Chapter 55

German Opera of the Nineteenth Century: Weber and Wagner

Lecture Overview

• Opera in the Classical Period (review)• Characteristics of Singspiel• Carl Maria von Weber:

– life and music– Der Freischütz, Wolf Glen’s Scene

• Richard Wagner:– life and music– theories for the renovation of opera– The Ring operas: the text and its meaning– Das Rheingold, Entrance of the Gods into

Valhalla

• Review

The Life of Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)

• 1786 born in a small German town near Hamburg

• 1803 travels to Vienna to study with Michael Haydn

• 1804 holds first conducting position, in opera theater in Breslau

• 1817 conductor of German opera theater in Dresden

• 1821 completes Der Freischütz, his most successful opera

• 1826 dies in London, where he had traveled to see premiere of his opera Oberon

The Principal Compositions of Carl Maria von Weber

• Operas: including– Der Freischütz– Euryanthe– Oberon

• Orchestra: symphonies (2), overtures, concertos (2 for clarinet, 2 for piano)

• Piano: sonatas, character pieces, variations• Songs: about 80• Chorus: masses, pieces for male chorus

Principal Characters in Weber’s Opera Der Freischütz (1821)

• Max (tenor) – the hero, a forester

• Agathe (soprano) – Max’s beloved, daughter of the head forester,

Cuno

• Caspar (bass) – a forester, rival of Max

• Samiel (speaking role) – the devil, or “black huntsman”

Carl Maria von Weber, Der Freischütz, 1821, conclusion of the finale to Act 2 (Wolf’s Glen

Scene)

Through-composed form

The Life of Richard Wagner (1811–1883)

• 1811 born in Leipzig, grows up in Dresden• 1832 composes first opera• 1834 begins career of conductor in opera

theaters• 1839 moves to Paris to advance his career• 1842 first success: Rienzi performed in

Dresden, hired there as conductor• 1849 flees to Zurich following an uprising

in Dresden• 1859 separation from wife, period of

travel begins• 1864 invited to Munich by King Ludwig II

of Bavaria• 1865 returns to Switzerland, near Lucerne• 1872 moves to Bayreuth, construction of

festival theater• 1876 premiere of Der Ring des Nibelungen• 1883 dies in Venice, buried in Bayreuth

Principal Compositions by Richard Wagner

• Operas:– Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)– Tannhäuser– Lohengrin– Der Ring des Nibelungen

• Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)• Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)• Siegfried• Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

– Tristan und Isolde– Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of

Nuremberg)– Parsifal

• Orchestra: overtures, marches, early symphonies, Siegfried Idyll for chamber orchestra

• Songs: include the Five Poems for Female Voice to texts by Mathilde Wesendonk

• Piano: early sonatas and character pieces (especially Albumblätter)

Wagner’s Theories for Operatic Reform

• elevate the quality of the text• draw stories from myths• mingle poetry, music, and dance as equals to

create an integrated “drama”• diminish the importance of flamboyant,

virtuosic singing• eliminate musical numbers in favor of greater

continuity• make the orchestra expressive and

symphonic, especially through symbolic motives

Bayreuth

• Since late in the nineteenth century, the town of Bayreuth (pronounced “by-ROIT”) in central Germany has been synonymous with the art of Richard Wagner. In 1872 Wagner constructed a theater here to be devoted exclusively to the performance of his own works. In the summer of 1876 the building was complete and Wagner oversaw the first festival, with complete performances of his Der Ring des Nibelungen. The festivals have continued to the present day.

• The theater itself is utilitarian in appearance, although acoustically superb. The orchestra plays in a deeply sunken and recessed pit, making it invisible to the audience and allowing a better balance with the voices.

Characters in Wagner’s Opera Das Rheingold (1854)

• Rhinemaidens: – mermaids who live in the Rhine River,

creatures of nature

• Nibelung: – creatures who live in the earth, enslaved by

the ruthless Alberich, one of their own

• Gods: – led by Wotan, also Fricka (his wife), Freia (her

sister), Loge (Wotan’s advisor), Donner (his enforcer). Erda is the primal god of the earth

• Giants: – dull laborers who have built Valhalla

Richard Wagner, Das Rheingold, 1854, Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla

Through-composed form

Review Key Terms

• Singspiel• Friedrich Kind• romantic opera• Wolf’s Glen Scene• melodrama (in opera)• Bayreuth• total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk)• music of the future• music drama• Valhalla• Wagner tuba• leitmotive