''King Manfred'' (König Manfred), Op. 93 is a grand romantic opera in 5 acts by

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as u ...

to libretto by

Friedrich Roeber Johann Friedrich Gerhard Roeber (19 June 1819 – 12 October 1901) was a German writer and historian who participated in literary circles in Elberfeld and Wuppertal, in Germany. Life Johann Friedrich Gerhard Roeber was born on 19 June 1819 ...

. It was composed in 1866 and staged in 1867.''Klaus Tischendorf''
Booklet notes to Marco Polo 8.223117 / Naxos 8.555397
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History

The music was composed from April to December 1866 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, where Reinecke was already director of the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus () is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The ...

concerts and professor at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

. The first performance took place at the Royal Court Theater of

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

on 26 July 1867 with

Wilhelm Jahn Wilhelm Jahn (24 November 1835 in Dvorce – 21 April 1900 in Vienna) was an Austrian conductor. Life Jahn served as director of the Vienna Court Opera from 1880 to 1897 and principal conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1882 ...

as conductor. Although it was a huge success, the opera remained in repertoire only for a while (a printed libretto appeared as late as in 1881). The Overture and the Prelude to Act V were among Reinecke's most favorite compositions. The full score of the opera was published by

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 ...

in 1868, as well as the vocal score, prepared by composer himself. Several popular excerpts were published in different arrangements.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera deals with

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction. Byr ...

, 13th-century

King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which oc ...

(1232-1266), against whom was half Europe: eventually he fell in battle against

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

. The action takes place in 1266 in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

List of musical numbers

The following list is based on the Breitkopf & Härtel 1868 vocal score. *Overture ;Act I *No. 1. Chor *No. 2. *No. 3. Arie mit Chor *No. 4. Sextett mit Chor *No. 5. Recitativ und Arie *No. 6. Recitativ *No. 7. Lied mit Chor *No. 8. Recitativ und Terzett *No. 9. Finale ;Act II *No. 10. *No. 11. Duett *No. 12. Solo mit Chor *No. 13. *No. 14. Duett *No. 15. Lied *No. 16. Scene und Duett ;Act III *No. 17. Chor *No. 18. Recitativ und Terzett *No. 19. Chor und Ballett *No. 20. Finale ;Act IV *No. 21. Entr'act *No. 22. Duett mit Ballett *No. 23. Recitativ und Duett *No. 24. Duett *No. 25. Recitativ und Arie *No. 26. Recitativ *No. 27. Arie *No. 28. Finale ;Act V *No. 29. Vorspiel *No. 30. Recitativ *No. 31. Romanze *No. 32. Recitativ und Arie *No. 33. Recitativ und Scene *No. 34. Recitativ und Chor *No. 35. Recitativ *No. 36. Arioso und Schlusschor

Recordings

* (rec. 1987) Carl Reinecke: Symphony No. 1; King Manfred (Overture; Nos. 21 & 29; part II of No. 19) — Rhenish Philharmonic Orchestra,

Alfred Walter Alfred Walter (May 8, 1929 – March 7, 2004) was a Bohemian-Austrian conductor. He was born in Southern Bohemia to Austrian parents, and studied at the University of Graz. He was appointed as assistant conductor to the Opera of Ravensburg in 1 ...

—

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

br>8.223117
(reissued Naxo
8.555397
* (rec. 2013, 2014, 2016) Carl Reinecke: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1: Symphonies 1 & 3; König Manfred (Overture; Nos. 21 & 29) —

Münchner Rundfunkorchester The Munich Radio Orchestra (German: ''Münchner Rundfunkorchester'') is a German symphony broadcast orchestra based in Munich. It is one of the two orchestras affiliated with the Bavarian Radio (Bayerischer Rundfunk), the other being the Bavaria ...

, Henry Raudales — cpobr>555 114-2

References

External links

*
19th-century German libretto
*An anonymous review of the first performance in: {{DEFAULTSORT:Konig Manfred Operas by Carl Reinecke 1866 operas German-language operas Operas