Die Brautwahl
Opera by Ferruccio Busoni
The composer in 1906
LibrettistFerruccio Busoni
LanguageGerman
Based onShort story by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Premiere
12 April 1912 (1912-04-12)
Stadttheater Hamburg

Die Brautwahl (The Bridal Choice) is a "comic-fantastic" opera in three acts and an epilogue by Ferruccio Busoni. The German libretto, by Busoni himself, is based on a short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Busoni began work on this, his first completed opera, in 1905.

Die Brautwahl was first performed at the Stadttheater Hamburg on 12 April 1912. It was not a success with audiences but its failure did not discourage the composer's ambition to write for the operatic stage.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 12 April 1912[1]
Conductor: Gustav Brecher
Albertine soprano Elisabeth Schumann
Edmund Lehsen tenor Otto Marak
Dionysius Thusman tenor Wilhelm Birrenkoven
Bensch tenor Eduard Lichtenstein
Voswindel baritone Hermann Wiedemann
Leonhard baritone Robert vom Scheidt
Manasse bass Max Lohfing
Servant tenor Fritz Windgassen

Synopsis

The artist Edmund is in love with Albertine but he has many rivals for her hand. These include the "revenant" Manasse, his son Baron Bensch and the bureaucrat Thusman. The "bridal choice" of the title is finally decided by a trial involving three caskets which Edmund wins.

Recordings

References

  1. ↑ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Die Brautwahl, 12 April 1912". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

Further reading

  • Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
  • Müller, Ingo: Die Rezeption E.T.A. Hoffmanns in der klassischen Musik des 19. bis 21. Jahrhunderts. In: “Unheimlich Fantastisch – E.T.A. Hoffmann 2022”. Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung der Staatsbibliothek Berlin in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Deutschen Romantik-Museum Frankfurt a. M. und der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, hg. von Benjamin Schlodder, Christina Schmitz, Bettina Wagner und Wolfgang Bunzel, Leipzig 2022, ISBN 3959055730 S. 315-322.
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