Gunther von Schwarzburg Score - Gotz Edition

''Günther von Schwarzburg'' is a

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

in three acts by

Ignaz Holzbauer Ignaz Jakob Holzbauer (18 September 1711 – 7 April 1783) was an Austrian composer of symphony, symphonies, concertos, operas, and chamber music, and a member of the Mannheim school. His aesthetic style is in line with that of the ''Sturm und Dran ...

set to a German

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

by Anton Klein. Loosely based on events in the life of the 14th-century German king, Günther von Schwarzburg, the opera premiered on 5 January 1777 at the Hoftheater in the

Mannheim Palace Mannheim Palace () is a large Baroque architecture, Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the main residence of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach until 177 ...

Background

Holzbauer's librettist, Anton Klein — a former

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who taught philosophy and literature at Mannheim University — was a strong advocate for the use of German and set about writing a libretto comparable to those written for Italian

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...

. The writing was also influenced by contemporary

Sturm und Drang (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...

literature. However, the colourful music was praised unanimously whereas the drama divided its critics into those who exalted it and its strongly patriotic message, and those who thought that it lacked literary quality.

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

attended a performance on 5 November 1777 and in a letter to his father on 14 November 1777, he praised the music but scorned the libretto:

Holzbauer′s music is very beautiful, but the poetry is not worthy of such music. What surprises me the most is, that so old a man as Holzbauer 6 yearsshould still have so much spirit, for the opera is incredibly full of fire.

''Günther von Schwarzburg'' was the first full German opera score to come off a printing press. The beautifully engraved edition was published by the Mannheim firm of Johann Michael Götz with a dedication to Karl Theodor: ″the most illustrious patron of music under whose august protection the Palatinate Theatre has first praised a German hero.″

Performance history

The first performance took place at the Hoftheater in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

on 5 January

1777 Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second ...

in a lavish production with sets designed by Lorenzo Quaglio. The performance also included a ballet

choreographed Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer creates choreographies thr ...

by Étienne Lauchery to music by

Christian Cannabich Johann Christian Innocenz Bonaventura Cannabich (28 December 1731 (bapt.) – 20 January 1798), was a German violinist, composer, and Kapellmeister of the Classical era. A composer of some 200 works, he continued the legacy of Johann Stamitz ...

. The cast included two of the most famous singers of the day, Anton Raaff as Günther von Schwarzburg and

Francesca Lebrun Francesca Lebrun (; 24 March 1756 – 14 May 1791) was a celebrated German soprano associated with the court at Mannheim, as well as an accomplished composer of sonatas. As a singer, she was renowned for her vocal dexterity and was highly sought ...

(née Franziska Danzi) as Anna, a role which Holzbauer had composed specifically for her voice. The opera was successfully revived in Mannheim in 1785. Modern revivals of the opera include a radio broadcast (RAI) in 1960, sung in Italian, with

Luigi Infantino Luigi Infantino (; 24 April 1921 – 22 June 1991) was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the lyric Italian and French repertories. Luigi Infantino was born in Racalmuto, and studied at the Parma Conservatory with Italo B ...

and

Anna Moffo Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agili ...

, conducted by Oliviero De Fabritiis, and the 1994 concert performance in Frankfurt conducted by Michael Schneider with

Christoph Prégardien Christoph Prégardien (born 18 January 1956) is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music. He is well known for his performances a ...

in the title role and the 1997 concert performance in Amsterdam conducted by

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman (; born 2 October 1944) is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. He is a professor ...

with

John Aler John Aler (October 4, 1949 – December 10, 2022) was an American lyric tenor who performed in concerts, recitals, and operas. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel. Bi ...

in the title role.

Roles

Synopsis

Set in 1349, the opera is loosely based on the 1347–1349 succession crisis in Germany. The plot centers on the conflict between Karl, King of Bohemia and Count Günther von Schwarzburg to succeed

Ludwig the Bavarian Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was cont ...

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. Günther is supported by the powerful

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of t ...

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

. However, Asberta indulges in intrigue on behalf of her son Karl by manipulating Anna, Rudolf′s daughter. In the end, both Günther and his antagonist Asberta die. Günther is poisoned by Asberta, and she commits suicide.Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004) Karl secures his throne and marries Anna. Günther′s last words are:

Recording

*Ignaz Holzbauer: ''Günther von Schwarzburg'' (

(tenor), Claron McFadden (soprano), Clarry Bartha (soprano),

Michael Schopper Michael Schopper (born 28 May 1942) is a German bass-baritone in opera and concert, and an academic teacher. Michael Schopper was educated with the Regensburger Domspatzen and studied on a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes ...

(bass), Robert Worle (tenor), La Stagione Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Michael Schneider). Live performance, Frankfurt 1994. Capriccio CPO 999265.

Notes and references

Notes References * Abert, Hermann (2007), ''W. A. Mozart'' (translated from the original German by Stewart Spencer, ed.

Cliff Eisen Cliff Eisen (born 21 January 1952 in Toronto) is a Canadian musicologist and Mozart expert. He was based in the Department of Music at King's College London. He studied at the University of Toronto and at Cornell University, and has taught at the U ...

), Yale University Press * *Corneilson, Paul (1992), ″Günther von Schwarzburg″ in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', ed.

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

(London) *Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004
″Dying Scenes in the German Opera of the late 18th Century″
abstract of a paper given at the 3rd Global Conference of ''Making Sense of Dying and Death'' (Vienna, December 2−4, 2004) *Höft, Brigitte (1992), ″Lebrun″ in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) *Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1866)
''The letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart'', Vol. 1
(English translation by Lady Grace Wallace). New York: Hurd and Houghton

External links

* * Scor

an

in ''

Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst ''Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst'' (literally "Monuments of German musical art") is a historical edition of music from Germany, covering the Baroque and Classical periods. The edition comprises two series: the first appeared in sixty-five volum ...

'', vols. 8 and 9, 1902,

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel () is a German Music publisher, music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher. Overview The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works ...

foreword
by

Hermann Kretzschmar August Ferdinand Hermann Kretzschmar (19 January 1848 – 10 May 1924) was a German musicologist and writer, and is considered a founder of hermeneutics in musical interpretation and study. Life and career Born in Olbernhau, Kingdom of Sa ...

, at

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

''Günther von Schwarzburg''
on Amazon
audio samples of the opera

three scenes
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther von Schwarzburg Operas Operas by Ignaz Holzbauer Singspiele German-language operas 1777 operas German patriotic songs