' (''Black Forest Girl'') is a 1917 operetta in three acts by German composer Leon Jessel. The libretto is by August Neidhart, and the operetta premiered on 25 August 1917 at the old

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, al ...

. It is the most popular operetta written in Germany.

Performance history

' premiered at the

Komische Oper The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, alo ...

in Berlin in August 1917. The opera's touching libretto, appealing melodies, and elegant instrumentation proved immensely popular. It ran in Berlin for 900 performances, and within the next 10 years was performed approximately 6,000 times in Germany and abroad. The work is by far Leon Jessel's greatest success as an operetta composer, and it catapulted him to the height of the world of European operetta. With the rise of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

in the late 1920s, Jessel, who had converted to Christianity in 1894 but was Jewish by birth, had his music boycotted in Germany as early as 1927. The last Nazi-era performance of ''Schwarzwaldmädel'' in Germany was in 1936, and recordings and distribution of Jessel's works were then banned outright within the entire

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

by the ''

Reichsmusikkammer The Reich Chamber of Music (German: ''Reichsmusikkammer'') was a Nazi institution. It promoted "good German music" which was composed by Aryans and seen as consistent with Nazi ideals, while suppressing other, "degenerate" music, which included ato ...

'' in 1937 through the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Jessel died in 1942. Nevertheless, ' has retained its popularity among Germans. It was quickly revived in 1945 and 1946Hufner, Martin
"Vernichtung eines Genres: Operette unterm Hakenkreuz."
''Oper & Tanz''. March 2005. and remains the most popular operetta composed in Germany. According to Andrew Lamb in ''150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre'', "' represented all that was best in continental operetta."

Roles

Synopsis

The picturesque opera takes place in a village in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

in 1815. It is a complex romantic intrigue centering around two friends from Berlin: Hans and Richard. The girls involved are Hans's current girlfriend Malwine; and Bärbele, the "Black Forest Girl," an orphaned maidservant. Blasius Römer, an aging organ master, is Bärbele's employer, but finds himself secretly attracted to her. After various entanglements and problems, all works out for the best for the young people.

Recordings

' has been recorded numerous times. A 1976 recording conducted by Willy Mattes, issued on CD in 1997 by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, features singers

Dagmar Koller Dagmar Koller (born 26 August 1939) is an Austrian actress and singer. Born in Klagenfurt, she is recognized as the leading German language musical star of her time. She married Austrian journalist and politician, Helmut Zilk, in 1978, and bec ...

Adolf Dallapozza Adolf Dallapozza (born 14 March 1940 in Bolzano) is an Austrian tenor in opera, operetta and musical theatre He worked for more than 40 years at the Vienna Volksoper. Career Dallapozza was trained as a clerk and started work in a book shop. At th ...

Benno Kusche Benno Paul Kusche (30 January 1916 – 14 May 2010) was a German operatic baritone, who was praised as one of the best Mozart and Wagner singers, especially in character roles and opera buffa. Career Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Kusche was th ...

, Brigitte Lindner, and Martin Finke. A 1953 recording conducted by Franz Marszalek, and issued on CD in 2006, features

Gitta Lind Gitta Lind (17 April 1925 – 9 November 1974) was a German singer and film actress. Lind was born in Trier as Rita Maria Gracher. During her first employment as a singer she changed her name to Gitta Lind, a tribute to Gitta Alpár and Jenny ...

Gretl Schörg Gretl Schörg (17 January 1914 – 4 January 2006) was an Austrian operatic soprano and actress. She was particularly known for her performances in operettas. Her signature roles included Dodo in ''Wedding Night in Paradise'', Josepha Vogelhub ...

Franz Fehringer Franz Fehringer (7 September 1910, in Nussloch – 15 March 1988, in Heidelberg) was a German operatic tenor, particularly associated with light lyric roles in the German, Italian, and French repertories. Fehringer studied in Karlsruhe with Jan ...

, Benno Kusche, and Willy Hofmann. A 2000 EMI CD, which is an anthology of archival recordings, contains selections from ' sung by

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra an ...

Rudolf Schock Rudolf Johann Schock (4 September 1915 – 13 November 1986) was a German tenor. Rudolf Schock was born in Duisburg, in the Prussian Rhine Province. He sang a wide repertoire from operetta to ''Lohengrin'', recording among others opera and lieder, ...

, and Erika Köth, along with selected operetta arias and duets by Lehár and

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...

Films

' has been filmed at least six times, as follows: *1920: directed by Arthur Wellin (silent) *'' Schwarzwaldmädel'' (1929): directed by

Victor Janson Victor Arthur Eduard Janson ( lv, Viktors Artūrs Eduards Jansons; 25 September 1884 – 29 June 1960) was a German stage and film actor and film director of Latvian ethnicity. Selected filmography Actor * ''Your Dearest Enemy'' (1916) * '' When ...

; with

Liane Haid Juliane "Liane" Haid (16 August 1895 – 28 November 2000) was an Austrian actress and singer. She has often been referred to as Austria's first movie star. Biography Juliane Haid was born in Vienna on 16 August 1895, the first child to Georg ...

Fred Louis Lerch Fred Louis Lerch (28 March 1902 – 26 August 1985) was an Austrian actor who was a star of German films. From 1951 till 1961 he worked again for German cinema as a production manager. Selected filmography * '' The Portrait'' (1923) * '' A Waltz ...

, and

Walter Janssen Walter Janssen (7 February 1887 – 1 January 1976) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1917 and 1970. Selected filmography * '' The Dancer'' (1919) * ''Destiny'' (1921) * ''Wandering Souls'' (1 ...

*'' Schwarzwaldmädel'' (1933): directed by Georg Zoch; with Walter Janssen *1950: directed by

Hans Deppe Hans Deppe (; 12 November 1897 – 23 September 1969) was a German actor and film director. Filmography As director As actor References External links * 1897 births 1969 deaths German male film actors German television dire ...

; with

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger, founder of the ...

Sonja Ziemann Sonja Alice Selma Toni Ziemann (; 8 February 1926 – 17 February 2020) was a German film and television actress. In the 1950s, she was among Germany's most prominent actresses, awarded the 1950 Bambi for appearing, together with Rudolf Prack, ...

, and

Rudolf Prack Rudolf Prack (2 August 1905 – 2 December 1981) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * ''Florentine'' (1937) * ''Prinzessin Sissy'' (1939) - Prince Luitpold * '' A Mother's Love'' (1939) - Felix Pirlinger - 1922 * ''Krambambuli'' ( ...

(released in the UK as '' The Black Forest Girl'') *1961 (TV): directed by Wilm ten Haaf; with Willy Reichert *1973 (TV): directed by

Wolfgang Liebeneiner Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, film director and theatre director. Beginnings He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of th ...

; with

Wolfgang Windgassen Wolfgang Windgassen (26 June 1914 – 8 September 1974) was a heldentenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas. Life and career Born in Annemasse, France, he was the son (and pupil) of a well known German Heldentenor, Fritz ...

References

Notes

External links

' (''Black Forest Girl'')
– complete synopsis
'
(excerpts)
'
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarzwaldmadel Compositions by Leon Jessel German-language operettas Operas set in Germany 1917 operas