''Der Barbier von Bagdad'' (''The Barber of Baghdad'') is a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

in two acts by

Peter Cornelius Carl August Peter Cornelius (24 December 1824 – 26 October 1874) was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator. Life He was born in Mainz to Carl Joseph Gerhard (1793–1843) and Friederike (1789–1867) Cornelius, actors i ...

to a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

libretto by the composer, based on ''The Tale of the Tailor'' and ''The Barber’s Stories of his Six Brothers'' in '' One Thousand and One Nights''. The first of three operas by Cornelius, the piece was first performed at the Hoftheater in Weimar on 15 December 1858.Holden, p. 88

Performance history

Cornelius planned the work as a one-act comedy, but on the advice of Franz Liszt expanded it to two. Franz Liszt later arranged the second overture for orchestra (S.352). Unlike most German comic operas of the period, which have spoken dialogue, ''Der Barbier von Bagdad'' is through composed. Cornelius offered the inventive and complex opera as an alternative to the contemporary German opera composers such as Richard Wagner, whose ideological fervor he found overwhelming.Information from answers.com
/ref> At its first performance the opera was a failure, and it was not played again in the composer's lifetime. The composer's mentor and friend Franz Liszt conducted the premiere. However, political actions by the director of the theater resulted in demonstrations against Liszt and the so-called neo-German school of composition. The opera closed after only one performance, and Liszt resigned his post. Cornelius also left Weimar. In the late 19th century two versions were made, by the noted Wagnerian conductors Felix Mottl and

Hermann Levi Hermann Levi (7 November 1839 – 13 May 1900) was a German Jewish orchestral conductor. Levi was born in Giessen, Germany, the son of a rabbi. He was educated at Giessen and Mannheim, and came to Vinzenz Lachner's notice. From 1855 to 1858 ...

. In

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

the work was first played in 1890 by the Metropolitan Opera House Company and in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1891. Finally, in June 1904, the original version as composed by Cornelius was again staged in the Weimar Hoftheater, this time to popular approval and critical acclaim. In the 20th century, the opera was performed infrequently abroad but held its own in German opera companies using the original text, rather than Mottl's or Levi's revisions. It has a minor niche in the operatic repertoire.

Roles

Synopsis

The hero, Nureddin, is in love with Margiana, daughter of the Cadi. Bostana, a relative of the Cadi, approving of Nureddin, helps him to woo Margiana by making himself presentable. Abdul Hassan, the barber is summoned, and like his confrère of Seville in Rossini's earlier opera, he adopts the role of co-conspirator in the romance. (Like Rossini's Figaro, he delivers a virtuoso patter aria, "Bin Akademiker".In his song, he describes all of his various qualifications, "I'm an academic, doctor and chemist, ...": :Bin Akademiker :Doktor und Chemiker, :Bin Mathematiker :Und Arithmetiker, :Bin auch Grammatiker, :Sowie Ästhetiker, :Ferner Rhetoriker, :Grosser Historiker, :Astrolog, Philolog, :Physiker, Geolog. ) Margiana waits for Nureddin in the women's quarters of her father's house. He is proposing to marry her off to a rich friend, but when he leaves, Nureddin enters to woo Margiana. A traditional farcical plot then unfolds, with the barber breaking in, Nureddin hiding in a treasure chest and being carried away by servants, and a happy ending when the Caliph arrives and Nureddin is released and betrothed to Margiana.

Recordings

*1939: Leonhardt – Eipperle/Waldenau/Osswald/Ludwig-W/Welitsch/Hann – Koch Schwann (live in Stuttgart) *1951: Keilberth – Schlemm/Roesler/Offermanns/ Schock/Schmitt-Walter/Böhme – Gebhardt *1952: Hollreiser – Jurinac/ Rössl-Majdan/Majkut/ Schock/Poell/Frick – Melodram (live in Vienna, mono) *1956: Leinsdorf – Schwarzkopf/Hoffmann/Unger/Gedda/Prey/Czerwenka – EMI *1957: Matzerath -

Helmut Krebs Helmut is a German name. Variants include Hellmut, Helmuth, and Hellmuth. From old German, the first element deriving from either ''heil'' ("healthy") or ''hiltja'' ("battle"), and the second from ''muot'' ("spirit, mind, mood"). Helmut may ref ...

, Benno Kusche, Anneliese Rothenberger,

Josef Greindl Josef Greindl (23 December 1912 - 16 April 1993) was a German operatic bass, remembered mainly for his performances of Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth beginning in 1943. Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with Pa ...

, Richard Holm &

Gisela Litz Gisela Litz (14 December 1922 – 21 July 2023) was a German contralto who sang frequently at the Bayreuth Festival. A recording is available of her singing as one of the Rhinemaidens in ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' conducted by Clemens Krauss in ...

- Walhall Eternity Series *1973: Hollreiser – Geszty/Schmidt-T/Unger/Kraus-Ad/Weikl/ Ridderbusch, Bavarian Radio Chorus and

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestr ...

– Eurodisc (live in Munich) *1974: Leitner – Donath/ Schiml/Peter/Laubenthal/Duesing/Sotin – Profil

References

Notes Sources *Holden, Amanda (ed), ''The Penguin Opera Guide'', London: Penguin Books, 1995,
Information from answers.comExtensive synopsis at the Music encyclopedia website
*Pines, Roger, ''The Opera Quarterly'', Volume 20, Number 1, Winter 2004, pp. 141–143 (available a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbier von Bagdad, Der German-language operas Romantische Opern Operas 1858 operas Operas by Peter Cornelius Music based on One Thousand and One Nights Operas set in the Middle East