or fantasy. By contrast, Benda’s experience with melodrama developed his dramatic musical skills and this enabled him to give much more serious plots the Singspiel treatment for the first time. Benda’s music reflected the tense and heightened atmosphere of these stories and, in doing so, created a much more dramatic musical language. This ...
1791–1864, German Neither Giacomo Meyerbeer’s first oratorio, nor his first opera, written in 1812 and 1813, was successful and his Singspiel Das Brandenburger Tor (1814) came too late to achieve its purpose – to celebrate the return home of the victorious Prussian army. It was a poor start for Meyerbeer but his fortunes changed dramatically after he ...
lay in his theatre works: he provided incidental music, lively and expressive, to middle-class comedies, so playing a central role in the creation of the north German Singspiel as well as fuelling the development of a German song tradition. Recommended Recording: Sacred Music by Cantors of St Thomas’s, Thomanerchor Leipzig (dir) Hans-Joachim Rotzsch (Capriccio) Introduction | Classical ...
to the rustic, sentimental pieces he had previously produced with another librettist, Christian Felix Weisse (1726–1804). The first three results of their renewed collaboration were important in establishing Singspiel as a popular form in opera. Hiller has been cited as the founder of Singspiel, and, in his lifetime, this new style of musical writing was widely ...
legend formed the plot for 20 of them. Goethe did more than provide texts for composers, however. He had a passion for music and wrote the libretti for eight Singspiel compositions. He was a great admirer of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and, being a Freemason, recognized and appreciated its masonic content. Goethe wrote part of a sequel to Die ...
1732–1809, Austrian The operatic career of Joseph Haydn spanned four decades, from his lost German Singspiel Der krumme Teufel (‘The Crooked Devil’, 1753) to his Orpheus opera L’anima del filosofo (‘The Philosopher’s Soul’), composed for London in 1791 but not performed there (or anywhere else) during the composer’s lifetime. In between, he composed some 20 operas (several lost) ...
(Lood’-wig van Bat’-ho-fan) 1770–1827 German composer Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the greatest composers in history – perhaps the greatest. Standing at the crossroads between the classical and Romantic eras, he created music that belongs not just to its period but to all time. He excelled in virtually every genre of his day, and had enormous influence on the ...
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