Schwarzwaldmädel (Black Forest Girl) is a 1917 operetta in three acts by German composer Leon Jessel. The libretto is by August Neidhart, and the operetta premiered on 25 August 1917 at the old Komische Oper Berlin. It is the most popular operetta written in Germany.
Schwarzwaldmädel premiered at the Komische Oper in Berlin in August 1917. The opera's touching libretto, appealing melodies, and elegant instrumentation proved immensely popular. It ran in Berlin for 900 performances, and within the next 10 years was performed approximately 6,000 times in Germany and abroad. The work is by far Leon Jessel's greatest success as an operetta composer, and it catapulted him to the height of the world of European operetta.
With the rise of Nazism in the late 1920s, Jessel, who had converted to Christianity in 1894 but was Jewish by birth, had his music boycotted in Germany as early as 1927.[1] The last Nazi-era performance of Schwarzwaldmädel in Germany was in 1936,[2] and recordings and distribution of Jessel's works were then banned outright within the entire Third Reich by the Reichsmusikkammer in 1937 through the end of World War II. Jessel died in 1942.
Nevertheless, Schwarzwaldmädel has retained its popularity among Germans. It was quickly revived in 1945 and 1946[2] and remains the most popular operetta composed in Germany. According to Andrew Lamb in 150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre, "Schwarzwaldmädel represented all that was best in continental operetta."[3]
Old Woman Traudel, Bärbele's impoverished aunt, mocked as a "witch" by the village children
non-singing
Schmussheim, a comical vacationer from Berlin
no set range
Theobald, a village boy
tenor
Musicians and country folk (chorus)
Synopsisedit
A Black Forest girl, in traditional dress (Schwarzwälderin by Rudolf Epp, ca. 1890)
The picturesque opera takes place in a village in the Black Forest in 1815. It is a complex romantic intrigue centering around two friends from Berlin: Hans and Richard. The girls involved are Hans's current girlfriend Malwine; and Bärbele, the "Black Forest Girl," an orphaned maidservant. Blasius Römer, an aging organ master, is Bärbele's employer, but finds himself secretly attracted to her. After various entanglements and problems, all works out for the best for the young people.
Recordingsedit
Schwarzwaldmädel has been recorded numerous times.[4] A 1976 recording conducted by Willy Mattes, issued on CD in 1997 by EMI, features singers Dagmar Koller, Adolf Dallapozza, Benno Kusche, Brigitte Lindner, and Martin Finke.[5][6][7]
schwarzwaldmädel, black, forest, girl, 1917, operetta, three, acts, german, composer, leon, jessel, libretto, august, neidhart, operetta, premiered, august, 1917, komische, oper, berlin, most, popular, operetta, written, germany, contents, performance, history. Schwarzwaldmadel Black Forest Girl is a 1917 operetta in three acts by German composer Leon Jessel The libretto is by August Neidhart and the operetta premiered on 25 August 1917 at the old Komische Oper Berlin It is the most popular operetta written in Germany Contents 1 Performance history 2 Roles 3 Synopsis 4 Recordings 5 Films 6 References 7 Notes 8 External linksPerformance history editSchwarzwaldmadel premiered at the Komische Oper in Berlin in August 1917 The opera s touching libretto appealing melodies and elegant instrumentation proved immensely popular It ran in Berlin for 900 performances and within the next 10 years was performed approximately 6 000 times in Germany and abroad The work is by far Leon Jessel s greatest success as an operetta composer and it catapulted him to the height of the world of European operetta With the rise of Nazism in the late 1920s Jessel who had converted to Christianity in 1894 but was Jewish by birth had his music boycotted in Germany as early as 1927 1 The last Nazi era performance of Schwarzwaldmadel in Germany was in 1936 2 and recordings and distribution of Jessel s works were then banned outright within the entire Third Reich by the Reichsmusikkammer in 1937 through the end of World War II Jessel died in 1942 Nevertheless Schwarzwaldmadel has retained its popularity among Germans It was quickly revived in 1945 and 1946 2 and remains the most popular operetta composed in Germany According to Andrew Lamb in 150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre Schwarzwaldmadel represented all that was best in continental operetta 3 Roles editRole Voice type Premiere cast 25 August 1917 Conductor Blasius Romer organ master of the cathedral in the fictional Black Forest village of St Christoph baritone Gustav Charle Hannele Romer s daughter soubrette Barbele Romer s maidservant an orphan soubrette Jurgen landlord of the Blue Ox inn in the village of St Christoph basso buffo Lorle Jurgen s daughter in love with Theobald soprano Malwine von Hainau a Berliner visiting the village of St Christoph for the festival of St Cecilia soprano Hans a Berliner fleeing from the possessive Malwine tenor buffo Richard Hans s best friend tenor Old Woman Traudel Barbele s impoverished aunt mocked as a witch by the village children non singing Schmussheim a comical vacationer from Berlin no set range Theobald a village boy tenor Musicians and country folk chorus Synopsis edit nbsp A Black Forest girl in traditional dress Schwarzwalderin by Rudolf Epp ca 1890 The picturesque opera takes place in a village in the Black Forest in 1815 It is a complex romantic intrigue centering around two friends from Berlin Hans and Richard The girls involved are Hans s current girlfriend Malwine and Barbele the Black Forest Girl an orphaned maidservant Blasius Romer an aging organ master is Barbele s employer but finds himself secretly attracted to her After various entanglements and problems all works out for the best for the young people Recordings editSchwarzwaldmadel has been recorded numerous times 4 A 1976 recording conducted by Willy Mattes issued on CD in 1997 by EMI features singers Dagmar Koller Adolf Dallapozza Benno Kusche Brigitte Lindner and Martin Finke 5 6 7 A 1953 recording conducted by Franz Marszalek and issued on CD in 2006 features Gitta Lind Gretl Schorg Franz Fehringer Benno Kusche and Willy Hofmann 8 9 A 2000 EMI CD which is an anthology of archival recordings contains selections from Schwarzwaldmadel sung by Hermann Prey Rudolf Schock and Erika Koth along with selected operetta arias and duets by Lehar and Strauss 10 Films editSchwarzwaldmadel has been filmed at least six times as follows 1920 directed by Arthur Wellin silent Schwarzwaldmadel 1929 directed by Victor Janson with Liane Haid Fred Louis Lerch and Walter Janssen 11 Schwarzwaldmadel 1933 directed by Georg Zoch with Walter Janssen 12 1950 directed by Hans Deppe with Paul Horbiger Sonja Ziemann and Rudolf Prack released in the UK as The Black Forest Girl 13 1961 TV directed by Wilm ten Haaf with Willy Reichert 1973 TV directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner with Wolfgang WindgassenReferences editCasaglia Gherardo 2005 Schwarzwaldmadel L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Notes edit Jessel s biographer Albrecht Dumling quoted in Hufner Martin Vernichtung eines Genres Operette unterm Hakenkreuz Oper amp Tanz March 2005 a b Hufner Martin Vernichtung eines Genres Operette unterm Hakenkreuz Oper amp Tanz March 2005 Lamb Andrew 150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre Yale University Press 2000 p 203 Schwarzwaldmadel recordings at the German National Library Schwarzwaldmadel on 1997 CD Schwarzwaldmadel EMI Classics No 5663802 Schwarzwaldmadel 1997 EMI CD at AllMusic Schwarzwaldmadel 2006 2 CD set Information on 1953 recording from the German National Library Operetten Melodien EMI Classics No 8263922 Schwarzwaldmadel 1929 at IMDb nbsp Schwarzwaldmadel 1933 at IMDb nbsp Schwarzwaldmadel 1950 at IMDb nbsp External links editSchwarzwaldmadel Black Forest Girl complete synopsis Schwarzwaldmadel excerpts Schwarzwaldmadel at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Schwarzwaldmadel amp oldid 1159338281, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
