Editing Opera in German (section)

==Classical era==

===Mozart's ''Singspiele''===
[[File:Mozart magic flute.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Stage set for ''The Magic Flute'', 1815]]
At the end of the 18th century, a composer who would permanently change the German operatic tradition would emerge: [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]].{{sfn|Zaslaw|1989|pp=242–247, 258–260}}{{sfn|Parker|1994|pp=58–63, 98–103}}{{sfn|Holden|1993|loc=Articles on Hasse, Graun and Hiller}} The great figure of the early Classical period was [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]] but his pioneering reforms were directed at Italian and French opera, not the German repertoire. In 1778, [[Emperor Joseph II]] attempted to change this state of affairs by establishing a German-language opera troupe, the National Singspiel, at the [[Burgtheater]] in Vienna. The experiment was short-lived and the troupe was dissolved in 1783, yet the previous year it had produced one undoubted success with ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' by the young [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]. [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] immediately recognised the quality of the piece, declaring "it knocked us all sideways". In the following years commercial theatres sprang up in Vienna offering German-language opera. The impresario [[Emanuel Schikaneder]] had particular success with his [[Theater auf der Wieden]] on the outskirts of the city. In 1791, Mozart set one of his libretti, ''[[The Magic Flute]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-the-magic-flute/FF05E0177C1483A26D649F70D5E038BA |title=The Cambridge Companion to The Magic Flute |date=2023 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42689-3 |editor-last=Waldoff |editor-first=Jessica |series=Cambridge Companions to Music |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/9781108551328}}</ref> Although it appeared in the context of other popular Viennese magic operas (''Zauberopern''), like [[Wenzel Müller]]'s ''{{ill|Der Fagottist|de}}'', Mozart's proved to be no ordinary ''Singspiel''. Though the traditional farcical elements remained, Mozart added a new seriousness, particularly in the music for Sarastro and his priests. Even more than ''Die Entführung'', the ''Magic Flute'' pointed the way forward for future German opera, especially according to later commentators.{{sfn|Parker|1994|pp=118–121}}{{sfn|Zaslaw|1989|pp=134–140}}{{sfn|Holden|1993|loc=Article on Mozart}}

===Beethoven and ''Fidelio''===
The greatest German composer of the next generation, [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], seized on ''The Magic Flute'''s blend of domestic comedy and high seriousness for his only opera, ''[[Fidelio]]'', the story of a devoted wife who saves her husband from political imprisonment. The years following the [[French Revolution]] of 1789 had been some of the most turbulent in European history. In ''Fidelio'', Beethoven wanted to express the ideals of that Revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity. He was also inspired by contemporary French works, particularly the [[rescue opera]]s of [[Luigi Cherubini]]. Beethoven was arguably not a natural composer of opera and, although ''Fidelio'' was premiered in 1805, it was not until 1814 that he produced its final version. Nevertheless, Fidelio is widely regarded as a masterpiece and is one of the key works in the German repertoire.{{sfn|Holden|1993|loc=Article on ''Fidelio'' by [[David Cairns (writer)|David Cairns]]}}