''Die Hochzeit des Camacho'' (''Camacho's Wedding'') is a Singspiel in two acts by Felix Mendelssohn, to a libretto probably written largely by , based on an episode in ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' by Cervantes. The opera is listed as Mendelssohn's op. 10. It was written between 1824 and 1825, and first performed publicly at the Berlin Schauspielhaus on 29 April 1827.

Background

Mendelssohn was only 15 when he began to write ''Camacho'', but he had already written other ''Singspiel'' for performance within the family circle. The first act was completed in 1824, and he began work on the overture in February 1825. He revised ''Camacho'' carefully to make it worthy of public performance. According to Felix's friend Eduard Devrient, who was to sing the role of Camacho, "motherly fondness yearned to witness the son's great success". The music to ''Camacho'' indicates that he had carefully studied the operas of

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

and of Mozart. Despite Mendelssohn's youth, there are some striking features, including what is in effect a leitmotif played on the brass to characterise Don Quixote, which is also heard in the opening bars of the overture and in the opera's final

cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...

. Before the work was accepted for the Berlin stage, it was reviewed by

Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...

, who was conductor at the Berlin Court Opera. According to Devrient:

The score was criticised with pitying deprecation, winding up with the following admonition – as Spontini led the young man to the window which was opposite to the dome of the Jewish church ynagogue– 'Mon ami, il vous faut des idées grandes, grandes comme cette coupole'. y friend, you should have big ideas, as big as that dome/blockquote> The rehearsals were hampered by the illness of Blume (he contracted jaundice) who was singing Quixote. In the event, Mendelssohn grew impatient during the premiere, and left before the second act. Devrient comments, "the house was crowded with well-wishers, and the applause was profuse and enthusiastic; the music however did not give genuine pleasure". Some acerbic criticism appeared in the press, some of it apparently taunting Mendelssohn's
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish origins. The poet
Ludwig Rellstab Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Rellstab (13 April 179927 November 1860) was a German poet and music critic. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of the music publisher and composer Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab. An able pianist, he publ ...
also criticised the cumbersome libretto. The experience soured Mendelssohn towards both opera and journalism. He cancelled all further performances of ''Camacho''; it remained therefore the only one of his operas to have a public performance in his lifetime. However, a piano score of the opera was published in 1828, probably subsidized by Felix's father
Abraham Mendelssohn Abraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Abraham Mendelssohn; 10 December 1776 – 19 November 1835) was a German banker and philanthropist. He was the father of Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn, Rebecka Mendelssohn, and Paul Mendelssohn ...
. There was a single performance of the opera in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in 1885,Wilfrid Blunt, ''On Wings of Song'' (1974), p. 75, note 1 but the first modern performance of Mendelssohn's final version of the opera was on 24 February 1987 at the
Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfo ...
. In 1992 Jos Van Immerseel made a CD-recording of the work (Channel Classics).

Roles

Synopsis
Carrasco intends Quitieria, against her will, to marry Camacho. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are invited to the wedding celebrations. Basilio, Quitieria's true love, enlists Lucinda and Vivaldo to assist him by various stratagems. Many of these are foiled inadvertently by the eccentric behaviour of Quixote. Eventually Basilio pretends to stab himself and begs to marry Quitieria so that he can die happy. On Basilio's instant recovery after the ceremony, Camacho admits defeat.

Notes

Sources
* Eduard Devrient, tr. Natalia Macfarren, ''My Reminiscences of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy'', London, 1869 *R. Larry Todd, ''Mendelssohn, A Life in Music''. Oxford, 2003

Further reading
*Clive Brown, "''Die Hochzeit des Camacho''", Grove Music Online.

External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochzeit Des Camacho, Die Operas 1827 operas Singspiele German-language operas Operas by Felix Mendelssohn Operas based on Don Quixote Operas set in Spain