![Schumann-photo1850](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Schumann-photo1850.jpg)
''Genoveva'',
Op. 81, is an
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 four acts by
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
in the genre of
German Romanticism with 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
Robert Reinick
Robert Reinick (22 February 1805 – 7 February 1852) was a German painter and poet, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. One of his poems, ''Dem Vaterland'', was set to music by Hugo Wolf and another, ''The Flight into Egyp ...
and the composer. The only opera Schumann ever wrote, it received its first performance on 25 June 1850 at the
Stadttheater in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, with the composer conducting. It received only three performances during the premiere, and the negative criticism it received in the press played a decisive role in Schumann's decision to not write a second opera.
''Genoveva'' is based on the story of
Genevieve of Brabant
Genevieve (also Genoveva or Genoveffa ) of Brabant is a heroine of medieval legend. The story is told in the "Golden Legend" and concerns a virtuous wife falsely accused of infidelity.
Legend
Her story is a typical example of the widespread ta ...
, a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
legend set in the 8th century that is reputedly based on the 13th century life of Marie of Brabant, wife of
Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Louis the Strict (german: Ludwig der Strenge) (13 April 1229 – 2 February 1294) was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. He is known as Louis II or Louis VI following an alternative numbering. Born in Heidelberg, h ...
. The story gained in popularity during the first half of the 19th century, primarily in Germany through various theatrical settings. Two of the settings from this period,
Ludwig Tieck
Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life
Tieck was born in Be ...
's play ''Leben und Tod der heiligen Genoveva'' (''Life and Death of Saint Genoveva'') and
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist.
Biography
Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the ''Gelehrtenschule des Johann ...
's play ''Genoveva'', served as the basis for the opera's libretto.
The plot of the opera has several similarities with
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
's ''
Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...
'', which was composed during the same period as Schumann was writing ''Genoveva''.
''Genoveva'' has never won a large popular audience, but it continues to be revived at regular intervals throughout the world and has been recorded several times.
Composition history
Schumann expressed the desire to write an opera as early as 1842, and was fascinated by the possibilities of operas based on traditional German legends. His notebooks from this period show that, among others, Schumann considered the stories of the ''
Nibelung
The term Nibelung (German) or Niflungr (Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root ''nebel'', meaning mist. The te ...
en'', ''
Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...
'' and ''
Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore.
Eulenspiegel is ...
'' to be good candidates for settings in
German opera Opera in German is that of the German-speaking countries, which include Germany, Austria, and the historic German states that pre-date those countries.
German-language opera appeared remarkably quickly after the birth of opera itself in Italy. T ...
.
Schumann began work on ''Genoveva'' toward the end of a period of intense depression. In the early 1840s, discouraged both by the greater public esteem enjoyed by his wife,
Clara Schumann
Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...
, a leading pianist as well as a composer with a high-profile career as a touring virtuoso, and by the fact that he was not offered the directorship of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Schumann's depression intensified. In 1844, he and Clara moved to
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, where his depression eventually moderated and he began work on a number of compositions, including ''Genoveva''.
While in Dresden, Schumann encountered
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
, whose discouraging comments on Schumann's libretto for ''Genoveva'' strained relations between the two composers. For his part, however, Schumann came to admire the dramatic impact of Wagner's operas, and the influence of Wagner's music worked its way into the score for ''Genoveva''. Indeed, some of the musical techniques used in the opera, such as the fluid
through-composed
In music theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music.
While most musical forms such as t ...
music (i.e. there are no recitatives) and lack of purely virtuosic vocal moments, are Schumann's personal interpretations and adaptations of Wagner's compositional methods.
Although the then recently constructed Dresden
Semperoper
The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...
house declined to stage ''Genoveva'', much to Schumann's fury, he eventually secured a staging in Leipzig.
Performance history
The
Bielefeld Opera
The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld (Municipal stages Bielefeld) in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a ''Dreisparten Haus'' (three-department house), offering plays, music (opera, musical theatre), and ballet. The main per ...
rediscovered ''Genoveva'' in 1995 in the first staged production worldwide in over 70 years. Conducted by
Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull is a Canadian professional conductor. He was principal conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Education
Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and ...
and directed by
Katja Czellnik
Katja Czellnik (born 6 August 1966) is a German music theatre director and lecturer at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
Life
Born in Hamburg, Czellnik studied musical theatre directing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg under ...
, the opera was given eight notable performances. ''Opera'' magazine of London wrote that
:"it is possible to say from the impression created by Geoffrey Moull's vigorous conducting that Schumann's theatre music is more plausible, more tense and more exciting than has so far been conceded."
Richard Dyer, "Schumann's Lone Opera is Handled with Care", ''Boston Globe'', 4 April 2005
Abstract only
The North American premiere, in a concert performance at Emmanuel Church in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
on 2 April 2005, ended with a standing ovation.
The opera was presented by the Zurich Opera in February 2008, and again by University College Opera
University College Opera, or UCOpera, is the student opera company of University College London. The operas are staged by professional singers, directors and designers, with the orchestra and chorus drawn from the student body. Founded in 1951, ...
in March 2010.
Roles
Synopsis
Act 1
The opera begins with Hidulfus, Bishop of Trier, summoning Brabant's Christian knights to join Charles Martel
Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesma ...
's crusade against a feared Saracen conquest of Europe. Siegfried, Count of Brabante, answers the call. In preparing to leave for war, he entrusts his wife, Genoveva, to his young servant, Golo.
Act 2
Despite Golo's overwhelming desire for her, Genoveva persistently rejects his advances. Infuriated by these rejections, Golo seeks revenge against Genoveva by staging a trap to discredit her. One night, Golo sneaks Drago, an old steward, into Genoveva's bedroom to fake an adulterous affair that is then witnessed by other servants, brought to the scene by Golo. In their rage, the servants kill Drago and Genoveva is imprisoned for adultery.
Act 3
Word of this imagined infidelity gets back to Siegfried, who then commands Golo to put Genoveva to death. Drago's ghost appears in front of Margaretha and tells her that if she does not reveal the truth, she will die.
Act 4
As two armed men are dispatched to kill Genoveva, her life is saved through the intervention of a mute, deaf boy. Siegfried then discovers Golo's treachery and restores his wife's honour.
References
;Notes
External links
*
Naxos, Genoveva history and plot summary
{{Authority control
Compositions by Robert Schumann
1850 operas
German-language operas
Operas