''Oberon, or The Elf King'' (german: Oberon oder König der Elfen), or simply ''Oberon'', originally known as ''Huon and Amanda'' (german: Hüon und Amande), is a romantic

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

in five acts by

Friederike Sophie Seyler Friederike Sophie Seyler (1738, Dresden – 22 November 1789, Schleswig; née Sparmann, formerly married Hensel) was a German actress, playwright and librettist. Alongside Friederike Caroline Neuber, she was widely considered Germany's greatest ac ...

, inspired by the poem ''

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

'' by

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the epic ''Oberon'', which formed the ba ...

, which itself was based on the epic romance ''

Huon of Bordeaux Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements. ''Huon of Bordeaux'' The poem tells of Huon, a knight who unwittingly kills Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne. He is given a reprieve from d ...

'', a French medieval tale. It has been named for two of its central characters, the knight Huon and the fairy king

, respectively. Musicologist

Thomas Bauman Thomas Bauman (born March 10, 1948) is an American musicologist and Professor of Musicology at Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. He is an expert on German opera, film music, Mozart, and African American theatrical history. He earne ...

describes the work as "an important impulse for the creation of a generation of popular spectacles trading in magic and the exotic. ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...

'' he Magic Flutein particular shares many features with ''Oberon'', musical as well as textual." The opera was published in "

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

and

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 ...

" in 1789, the year Seyler died. Seyler was married to the prominent theatre director

Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker, who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the deve ...

, the founder of the

Seyler Theatre Company The Seyler Theatre Company, also known as the Seyler Company (German: ''Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft'', sometimes ''Seylersche Truppe''), was a theatrical company founded in 1769 by Abel Seyler, a Hamburg businessman originally from Switzerl ...

and a noted promoter of both

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 ...

and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. The opera was dedicated to their common long-time friend and collaborator, the actor

Friedrich Ludwig Schröder Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (3 November 1744 – 3 September 1816) was a German actor, manager, dramatist and prominent masonic leader. He was born in Schwerin. Shortly after his birth, his mother, Sophie Charlotte Bierreichel (1714&nda ...

. Seyler's opera and a plagiarized version by

Karl Ludwig Giesecke Carl Ludwig Giesecke FRSE (6 April 1761 in Augsburg – 5 March 1833 in Dublin) was a German actor, librettist, polar explorer and mineralogist. In his youth he was called Johann Georg Metzler; in his later career in Ireland he was Sir Charle ...

both enjoyed popularity from the late 18th century. The opera had a central role in the development of

Emanuel Schikaneder Emanuel Schikaneder (born Johann Joseph Schickeneder; 1 September 1751 – 21 September 1812) was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer. He wrote the libretto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' and was t ...

's theatre and its focus on fairy tale operas which culminated in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'', and was one of the influences that the latter's libretto built upon.

The Giesecke version and its influence on ''The Magic Flute''

Seyler's libretto formed the basis of

's libretto for the opera ''Oberon'', written for

's troupe and set to music by

Paul Wranitzky Paul Wranitzky (Czech: Pavel Vranický, 30 December 1756 – 29 September 1808) was a Moravian-Austrian classical composer. His half brother, Antonín, was also a composer. Life Wranitzky was born in Neureisch ( Nová Říše) in Habsburg Mora ...

. As Giesecke did not credit her, he later came under much criticism for

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

, although it soon became evident that his work was based on Seyler's libretto. The opera ''

'', with a libretto by Schikaneder, was to a significant degree based on Giesecke's version of ''Oberon'' and thus ultimately on Seyler. According to

Peter Branscombe Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 in Sittingbourne, Kent – 31 December 2008 in St Andrews, Scotland) was an English academic in German studies, a musicologist, and a writer on Austrian cultural history. Career Branscombe attended Dulwich ...

, "it has long been recognized that Giesecke, the named author of Wranitzky's libretto, deserves little credit for what is largely a plagiarism," concluding that "Giesecke's "''Oberon, König der Elfen'' is hardly more than a mild revision of Seyler's book." After the theatrical success of Giesecke's plagiarized version (and also after Seyler's death), Seyler's original was renamed ''Oberon'' and performed under this title.

, ''W. A. Mozart: Die Zauberflöte'', Cambridge University Press, 1991, p. 28 Giesecke's version of Seyler's ''Oberon'' was the first opera performed by Schikaneder's troupe at their new theater, and established a tradition within the company of fairy tale operas that was to culminate in ''The Magic Flute'' two years later.

Gallery

File:Sophie Friederike Hensel.jpg,

, author of ''Huon and Amanda'', also known as ''Oberon'', painted by

Anton Graff Anton Graff (18 November 1736 – 22 June 1813) was an eminent Swiss portrait artist. Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Friederike Sophie Seyler, Johann Gottf ...

File:Abel Seyler silhouette - Basel.svg, Seyler's husband

, the famous theatre director

References

External links

* {{Oberon media Singspiele Operas set in fictional, mythological and folkloric settings The Magic Flute operas 1789 operas Adaptations of works by Christoph Martin Wieland