''Wieland der Schmied'' ''(Wieland the Smith''; Slovak:'' Kováč Wieland)'' 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 three acts by Ján Levoslav Bella first performed in 1926, to a libretto by Oskar Schlemm based on an original libretto draft by

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 ...

The libretto

Wagner was motivated by his enthusiasm for the ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' symphony of Hector Berlioz to create a libretto which might serve for a production at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

, with music perhaps to be written by Berlioz or by himself. The draft, which is mostly in prose, was written between December 1849 and March 1850. It was published as an appendix to Wagner's essay ''

The Art-Work of the Future "The Artwork of the Future" (german: Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft) is a long essay written by Richard Wagner, first published in 1849 in Leipzig, in which he sets out some of his ideals on the topics of art in general and music drama in particular. ...

'' as an example of the ideals to which such art-works should aspire - "a glorious Saga which long ago the raw, uncultured Folk of old-time Germany indited for no other reason than that of inner, free, Necessity". However it was never set as an opera by Wagner or any other composer before Bella.

The opera

Oskar Schlemm adapted Wagner's outline to a full libretto (in German) for Bella, who wrote the music for it between 1880 and 1890, during which period he was living in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

(now in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

). The opera was eventually produced in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

at the

Slovak National Theatre The Slovak National Theater ( sk, Slovenské národné divadlo, abbr. SND) is the oldest professional theatre in Slovakia, consisting of three ensembles: opera, ballet, and drama. Its history begins shortly after the establishment of the first ...

on 28 April 1926, conducted by

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Benne ...

, in a Slovak translation by Vladimir Roy, under the title ''Kováč Wieland''. This was the first ever staging of an original opera in Slovak. The composer was in the audience, and the Slovak newspaper ''Slovenská politika'' reported "everyone will understand the magnitude of the moment and the tremor that seized us when the sweet singing of a Slovak word sounded from the stage."

Roles

*Wieland, a smith (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

) *Eigel, a hunter (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

), and Helferich, a healer ( bass), his brothers *Schwanhilde (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

) *Neiding, King of the Niar (bass) *Bathilda, his daughter (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

) *Gram, his marshal (tenor) *King Rothar (silent role) * Chorus: Friends of Wieland, Gram's retinue, Neiding's retinue, Niar, Vikings.

Story

The original legend of Wieland is told in Old Norse sources such as ''

Völundarkviða ''Vǫlundarkviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Völund'; modern Icelandic spelling: ''Völundarkviða'') is one of the mythological poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. The title is anglicized in various ways, including ''Völundarkvitha'', ''Völundark ...

'' (a poem in the

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...

) and ''

Þiðreks saga ''Þiðreks saga af Bern'' ('the saga of Þiðrekr of Bern', also ''Þiðrekssaga'', ''Þiðriks saga'', ''Niflunga saga'' or ''Vilkina saga'', with Anglicisations including ''Thidreksaga'') is an Old Norse chivalric saga centering the character ...

''. In them, Wieland is a smith, one of three brothers who had married

swan maiden The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, ...

s. Wieland is enslaved by a king. He takes revenge by killing the king's sons and then escapes by crafting a winged cloak and flying away. In Wagner's libretto, Schwanhilde is the daughter of a marriage between a mortal woman and a fairy king, who forbids his wife to ask about his origins; on her asking him he vanishes. Schwanhilde and her sisters are however able to fly as swans. But wounded by a spear, Schwanhilde falls to earth and is rescued by the master-craftsman Wieland, and marries him, putting aside her wings and her magic ring of power. Wieland's enemies, the Neidings, under Princess Bathilde, steal the ring, kidnap Schwanhilde and destroy Wieland's home. When Wieland searches for Schwanhilde, they entrap and cripple him. However he fashions wings for himself and escapes with Schwanhilde as the house of the Neidings is destroyed.Wagner (1993), pp. 215-248

References

Notes

Sources

* Elschek, Oskár (ed.), ''A History of Slovak Music'', Bratislava 2003. * * Millington, Barry (ed.), ''The Wagner Compendium'', London 1992 * Wagner, Richard tr. W. Ashton Ellis ''The Art-Work of the Future and other Works'', Lincoln and London 1993. *Warrack, John, ''The Musical Background'', in Peter Burbidge and Richard Sutton (eds.), ''The Wagner Companion'', London 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wieland der Schmied (opera) Operas 1926 operas German-language operas Libretti by Richard Wagner Operas based on myths and legends Swan maidens