Peter Winter
Encyclopedia
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. (His name is sometimes given as Peter von Winter.)
Winter was born at Mannheim
. A child prodigy on the violin, he played in the Mannheim court orchestra. He studied with Salieri in Vienna. Moving to Munich
in 1778, he became director of the court theatre at which point he started to write stage works, at first ballets and melodramas. He became Vice-Kapellmeister in Munich in 1787 and Kapellmeister in 1798, a title he kept for the rest of his life.
Of more than thirty operas written by Winter between 1778 and 1820 very few were unsuccessful. His most popular work, Das unterbrochene Opferfest, was produced in 1796 at Vienna
, where in 1797-1798 he composed Die Pyramiden von Babylon and Das Labyrinth oder Der Kampf mit den Elementen, both written for him by Emanuel Schikaneder
, in continuation of the story of Mozarts Die Zauberflöte. He returned to Munich in 1798. Five years later he visited London
, where he produced La grotta di Calipso in 1803, Il ratto di Proserpina in 1804, and Zaira in 1805, with great success. Maometto (1817) is probably his most famous opera, still performed sometimes and it exists in an excellent recording in CD. His last opera, Der Sänger und der Schneider, was produced in 1820 at Munich, where he died.
Besides his dramatic works he composed concertos for wind and orchestra and some sacred music, including 26 masses.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
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...
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...
who followed Mozart and preceded 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....
, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera. (His name is sometimes given as Peter von Winter.)
Winter was born at Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
. A child prodigy on the violin, he played in the Mannheim court orchestra. He studied with Salieri in Vienna. Moving to 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...
in 1778, he became director of the court theatre at which point he started to write stage works, at first ballets and melodramas. He became Vice-Kapellmeister in Munich in 1787 and Kapellmeister in 1798, a title he kept for the rest of his life.
Of more than thirty operas written by Winter between 1778 and 1820 very few were unsuccessful. His most popular work, Das unterbrochene Opferfest, was produced in 1796 at 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...
, where in 1797-1798 he composed Die Pyramiden von Babylon and Das Labyrinth oder Der Kampf mit den Elementen, both written for him by Emanuel Schikaneder
Emanuel Schikaneder
Emanuel Schikaneder , born Johann Joseph Schickeneder, was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer and composer. He was the librettist of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Magic Flute and the builder of the Theater an der Wien...
, in continuation of the story of Mozarts Die Zauberflöte. He returned to Munich in 1798. Five years later he visited 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...
, where he produced La grotta di Calipso in 1803, Il ratto di Proserpina in 1804, and Zaira in 1805, with great success. Maometto (1817) is probably his most famous opera, still performed sometimes and it exists in an excellent recording in CD. His last opera, Der Sänger und der Schneider, was produced in 1820 at Munich, where he died.
Besides his dramatic works he composed concertos for wind and orchestra and some sacred music, including 26 masses.
Selected operas
- Lenardo und Blandine (1779)
- Der Bettelstudent (1785)
- Jery und Bäteli (1790)
- Ogus o sia Il trionfo del bel sesso (1795)
- Das unterbrochene Opferfest (1796)
- Babylons Pyramiden (1797)
- Das Labyrinth oder Der Kampf mit den Elementen. Der Zauberflöte zweyter Theil, Heroic-comic opera, Libretto by Emanuel SchikanederEmanuel SchikanederEmanuel Schikaneder , born Johann Joseph Schickeneder, was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer and composer. He was the librettist of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Magic Flute and the builder of the Theater an der Wien...
Theater auf der WiedenTheater auf der WiedenThe Theater auf der Wieden, also called the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden or the Wiednertheater, was a theater located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna in the late 18th century...
, (1798)
Sources
- Winter, Peter by Linda Tyler, 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, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7