''Die Brautwahl'' (''The Bridal Choice'') is a "comic-fantastic"
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in three acts and an epilogue by
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
. The German
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
, by Busoni himself, is based on a short story by
E. T. A. Hoffmann. Busoni began work on this, his first completed opera, in 1905.
''Die Brautwahl'' was first performed at the
Stadttheater Hamburg on 12 April 1912. It was not a success with audiences but its failure did not discourage the composer's ambition to write for the operatic stage.
Roles
Synopsis
The artist Edmund is in love with Albertine but he has many rivals for her hand. These include the "
revenant
In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word, ''revenant'', the "returning" (see also the related French language, F ...
" Manasse, his son Baron Bensch and the bureaucrat Thusman. The "bridal choice" of the title is finally decided by a trial involving three caskets which Edmund wins.
Recordings
*1999:
Siegfried Vogel
Siegfried Vogel (born 6 March 1937) is a German operatic Voice type, bass. Based at the Staatsoper Berlin, he performed internationally at major opera houses and festivals, including the Salzburg Festival and the Bayreuth Festival. He began in Wol ...
, Carola Höhn,
Graham Clark,
Vinson Cole
Vinson Cole (born November 21, 1950) is an American operatic tenor.
Early life
A native of Kansas City, the tenor studied at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; the Philadelphia Musical Academy; and at t ...
,
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the De ...
Chorus,
Staatskapelle Berlin
The Staatskapelle Berlin () is a German orchestra and the resident orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden. The orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Until the fall of the German Empire in 1918 the orchestra's name was ''Kön ...
, conducted by
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
(Teldec)
References
Further reading
*
Holden, Amanda (ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brautwahl, Die
Operas based on works by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Operas by Ferruccio Busoni
German-language operas
Opera world premieres at the Hamburg State Opera
1912 operas
Operas