Abu Hassan
Encyclopedia
Abu Hassan is a comic opera
in one act by Carl Maria von Weber
to a German
libretto
by Franz Hiemer, based on a story in One Thousand and One Nights. It was composed between 11 August 1810 and 12 January 1811 and has set numbers with recitative
and spoken dialogue.
in Munich
on 4 June 1811, under Peter Winter
. In London
it was produced in English at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
in 1835, and in Italian at Drury Lane on 12 May 1870 (at the same time as Mozart
's L'oca del Cairo
), the translation being made by Marchesi, and the dialogue set to recitative by Arditi.
Abu Hassan is not now part of the commonly performed operatic repertory, though it is sometimes staged.
of Baghdad
, is heavily in debt. To retrieve his fortunes, he sends his wife Fatima to the Caliph's wife, Zobeide, to announce his (Hassan's) death, for which Fatima will receive 50 pieces of gold and a piece of brocade. After Fatima has set off, creditors enter Abu Hassan's house to collect money. Omar, the richest creditor, is tricked into believing that Fatima has spoken to him of love, so he agrees to pay all the other creditors.
Fatima returns with the presents from Zobeide. Abu Hassan now goes to visit the Caliph, intending to try a similar story about his wife and get money from him. While he is out, Omar reappears and demands a kiss from Fatima, but Abu Hassan returns. Omar hides in an adjoining room, and the husband and wife enjoy his fear of being discovered.
Now Mesrur, a messenger from the Caliph, arrives, to see if Fatima really is dead. Both the Caliph and his wife want to know who it was who died, and if both, who died first. Mesrur, seeing Fatima lying on the divan, her husband in apparent distress at her side, runs back to tell the Caliph. He has only just gone, when Zobeide's nurse runs in on a similar errand. This time it is Hassan who feigns death, while Fatima is all tears and lamenting.
Finally the Caliph and his wife are announced. Hassan and Fatima throw themselves on the divan, covering themselves, as if dead. The Caliph now offers 1,000 gold pieces to anyone who will tell him which of them died first. Hassan revives and throws himself at the Caliph's feet, saying "It was me - I died first!" He asks for a pardon, as well as the gold. Fatima does likewise, and the Caliph pardons them both. Omar, having paid off Hassan's debts in the hope of winning Fatima's heart, is sent away in disgrace.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in one act by Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
to a German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Franz Hiemer, based on a story in One Thousand and One Nights. It was composed between 11 August 1810 and 12 January 1811 and has set numbers with recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
and spoken dialogue.
Performance history
Abu Hassan was first performed at the Residenz TheaterCuvilliés Theatre
The Cuvilliés Theatre or Old Residence Theatre is the former court theatre of the Residenz in Munich, southern Germany.- Description :...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 4 June 1811, under Peter Winter
Peter Winter
Peter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera....
. In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
it was produced in English at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
in 1835, and in Italian at Drury Lane on 12 May 1870 (at the same time as Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's L'oca del Cairo
L'oca del Cairo
L'oca del Cairo is an opera buffa in three acts, K. 422, begun by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in July 1783 but abandoned in October.The complete three act libretto by Giovanni Battista Varesco remains....
), the translation being made by Marchesi, and the dialogue set to recitative by Arditi.
Abu Hassan is not now part of the commonly performed operatic repertory, though it is sometimes staged.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 4 June 1811 (Conductor: Peter Winter Peter Winter Peter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera.... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Abu Hassan, cup-bearer to the Caliph | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Georg Mittermaier |
| Fatime, his wife | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Josefa Flerk |
| Omar, a money-lender | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Aloys Muck |
| Caliph | spoken | |
| Zobeide, the Caliph's wife | spoken | |
Synopsis
Abu Hassan, a favorite of the CaliphCaliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, is heavily in debt. To retrieve his fortunes, he sends his wife Fatima to the Caliph's wife, Zobeide, to announce his (Hassan's) death, for which Fatima will receive 50 pieces of gold and a piece of brocade. After Fatima has set off, creditors enter Abu Hassan's house to collect money. Omar, the richest creditor, is tricked into believing that Fatima has spoken to him of love, so he agrees to pay all the other creditors.
Fatima returns with the presents from Zobeide. Abu Hassan now goes to visit the Caliph, intending to try a similar story about his wife and get money from him. While he is out, Omar reappears and demands a kiss from Fatima, but Abu Hassan returns. Omar hides in an adjoining room, and the husband and wife enjoy his fear of being discovered.
Now Mesrur, a messenger from the Caliph, arrives, to see if Fatima really is dead. Both the Caliph and his wife want to know who it was who died, and if both, who died first. Mesrur, seeing Fatima lying on the divan, her husband in apparent distress at her side, runs back to tell the Caliph. He has only just gone, when Zobeide's nurse runs in on a similar errand. This time it is Hassan who feigns death, while Fatima is all tears and lamenting.
Finally the Caliph and his wife are announced. Hassan and Fatima throw themselves on the divan, covering themselves, as if dead. The Caliph now offers 1,000 gold pieces to anyone who will tell him which of them died first. Hassan revives and throws himself at the Caliph's feet, saying "It was me - I died first!" He asks for a pardon, as well as the gold. Fatima does likewise, and the Caliph pardons them both. Omar, having paid off Hassan's debts in the hope of winning Fatima's heart, is sent away in disgrace.
Recordings
The opera was recorded in 2003 by Capella Coloniensis, directed by Bruno Weil. Other recordings have been made by Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leopold Ludwig, Heinz Rögner, Gustav Kuhn and Gennady Rozhdestvensky, the last in Russian.External links
- Abu Hassan synopsis from Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
- Abu Hassan plot summary and character descriptions from StageAgent.com