Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernest von Weber (?November 19 1786 – June 5 1826) was a German composer, born in the town of Eutin, near Lübeck. He was a critical figure in the development of musical Romanticism, and influenced many composers of his and of subsequent generations, including Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. He was best known in the 19th century for his operas, including Der Freischütz, an international sensation at the time, and Euryanthe, Oberon, King of the Fairies, Silvana, and Die drei Pintos. His numerous overtures, with their adventurous use of tone color, influenced the development of the symphonic poem.

Later operas

For his next opera, Weber accepted a libretto, written by Frau Wilhelmine von Chezy, based on the story of Euryanthe, as originally told in the 13th century in Gilbert de Montreuil's Roman de la Violette, and repeated with alterations in the Decameron, in Shakespeare's Cymbeline, and in several later forms. In place of the ghostly horrors of Der Freischütz, the romantic element was here supplied by the chivalric pomp of the middle ages. The libretto is in one respect superior to that of Der Freischütz, inasmuch as it substitutes elaborate recitative for the spoken dialogue peculiar to the German Schauspiel and French opéra comique.

Related Topics:
Wilhelmine von Chezy - Gilbert de Montreuil - Decameron - Cymbeline - Schauspiel - Opéra comique

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It is, in fact, a grand opera in every sense of the words, the prototype of the music drama perfected fifty years later by Richard Wagner. The overture, as usual written last, presents a feature that has never been imitated. During its performance the curtain temporarily rises, to exhibit, in a tableau vivant, the scene in the sepulchral vault upon which the whole story turns. This direction is now rarely carried out; but Weber himself well knew how much the interest of the piece depended on it. The work was produced at the Kärntnerthor theatre in Vienna, on October 25, 1823, and received with enthusiasm.

Related Topics:
Grand opera - Music drama - Richard Wagner - Tableau vivant - October 25 - 1823

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