''Zar und Zimmermann'' (''Tsar and Carpenter'') is a comic

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, music by

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French '' opéra comique'', whic ...

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 ...

by the composer after Georg Christian Römer's ''Der Bürgermeister von Saardam, oder Die zwei Peter'', itself based on the French play ''Le Bourgmestre de Saardam, ou Les deux Pierre'' by Mélésville,

Jean-Toussaint Merle Jean-Toussaint Merle (10 June 1785– 27 February 1852) was a French playwright and journalist. Biography Merle had a good education at the Central School of the department of Hérault before arriving in Paris in 1803. At first an employee at ...

, and Eugène Centiran de Boirie. Ultimately, it goes back to the historical

Grand Embassy of Peter the Great The Grand Embassy (russian: Вели́кое посо́льство, translit=Velíkoye posól'stvo) was a Russian diplomatic mission to Western Europe from 9 March 1697 to 25 August 1698 led by Peter the Great. Description In 1697 and 1698, Pete ...

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

had set the same story in his 1827 opera '' Il borgomastro di Saardam''.

Performance history

The opera was first performed at the Stadttheater in Leipzig, on 22 December

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens's ...

. Lortzing's most successful and enduring work, it is still regularly performed in German-speaking countries.

Roles

Synopsis

The action takes place in Saardam, Holland, in 1698.

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

of Russia, disguised as Peter Michaelov, a common laborer, is working in a shipyard in the Dutch town of Saardam, to learn shipbuilding techniques for his navy. He befriends a fellow Russian also working in the yard, Peter Ivanov, a deserter from the Russian army. Peter Ivanov is in love with Marie, the niece of Van Bett, the Burgomaster of Saardam. Tsar Peter is told of trouble in Russia, and decides to return home. Van Bett has been told to find a foreigner named Peter in the shipyard. The English ambassador, Syndham, and the French ambassador, Chateauneuf, have both heard the rumor of Tsar Peter's disguised presence and are looking for him, which convinces Van Bett that "Peter" is an important man. But in confusion, he identifies the wrong Peter. Chateauneuf recognises the real Tsar, and concludes an alliance with him. Syndham is fooled and presents Peter Ivanov with a passport. Van Bett, very confused, salutes Peter Ivanov with an elaborate ceremony. Peter Ivanov gives the passport to Tsar Peter, who uses it to leave quietly, having first blessed Peter Ivanov's marriage to Marie, and appointed him to a high office in Russia.

Recordings and adaptations

*Georg Hann, Hubert Buchta, Wilhelm Strienz, Margot Gripekoven, Bruno Muller, Heinrich Holzlin, Emma Mayer, Hermann Schmid-Berikoven. Chor und Orchester des Reichssenders Stuttgart / Bernhard Zimmerman. 28 May 1936.(The Radio Years) (details from the recording) *

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 and ...

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Gottlob Frick Gottlob Frick (28 July 1906 in Ölbronn-Dürrn – 18 August 1994 in Muhlacker) was a German operatic bass. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles, as well as those of Nicolai and Lortzing. Career Frick's te ...

Erika Köth Erika Köth (15 September 1925 in Darmstadt – 20 February 1989 in Speyer) was a German operatic high coloratura soprano, particularly associated with the roles of Ariadne auf Naxos, Zerbinetta and Don Giovanni, Zerlina. Köth began a musical ...

; Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks,

Staatskapelle Dresden The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

, conductor

Robert Heger Robert Heger (19 August 1886 – 14 January 1978) was a German conductor and composer from Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine. Life and career He studied at the Conservatory of Strasbourg under Franz Stockhausen, then in Zurich under Lothar ...

. 1966 EMI. *

Raymond Wolansky Raymond Wolansky (15 February 1926 – 1 December 1998) was an American operatic baritone who made a career in Europe. A long-term member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, he appeared in leading roles such as Verdi's Nabucco and Rigoletto at internati ...

, Peter Haage, Hans Sotin,

Lucia Popp Lucia Popp (born Lucia Poppová; 12 November 193916 November 1993) was a Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard S ...

, Herbert Fliether, Noël Mangin, Horst Wilhelm,

Ursula Boese Ursula Boese (27 July 1928 – 25 October 2016) was a German operatic contralto. A member of the Hamburg State Opera from 1960 to 1993, she pursued an international career. She appeared as Stravinsky's Iocaste at the San Francisco Opera in the ...

Franz Grundheber Franz Grundheber (born 27 September 1937) is a German operatic baritone. At the Hamburg State Opera, he performed over 150 roles from 1966. His voice is flexible enough to sing Italian opera as well as Wagner roles and contemporary opera; he is a ...

; Ballet and Chorus of the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg The Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg (Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra) is an internationally renowned symphony orchestra based in Hamburg. As of 2015, Kent Nagano has been General Music Director (''Generalmusikdirektor'') and chief c ...

, conductor

Sir Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

. 1969 Arthaus Musik. *In 1956 it was adapted into a film in East Germany, '' The Czar and the Carpenter''.

References

*Anderson, James, ''The Complete Dictionary of Opera and Operetta'', Wings Books, 1993. *Brown, Clive (1992), "''Zar und Zimmermann''" in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', ed.

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

(London)

External links

*
Libretto
in German at Opera Guide {{authority control German-language operas Operas by Albert Lortzing 1837 operas Operas Operas set in the Netherlands Works about the Dutch Golden Age Operas set in the 17th century Cultural depictions of Peter the Great