Prinzessin Brambilla Op. 12b is an opera in a prologue and five scenes by Walter Braunfels

Walter Braunfels

-Life:Walter Braunfels was born in Frankfurt am Main. His first music teacher was his mother, the great-niece of the composer Louis Spohr . He continued his piano studies in Frankfurt at the Hoch Conservatory with James Kwast....

. The libretto, written by the composer, is based on the novella of the same name by E.T.A. Hoffmann

E.T.A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann , better known by his pen name E.T.A. Hoffmann , was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror, a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist...

 published in 1820.

Composition history

Braunfels began the composition in 1906 and completed the original two-act version in 1908. He revised the opera in 1929/1930. The second version consists of a prologue and five scenes separated by orchestral interludes. The score of this revised version is published by Universal Edition

Universal Edition

Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...

 AG Vienna .

Performance history

The opera was first performed in its original two-act version on 25 March 1909 at the Staatstheater Stuttgart

Staatstheater Stuttgart

The Staatstheater Stuttgart ' is an opera house in Stuttgart, Germany. It is also known locally as the Grosses Haus, having been the larger of two theatres of the former Königliche Hoftheater....

 with Max von Schillings

Max von Schillings

Max von Schillings was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925....

 conducting.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast 25 March 1909 (Conductor: Max von Schillings Max von Schillings Max von Schillings was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925.... )
Pantalone	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...
Prince Bastaniello di Pistoja	baritone	Reinhold Fritz
Claudio, an actor	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...
Giazinta, a young seamstress	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...
Barbara, Giazinta's old friend	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...
Gascon, a nobleman, Claudio's friend	tenor
Brutz, Claudio's drinking companion	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...
Buffel, Claudio's drinking companion	tenor
Cuniberto, the landlord	bass
A young girl	soprano

Recordings

In 2005 Marco Polo

Naxos Records

Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...

 released a live recording, made during the October 2004 Wexford Festival Opera

Wexford Festival Opera

The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...

 production run, with Daniele Belardinelli conducting the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra. The principal roles were sung by Enrico Marabelli (Pantalone), Peter Paul (Prince Bastaniello), Eric Shaw (Claudio) and Elena Lo Forte (Giazinta).