Carl David Stegmann
Encyclopedia
Carl David Stegmann was a German
tenor
, harpsichordist
, conductor, and composer
.
He was born in Staucha near Meissen
, the son of Johann Ehrenfried Stegmann and Anna Christiana Bretzner, and married Karoline Johanna Eleanore Linz producing two sons and four daughters. He received his initial musical training from the local organist at Staucha, then studied in Dresden
with J.F. Zillich (from 1760), at the Kreuzschule (1766 - 70) and later under Homilius and the violinist H.F. Weisse. Thereafter he rose rapidly as singer, actor, and harpsichordist; he went to Breslau in 1772 (with the Wäser theatre company), Königsberg
in 1773, Heilsberg
in 1774 (as court harpsichordist to the Bishop of Ermeland), Danzig in 1775, Königsberg again in 1776 (with the Schuch company) and later appeared in Gotha
(at the court theatre). From 1778 to 1783 he made the first of two extended visits to Hamburg
, winning particular renown as a harpsichordist. By that time six of his opera
s and Singspiel
s, first produced earlier in Königsberg and Danzig, were attracting performances elsewhere in northern Germany. In 1783 he left Hamburg to join the Grossmann company in Bonn
. He then became attached to the court theatre at Mainz
in association with which he made highly acclaimed guest appearances in Frankfurt
. He sang in the first German-language Don Giovanni
(Mainz, 13 Mar 1789), produced or conducted other operas by Mozart, Salieri, Gluck and Gassmann, composed incidental music (e.g. to Bürger's version of Macbeth, 30 Aug 1785) and acted in dramas by Lessing
and Schiller.
The summit of Stegmann's activities in Frankfurt was the production of his allegorical Singspiel Heinrich der Löwe (15 July 1792) to commemorate the coronation of Emperor Franz II. By the time of his return to Hamburg in November 1792, he was esteemed as a leading operatic producer and adapter, which compensated for the declining vocal prowess that forced him to restrict his appearances to comic roles (Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung, i, 1798-9, col. 713). In 1798 he joined the directorate of the Hamburg theatre, remaining there until 1811; thereafter he moved to Bonn and attracted attention mainly as a composer of incidental music and a series of instrumental works (Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung, iv, 1801-2, col. 261), including keyboard and multiple concertos. His earlier close acquaintance with the operas of Gluck and Mozart, and his later keyboard arrangements (published by his friend Simrock) of Haydn's symphonies, Mozart's string quintets and Beethoven's Trios op. 9, enabled him to produce instrumental music notable for contrapuntal and textural ingenuity, combined with an imaginative, if sometimes overladen, instrumentation.
As a composer for the theatre, Stegmann has attracted attention for his harmonic and tonal organisation and for using antecedent forms of leitmotif, showing an early interest in dramatic and psychological continuity. He died in Bonn
.
His daughter Margaretha Amalie von Neumann sang in the Royal Court Opera in Munich
, becoming Court Singer to the King of Bavaria, Max-Josef, in 1812, and later director of the Court Theatre in Munich until she died in 1839.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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...
, harpsichordist
Harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord.Many baroque composers played the harpsichord, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau...
, conductor, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
He was born in Staucha near Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
, the son of Johann Ehrenfried Stegmann and Anna Christiana Bretzner, and married Karoline Johanna Eleanore Linz producing two sons and four daughters. He received his initial musical training from the local organist at Staucha, then studied in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
with J.F. Zillich (from 1760), at the Kreuzschule (1766 - 70) and later under Homilius and the violinist H.F. Weisse. Thereafter he rose rapidly as singer, actor, and harpsichordist; he went to Breslau in 1772 (with the Wäser theatre company), Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
in 1773, Heilsberg
Heilsberg
Heilsberg:* German name of Lidzbark Warmiński* Battle of Heilsberg* Transmitter Heilsberg- See also :* Lidzbark* Lidzbark * Lidzbarski...
in 1774 (as court harpsichordist to the Bishop of Ermeland), Danzig in 1775, Königsberg again in 1776 (with the Schuch company) and later appeared in Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
(at the court theatre). From 1778 to 1783 he made the first of two extended visits to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, winning particular renown as a harpsichordist. By that time six of his opera
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...
s and Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
s, first produced earlier in Königsberg and Danzig, were attracting performances elsewhere in northern Germany. In 1783 he left Hamburg to join the Grossmann company in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. He then became attached to the court theatre at Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
in association with which he made highly acclaimed guest appearances in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. He sang in the first German-language Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(Mainz, 13 Mar 1789), produced or conducted other operas by Mozart, Salieri, Gluck and Gassmann, composed incidental music (e.g. to Bürger's version of Macbeth, 30 Aug 1785) and acted in dramas by Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
and Schiller.
The summit of Stegmann's activities in Frankfurt was the production of his allegorical Singspiel Heinrich der Löwe (15 July 1792) to commemorate the coronation of Emperor Franz II. By the time of his return to Hamburg in November 1792, he was esteemed as a leading operatic producer and adapter, which compensated for the declining vocal prowess that forced him to restrict his appearances to comic roles (Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung, i, 1798-9, col. 713). In 1798 he joined the directorate of the Hamburg theatre, remaining there until 1811; thereafter he moved to Bonn and attracted attention mainly as a composer of incidental music and a series of instrumental works (Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung, iv, 1801-2, col. 261), including keyboard and multiple concertos. His earlier close acquaintance with the operas of Gluck and Mozart, and his later keyboard arrangements (published by his friend Simrock) of Haydn's symphonies, Mozart's string quintets and Beethoven's Trios op. 9, enabled him to produce instrumental music notable for contrapuntal and textural ingenuity, combined with an imaginative, if sometimes overladen, instrumentation.
As a composer for the theatre, Stegmann has attracted attention for his harmonic and tonal organisation and for using antecedent forms of leitmotif, showing an early interest in dramatic and psychological continuity. He died in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
.
His daughter Margaretha Amalie von Neumann sang in the Royal Court Opera 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...
, becoming Court Singer to the King of Bavaria, Max-Josef, in 1812, and later director of the Court Theatre in Munich until she died in 1839.
Works
- Erwin und Elmire (1776)
- Philemon und Baucis (1777)
- Montgolfier (1788)
- Sultan Wampun (1791)
- Heinrich der Löwe (1792)
- Der Triumph der Liebe (1796)
Sources
- McCredie, Anrew D (1992), 'Stegmann, Carl David' in The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7