''King Manfred'' (König Manfred), Op. 93 is a grand romantic opera in 5 acts by

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...

to libretto by Friedrich Roeber. It was composed in 1866 and staged in 1867.''Klaus Tischendorf''
Booklet notes to Marco Polo 8.223117 / Naxos 8.555397
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History

The music was composed from April to December 1866 in Leipzig, where Reinecke was already director of the Gewandhaus concerts and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory. The first performance took place at the Royal Court Theater of Wiesbaden on 26 July 1867 with Wilhelm Jahn as conductor. Although it was a huge success, the opera remained in repertoire only for a while (a printed libretto appeared as late as in 1881). The Overture and the Prelude to Act V were among Reinecke's most favorite compositions. The full score of the opera was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1868, as well as the vocal score, prepared by composer himself. Several popular excerpts were published in different arrangements.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera deals with

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...

, 13th-century

King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...

(1232-1266), against whom was half Europe: eventually he fell in battle against

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...

. The action takes place in 1266 in Naples and

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

List of musical numbers

The following list is based on the Breitkopf & Härtel 1868 vocal score. *Overture ;Act I *No. 1. Chor *No. 2. *No. 3. Arie mit Chor *No. 4. Sextett mit Chor *No. 5. Recitativ und Arie *No. 6. Recitativ *No. 7. Lied mit Chor *No. 8. Recitativ und Terzett *No. 9. Finale ;Act II *No. 10. *No. 11. Duett *No. 12. Solo mit Chor *No. 13. *No. 14. Duett *No. 15. Lied *No. 16. Scene und Duett ;Act III *No. 17. Chor *No. 18. Recitativ und Terzett *No. 19. Chor und Ballett *No. 20. Finale ;Act IV *No. 21. Entr'act *No. 22. Duett mit Ballett *No. 23. Recitativ und Duett *No. 24. Duett *No. 25. Recitativ und Arie *No. 26. Recitativ *No. 27. Arie *No. 28. Finale ;Act V *No. 29. Vorspiel *No. 30. Recitativ *No. 31. Romanze *No. 32. Recitativ und Arie *No. 33. Recitativ und Scene *No. 34. Recitativ und Chor *No. 35. Recitativ *No. 36. Arioso und Schlusschor

Recordings

* (rec. 1987) Carl Reinecke: Symphony No. 1; King Manfred (Overture; Nos. 21 & 29; part II of No. 19) — Rhenish Philharmonic Orchestra,

Alfred Walter Alfred Walter (May 8, 1929 – March 7, 2004) was a Bohemian-Austrian conductor. He was born in Southern Bohemia to Austrian parents, and studied at the University of Graz. He was appointed as assistant conductor to the Opera of Ravensburg in ...

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Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

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* (rec. 2013, 2014, 2016) Carl Reinecke: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1: Symphonies 1 & 3; König Manfred (Overture; Nos. 21 & 29) —

Münchner Rundfunkorchester The Munich Radio Orchestra (German: ''Münchner Rundfunkorchester'') is a German symphony broadcast orchestra based in Munich. It is one of the two orchestras affiliated with the Bavarian Radio (Bayerischer Rundfunk), the other being the Bavarian ...

Henry Raudales Henry Raudales is the concertmaster for the Brussels Philharmonic, a position he has held since 2005. He plays a Guadagnini violin from 1787. Raudales played his first public concert at age seven in North Carolina, which resulted in Yehudi Menu ...

—

cpo CPO may refer to: Occupations * Certified Professional Organizer * Certified Protection Officer, a professional certification for security officers from the International Foundation for Protection Officers * Chief people officer, a corporate of ...

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References

External links

*
19th-century German libretto
*An anonymous review of the first performance in: {{DEFAULTSORT:Konig Manfred Operas by Carl Reinecke 1866 operas German-language operas Operas