Der Rattenfänger von Hameln
Encyclopedia
Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (The Rat-Catcher of Hamelin or The Piper of Hamelin) is a grand opera
(Grosse Oper) in five acts by Viktor Nessler
. The German
libretto was by Friedrich Hofmann based on a romantic poem by Julius Wolff.
, on 19 March 1879. The first performance in America was at the Thalia Theatre
, New York
on 28 April 1886 under John Lund.
The premiere in Vienna
was given in 1897, which the critic Eduard Hanslick
attended. He regarded the opera as over long and old fashioned.
who rids the town of Hamelin of its rats. Hunold is not suitably rewarded by the townspeople, and they pay a terrible price when he lures all the children away and they disappear.
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
(Grosse Oper) in five acts by Viktor Nessler
Viktor Nessler
Viktor Ernst Nessler was an Alsatian composer who worked mainly in Leipzig.Nessler was born at Baldenheim near Sélestat, Alsace. At Strasbourg he began his university career with the study of theology, but he concluded it with the production of a light opera entitled Fleurette...
. The 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 was by Friedrich Hofmann based on a romantic poem by Julius Wolff.
Performance history
The opera was first performed at the Neues Stadttheater in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, on 19 March 1879. The first performance in America was at the Thalia Theatre
Bowery Theatre
The Bowery Theatre was a playhouse in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City. Although it was founded by rich families to compete with the upscale Park Theatre, the Bowery saw its most successful period under the populist, pro-American management of Thomas Hamblin in the 1830s and 1840s...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 28 April 1886 under John Lund.
The premiere in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
was given in 1897, which the critic Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick was a Bohemian-Austrian music critic.-Biography:Hanslick was born in Prague, the son of Joseph Adolph Hanslick, a bibliographer and music teacher from a German-speaking family, and one of his piano pupils, the daughter of a Jewish merchant from Vienna...
attended. He regarded the opera as over long and old fashioned.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, March 19, 1879 (Conductor: Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch ; 12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London and - most importantly - Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Hunold Singuf, the rat-catcher | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
|
| Bertholdus de Sunneborne, the bailiff | bass | |
| Heribert de Sunneborne, son of Bertholdus, in love with Regina | 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... |
|
| Ethelerus, a clerk, also in love with Regina | tenor | |
| Gertrud, a fisher-girl | 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... |
|
| Wulf, a smith, in love with Gertrude | baritone | |
| Isfried Rhynperg, canon | bass | |
| Wichard Gruwelhot, the mayor | bass | |
| Regina, the mayor's daughter | soprano | |
| Dorothea, Regina's cousin | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
|
Synopsis
This is the 13th century tale of Hunold Singuf, the "pied piper"The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great many children from the town of Hamelin , Lower Saxony, Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in pied clothing, leading the children away from the town never...
who rids the town of Hamelin of its rats. Hunold is not suitably rewarded by the townspeople, and they pay a terrible price when he lures all the children away and they disappear.
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac
- Franklin, Peter (1992), 'Rattenfänger von Hameln, Der' 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
External links
- Synopsis at Bob's Universe
- http://www.gf-kuehn.de/oper/var/rara.htm#ZarReview dated 7 February 2004 of production in Freiberg, SaxonyFreiberg, SaxonyFreiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
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