Editing Opera in German (section)

==German Romantic opera==

===Early Romanticism===
In the early years of the nineteenth century, the vast cultural movement known as [[Romanticism]] began to exert an influence over German composers. The Romantics showed a keen interest in the [[Middle Ages]] as well as German folklore. The fairy tale collections of the [[Brothers Grimm]] and the rediscovered Medieval German epic the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'' were major sources of inspiration for the movement. There was also often a quest for a distinctively German identity, influenced by the new [[nationalism]] which had arisen in the wake of the [[Napoleon]]ic invasions. Romanticism was already firmly established in German literature with writers such as [[Ludwig Tieck|Tieck]], [[Novalis]], [[Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff|Eichendorff]] and [[Clemens Brentano]]. One of the most famous German Romantic authors, [[E. T. A. Hoffmann]], was also a music theorist and a composer in his own right and in 1816 he produced an opera, ''Undine'', in Berlin. Another important early Romantic opera was ''[[Faust (Spohr)|Faust]]'' by [[Louis Spohr]] (also 1816). Both Hoffmann and Spohr took the basic form of the ''Singspiel'' as their starting point but began to group the individual numbers into extended scenes. They also employed "reminiscence motifs", recurring musical themes associated with characters or concepts in the opera, which would pave the way for [[Richard Wagner|Wagner's]] use of the [[leitmotif]].{{sfn|Parker|1994|pp=207–209}}{{sfn|Grout|2003|loc="Romantic Opera in Germany", pp. 417–436}}

===Weber===
[[File:Der Freischütz um 1822.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|''Der Freischütz'' around 1822]]
The major breakthrough in the history of German Romantic opera was ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' by [[Carl Maria von Weber]], premiered in Berlin on 18 June 1821. Weber resented the Europe-wide dominance of the Italian operas of [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]] and wanted to establish a uniquely German style of opera. He turned to German folk songs and folklore for inspiration; ''Der Freischütz'' is based on a tale from the ''[[Gespensterbuch]]'' ("Book of Wraiths") of Apel and Laun concerning a marksman who makes a pact with the Devil. Weber's strong point was his striking ability to evoke atmosphere through orchestral colour. From the very first bars of the overture, it is obvious we are in the primeval forests of Germany. The highlight of the opera is the chilling Wolf's Glen Scene in which the hero Max makes his deal with the Devil. ''Der Freischütz'' was immensely popular, not only in Germany, but throughout Europe. Weber never really achieved his full potential as an opera composer due to his early death from tuberculosis and his poor choice of libretti. His major German opera after ''Der Freischütz'', ''[[Euryanthe]]'' (1823), suffers from a particularly weak text and is rarely staged nowadays. Yet ''Euryanthe'' marks another important stage in the development of serious German opera. Weber completely eliminated spoken dialogue, producing a "through-composed" work where the distinction between recitative and aria is becoming blurred. Its lessons would not be lost on future composers, including [[Richard Wagner]].<ref>Essay by [[John Warrack]] in the booklet to [[Carlos Kleiber]]'s recording of ''Der Freischütz'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 1973)</ref>{{sfn|Holden|1993|loc=Article on Weber}}{{sfn|Parker|1994|pp=209–210}}{{sfn|Grout|2003|loc="Romantic Opera in Germany", pp. 417–436}}

===Other composers of the time===
Weber's most important successor in the field of Romantic opera was [[Heinrich Marschner]], who further explored the [[Gothic art|Gothic]] and the supernatural in works such as ''[[Der Vampyr]]'' (1828) and ''[[Hans Heiling]]'' (1833). On the other hand, it was with comic opera that [[Albert Lortzing]] scored his biggest successes. The popularity of pieces such as ''[[Zar und Zimmermann]]'' continues in Germany today, though Lortzing's operas are rarely staged abroad. Though he began in Germany, [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]] was more famous for his contributions to Italian and (especially) French opera. He fused elements from all three national styles into his conception of [[grand opera]], which had an important influence on the development of German music, including Wagner's early works. Other notable operas of the time include ''[[Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor]]'' (1849) by [[Otto Nicolai]] and ''[[Martha (opera)|Martha]]'' (1847) by [[Friedrich von Flotow]]. Later came [[Peter Cornelius]] (''[[Der Barbier von Bagdad]]'', 1858), [[Hermann Goetz]] (''[[Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung]]'', 1874) and [[Karl Goldmark]] (''[[Die Königin von Saba]]'', 1875).

Mention should be made of two great composers of the era who wrote their major works in other genres yet also composed operas: [[Franz Schubert]] and [[Robert Schumann]]. Schubert wrote over a dozen operas, mostly in the ''Singspiel'' style. Hardly any were performed during the composer's lifetime. Schumann only wrote one opera, ''[[Genoveva]]'', first staged in [[Leipzig]] in 1850. Though praised by [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]], it failed to win lasting success. The verdict on both these composer's operas has generally been that, though they contain excellent music, they have too many dramatic weaknesses to be acclaimed as great stage works.{{sfn|Parker|1994|pp=212–217}}<ref>{{harvnb|Grout|2003|loc="Romantic Opera in Germany", pp. 417–436}}. Conductor [[Nikolaus Harnoncourt]] strongly disagrees with dismissals of ''Genoveva''. See the essay "Reinventing Opera" in the booklet to Harnoncourt's recording of Schumann's opera (Teldec, 1997).</ref>