Es war einmal is a fairy-tale 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...

 in a prologue and three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky

Alexander von Zemlinsky

Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...

. Its 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...

, an adaptation of M. Von Borch's German translation of the fairy-tale play Der var engang by the Danish author Holger Drachmann

Holger Drachmann

Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann , was a Danish poet and dramatist. He is an outstanding figure of the Modern Break-Through....

, was written by Maximilian Singer.

Performance history

The opera was first performed on 22 January 1900 at the Vienna State Opera

Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

 conducted by Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...

 with Selma Kurz

Selma Kurz

Selma Kurz was an Austrian operatic soprano known for her brilliant coloratura technique.-Background:...

 and Erik Schmedes

Erik Schmedes

Erik Anton Julius Schmedes was an operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in operas by Richard Wagner. He was the brother-in-law of Vaslav Nijinsky....

 in the principal roles. The successful premiere resulted in a run of twelve performances. It was revived in Mannheim in May 1912 (with Zemlinsky's former pupil Artur Bodanzky

Artur Bodanzky

Artur Bodanzky was an Austrian-American conductor particularly associated with the operas of Wagner.- Career :...

 conducting), and in October 1912 at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague (conducted by the composer).

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast 22 January 1900 (Conductor: Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic... )
Princess	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...	Selma Kurz Selma Kurz Selma Kurz was an Austrian operatic soprano known for her brilliant coloratura technique.-Background:...
Prince	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...	Erik Schmedes Erik Schmedes Erik Anton Julius Schmedes was an operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in operas by Richard Wagner. He was the brother-in-law of Vaslav Nijinsky....
Kaspar	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...	Friedrich Weidemann
King	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...	Leopold Delmuth
A suitor	tenor
A commissionaire	baritone
Commander	bass
Herald	bass
First lady in waiting	soprano

Recordings

In 1990 the German record label Capriccio released the world premiere recording: a june 1987 recording from Danish Radio with Hans Graf

Hans Graf

Hans Graf is an Austrian conductor.As a child, Graf learned the violin and the piano. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Graz, Austria, and graduated with diplomas in piano and conducting. He also participated in conducting master classes with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Arvīds Jansons...

 conducting the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

Danish National Symphony Orchestra

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra , is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR...

. The principal roles were sung by Eva Johansson

Eva Johansson

Eva Johansson is a Danish soprano opera singer.Born in Copenhagen and educated at Ingrid Jespersens School, Johansson studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and then the Copenhagen Opera Academy as well as privately with Oren Brown and Susanna Eken .She made her debut at the Danish Royal...

 (Princess), Kurt Westi (Prince), Per-Arne Wahlgren (Kaspar) and Aage Haugland

Aage Haugland

Aage Haugland was a Danish operatic bass.- Life and career :He was born in Copenhagen and made his professional debut in Oslo in 1968. From 1970 to 1973 he was based in Bremen, and appeared at Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus in 1972...

(King). This performance was the first one since the Prague staging of 1912.