Die Hochzeit des Camacho
Encyclopedia
Die Hochzeit des Camacho (Camacho's Wedding) is a Singspiel
in two acts by Felix Mendelssohn
, to a libretto
probably written largely by Friedrich Voigt, based on an episode in Cervantes
's Don Quixote. The opera is listed as Mendelssohn's op.
10. It was written between 1824 and 1825, and first performed publicly at the Berlin
Schauspielhaus on 29 April 1827.
in February 1825. He revised Camacho carefully to make it worthy of public performance. According to Felix's friend Eduard Devrient
, who was to sing the role of Camacho, 'motherly fondness yearned to witness the son's great success'. The music to Camacho indicates that he had carefully studied the operas of Carl Maria von Weber
and of Mozart. Despite Mendelssohn's youth, there are some striking features, including what is in effect a leitmotif
played on the brass to characterise Don Quixote, which is also heard in the opening bars of the overture and in the opera's final cadence
.
Before the work was accepted for the Berlin stage, it was reviewed by Spontini
, who was conductor at the Hofoper. According to Devrient:
The rehearsals were hampered by the illness of Blume (he contracted jaundice
) who was singing Quixote. In the event, Mendelssohn grew impatient during the premiere, and left before the second act. Devrient comments 'the house was crowded with well-wishers, and the applause was profuse and enthusiastic; the music however did not give genuine pleasure'. Some acerbic criticism appeared in the press, some of it apparently taunting Mendelssohn's Jewish origins. The poet Ludwig Rellstab
also criticised the cumbersome libretto. The experience soured Mendelssohn towards both opera and journalism. He canceled all further performances of Camacho; it remained therefore the only one of his operas to have a public performance in his lifetime. However, a piano score of the opera was published in 1828, probably subsidized by Felix's father Abraham Mendelssohn.
The first modern performance of Mendelssohn's final version of the opera was on 24 February 1987 at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1992 Jos Van Immerseel made a very successful CD-recording of the work (Channel Clssics)
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
in two acts by Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, to a 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...
probably written largely by Friedrich Voigt, based on an episode in Cervantes
Cervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
's Don Quixote. The opera is listed as Mendelssohn's op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
10. It was written between 1824 and 1825, and first performed publicly at the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
Schauspielhaus on 29 April 1827.
Background
Mendelssohn was only 15 when he began to write Camacho, but he had already written other Singspiels for performance within the family circle. The first act was completed in 1824, and he began work on the overtureOverture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
in February 1825. He revised Camacho carefully to make it worthy of public performance. According to Felix's friend Eduard Devrient
Eduard Devrient
Eduard Devrient was a German baritone, librettist, playwright, actor, theatre director and theatre reformer and historian.Devrient came from a theatrical family...
, who was to sing the role of Camacho, 'motherly fondness yearned to witness the son's great success'. The music to Camacho indicates that he had carefully studied the operas of 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....
and of Mozart. Despite Mendelssohn's youth, there are some striking features, including what is in effect a leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
played on the brass to characterise Don Quixote, which is also heard in the opening bars of the overture and in the opera's final cadence
Cadence (music)
In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
.
Before the work was accepted for the Berlin stage, it was reviewed by Spontini
Gaspare Spontini
Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini was an Italian opera composer and conductor, extremely celebrated in his time, though largely forgotten after his death.-Biography:...
, who was conductor at the Hofoper. According to Devrient:
The score was criticised with pitying deprecation, winding up with the following admonition - as Spontini led the young man to the window which was opposite to the dome of the Jewish church [synagogue] - 'Mon ami, il vous faut des idées grandes, grandes comme cette coupole'. [My friend, you should have big ideas, as big as that dome]
The rehearsals were hampered by the illness of Blume (he contracted jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
) who was singing Quixote. In the event, Mendelssohn grew impatient during the premiere, and left before the second act. Devrient comments 'the house was crowded with well-wishers, and the applause was profuse and enthusiastic; the music however did not give genuine pleasure'. Some acerbic criticism appeared in the press, some of it apparently taunting Mendelssohn's Jewish origins. The poet Ludwig Rellstab
Ludwig Rellstab
Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Rellstab was a German poet and music critic. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of the music publisher and composer Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab....
also criticised the cumbersome libretto. The experience soured Mendelssohn towards both opera and journalism. He canceled all further performances of Camacho; it remained therefore the only one of his operas to have a public performance in his lifetime. However, a piano score of the opera was published in 1828, probably subsidized by Felix's father Abraham Mendelssohn.
The first modern performance of Mendelssohn's final version of the opera was on 24 February 1987 at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1992 Jos Van Immerseel made a very successful CD-recording of the work (Channel Clssics)
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 29 April 1827 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Quitieria | 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... |
|
| Basilio, her lover | 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... |
|
| Carrasco, her father | bass | Eduard Devrient Eduard Devrient Eduard Devrient was a German baritone, librettist, playwright, actor, theatre director and theatre reformer and historian.Devrient came from a theatrical family... |
| Camacho, his neighbour | tenor | |
| Don Quixote | 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... |
Heinrich Blume |
| Sancho Panza Sancho Panza Sancho Panza is a fictional character in the novel Don Quixote written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote, and provides comments throughout the novel, known as sanchismos, that are a combination of broad humour, ironic Spanish proverbs,... |
bass | |
| Lucinda | soprano | |
| Vivaldo | tenor | |
Synopsis
Carrasco intends Quitieria, against her will, to marry Camacho. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are invited to the wedding celebrations. Basilio, Quitieria's true love, enlists Lucinda and Vivaldo to assist him by various stratagems. Many of these are foiled inadvertently by the eccentric behaviour of Quixote. Eventually Basilio pretends to stab himself and begs to marry Quitieria so that he can die happy. On Basilio's instant recovery after the ceremony, Camacho admits defeat.Sources
- Amadeus Almanac, accessed 30 July 2008
- Clive Brown, Die Hochzeit des Camacho, Grove Music Online.
- Eduard Devrient, tr. Natalia MacFarren, My Reminiscences of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, London, 1869
- R. Larry Todd, Mendelssohn, A Life in Music. Oxford, 2003