(German for ''The Enchanted Island'') 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 libr ...

libretto written by German poet and dramatist

Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter (3 September 1746 – 18 March 1797) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography He was born at Gotha. He started out studying law, but early on was influenced to write for the theatre. After the completion of his univer ...

(1746–1797), after an earlier version by his friend , based on

Thomas Shadwell Thomas Shadwell ( – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1689. Life Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, Weeting-with-Broomhill or Santon House, Lynford, Norfolk, and educated at B ...

's operatic version of Dryden's '' The Enchanted Island'', itself based on

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 natio ...

's '' The Tempest''. After Gotter's death his widow was persuaded by Schiller to publish her late husband's libretto in his '' Die Horen'' in issues 8 and 9 of 1797. The libretto was first set by Johann Friedrich Anton Fleischmann for a Singspiel that premiered in 1798 in Weimar under

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

's direction. Fleischmann's setting however was not notably successful and was overshadowed by the second setting of ''Die Geisterinsel'' by

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...

, which premiered in 1798 in Berlin. Five more settings of the libretto followed in 1879, and another ''Die Geisterinsel'' by

Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (10 January 1760 – 27 January 1802) was a German composer and conductor. Zumsteeg championed the operas of Mozart in Stuttgart, staging the first performances there of '' Die Zauberflöte,'' ''Don Giovanni,'' and '' ...

premiered in 1805 in Dresden.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geisterinsel, Die Opera libretti Operas based on The Tempest