''Maskarade'' (''Masquerade'') is an opera in three acts by

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

to a Danish

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 ...

Vilhelm Andersen Vilhelm Rasmus Andreas Andersen (16 October 1864 – 3 April 1953) was a Danish author, literary historian and intellectual, who primarily focused on the study of Danish literature. He was one of the first to use the term " Golden Age of Culture" ...

, based on the comedy by

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

. It was first performed on 11 November 1906 at

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

, Copenhagen. ''Maskarade'' has enjoyed enduring popularity in Denmark where it is considered to be the country's national opera.

Background and performance history

Nielsen first considered writing an opera based on Holberg's play ''Maskarade'' around the turn of the 20th century. He contacted Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953) whom he knew from his student days, hoping to persuade him to write a libretto. Andersen initially refused but finally agreed, allowing Nielsen to start composing in May 1904. The Royal Theatre scheduled the opera even before it was finished. In fact, Nielsen completed the overture only on 3 November, a week before the opera's premiere. Carl Nielsen in 1901

The world premiere of ''Maskarade'' took place at

in Copenhagen on 11 November 1906. It was a resounding success from the start with an exceptional run of 25 performances over its first four months. Reviews in the press were however mixed, the consensus being that the first act was the best, the second was rather weak and the third lacked theatrical clarity although the music was brilliant. Announcement of plans to turn Holberg's classical comedy into an

opera buffa ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

had met with dismay in Danish literary circles, but the opera was immediately popular, more so than the play itself. Now considered to be Denmark's national opera, it has enjoyed lasting success in the country, attributable to its many strophic songs, its dances and its underlying "old Copenhagen" atmosphere. In 2006, Denmark's Ministry of Culture named it one of Denmark's twelve greatest musical works. The opera did not premiere in the United States until 1972 when it was performed by the St. Paul Opera in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

with conductor

Igor Buketoff Igor Konstantin Buketoff (29 May 19157 September 2001) was an American conductor, arranger and teacher. He had a special affinity with Russian music and with Sergei Rachmaninoff in particular. He also strongly promoted British contemporary music ...

Mary Beth Peil Mary Beth Peil (born June 25, 1940) is an American actress and soprano. She began her career as an opera singer in 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater. In 1964 she won two major singing competitions, the Young Concert Artists International Au ...

as Leonora, and Clinton Ware as Leander. The first reported New York performance was by the Bronx Opera Company in 1983. It was performed in the US again in 2014, when it had its

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

premiere on 18 January at the Vittum Theater performed by the Vox3 Collective. ''Maskarade'' received a major international revival in 2005 in a new production by

David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has directed over ...

which was performed at the

Bregenz Festival Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival beca ...

in August of that year and travelled to the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

the following month for its first performance by the company. Service, Tom (21 September 2005)
"Review: ''Maskarade''"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Retrieved 14 June 2015.Picard, Anna (25 September 2005)
"Review: ''Maskarade'', Royal Opera House, London"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. The opera had been previously performed in the UK at London's

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the lat ...

in 1983 and in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

in 1990. Kennedy, Michael and Bourne, Joyce (2004)
"Maskarade"
''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. Despite its popularity in his home country, Nielsen was not entirely satisfied with the work, citing structural weakness in the final two acts; but he never got around to revising the work. The

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

and the ballet from the third act ("Dance of the Cockerels") are performed frequently, as noted by the Carl Nielsen Society, which states that the overture is one of Nielsen's most widely performed works at concerts in Europe and North America.

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: Spring 1723 :Place: Copenhagen The story revolves around Leander and Leonora, two young people who meet fortuitously at a masquerade ball, swear their undying love for each other and exchange rings. The following day, Leander tells his valet Henrik of his newfound love. He becomes distraught when reminded by Henrik that his parents have betrothed him in marriage to Leonora, the daughter of Leonard from remote Slagelse. Things get complicated when Leonard himself, whose daughter Leonora is the other part of this arrangement, comes complaining to Leander's father that Leonora is in love with someone she met at the masquerade the previous night. In the third act, all is resolved when the various parties slip off to the night's masquerade, where all is revealed to everyone's mutual satisfaction.

Commemorative performances

As part of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Carl Nielsen's birth, the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen staged eleven well-received performances of ''Maskarade'' from March to May 2015. The

Royal Danish Opera The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

's schedule for 2015 includes performances of a chamber version of the opera in three other locations in Denmark from mid-July to early September. The ''Maskarade'' overture has been included in the first night of Britain's

Promenade Concert Promenade concerts were musical performances in the 18th and 19th century pleasure gardens of London, where the audience would stroll about while listening to the music. The term derives from the French ''se promener'', "to walk". Today, the te ...

s on 17 July 2015.

Recordings

*Grondahl (conductor), on Danacord, 1954 *Frandsen (conductor), on Unicorn, 1977 *Schirmer (conductor), on Decca, Recorded 1996, 1998 *Schirmer (conductor), video from Bregenz on Capriccio, 2005 *Schønwandt (conductor), video from Copenhagen on Dacapo, 2006

References

External links

*
Discography
(Carl Nielsen Society)
Account of the opera's composition
(Carl Nielsen Society) {{Authority control Operas by Carl Nielsen Danish-language operas Operas 1906 operas Operas based on plays Operas set in Denmark Danish Culture Canon