The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera)
Encyclopedia
The Merry Wives of Windsor (in German: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor) is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto
by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal
, based on the play
The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare
.
The opera is a Singspiel
, containing much spoken dialogue between distinct musical numbers. The opera remains popular in Germany, and the overture
is sometimes heard in concert in other countries.
's Falstaff
. Pistol and Bardolph are absent from this version, but Slender is present. The women have German names. Alice is Frau Fluth and Meg is Frau Reich.
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal
Hermann Salomon Mosenthal
Salomon Hermann Mosenthal was a writer, dramatist, and poet of German-Jewish descent who spent much of his life in Austria...
, based on the play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
.
The opera is a Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
, containing much spoken dialogue between distinct musical numbers. The opera remains popular in Germany, and the overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
is sometimes heard in concert in other countries.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 9 March 1849 (Conductor: Otto Nicolai) |
|---|---|---|
| Frau Fluth (Alice Ford) | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Leopoldine Tuczek |
| Frau Reich (Meg Page) | mezzo soprano | Pauline Marx |
| Sir John Falstaff | bass | August Zschiesche |
| Fenton | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Julius Pfister |
| Herr Fluth (Ford) | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Julius Krause |
| Anna Reich (Anne Page) | soprano | Louise Köster |
| Herr Reich (Page) | bass | August Mickler |
| Spärlich (Slender) | tenor | Eduard Mantius |
| Dr. Cajus | bass | A. Lieder |
| Men and women of Windsor, neighbors, elves, spooks, insects chorus Choir A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus... |
||
Synopsis
The story is close to that of Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
. Pistol and Bardolph are absent from this version, but Slender is present. The women have German names. Alice is Frau Fluth and Meg is Frau Reich.
Noted arias
- "Horch, die Lerche singt im Hain" (Fenton)
- "Als Büblein klein an der Mutter Brust" (Falstaff)
- "Nun eilt Herbei" (Frau Fluth)
Recordings
- Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
2740 159: Edith MathisEdith MathisEdith Mathis is a renowned Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Mozart. She studied in Lucerne and debuted there in 1956 in The Magic Flute...
, Hanna Schwarz, Kurt MollKurt MollKurt Moll is a German operatic bass, now retired.-Biography:Moll was born in Buir, near Cologne, Germany. As a child, he played the cello and hoped to become a great cellist. He also sang in the school choir, and the conductor encouraged him to concentrate on singing...
, Bernd Weikl, Siegfried Vogel, Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, Claude Dornoy; Chorus of the Staatsoper; Berlin Staatskapelle; Bernhard Klee, conductor - Decca D86D 3: Helen Donath, Karl Ridderbusch, Wolfgang Brendel, Lilian SukisLilian SukisLilian Sukis is a Canadian operatic soprano of Lithuanian birth. After earning diplomas from the University of Toronto and McMaster University, she made her professional opera debut in 1964 as Kate Pinkerton in Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly with the Canadian Opera Company...
; Bavarian Radio Chorus; Bavarian Radio Symphony OrchestraBavarian Radio Symphony OrchestraThe Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in German Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is the internationally renowned orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk , based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the three principal orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Munich Philharmonic...
; Rafael KubelíkRafael KubelíkRafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
, conductor