''Die Kinder der Heide'' ''(The Children of the Moorland)'' is a four-act

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 ...

by Anton Rubinstein, to a

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 Salomon Mosenthal, based on a verse novel by the Hungarian poet Carl Beck.

Background

Whilst working on the opera in 1859, Rubinstein wrote to a friend:

I have absolutely no luck with opera texts. I have wasted a lot of time and money and everything has been unusable. ..I am hoping that with my present attempt, I shall have more luck, and then the world will have something novel in store!

He also told

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

that he hoped to have the opera premiered in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where in fact it was eventually produced in 1861 - most of the opera was written in Dornbach, not far from the capital.Taylor (2007),86 The opera's first performance in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

was in 1867.

Roles

Synopsis

The location is a Hungarian village.

Act 1

Wania is Isbrania's lover; she tells him of a planned robbery of Conrad's inn, which Wania foils. Conrad offers him as a reward his daughter Maria in marriage.

Act 2

Maria confesses to her father that she is in love with a mystery man, who turns out to be Count Waldemar. Waldemar and Isbrana conspire to interrupt the marriage ceremony.

Act 3

Finding Maria with the Count, Wania fights and kills him. He is helped to escape by Isbrania and the gypsies.

Act 4

In a forest hideout, Wania is visited by the grieving Conrad and Maria, who has gone mad. Wania prevents the gypsies from robbing them as they depart. Soldiers arrive to arrest Wania; when he refuses to escape with Isbrania she stabs herself and dies.

Notes

Sources

*Philip S. Taylor, ''Anton Rubinstein: A life in music'', Indianapolis, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinder der Heide, Die Operas 1861 operas Operas by Anton Rubinstein German-language operas Operas set in Hungary Operas based on novels