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Günther von Schwarzburg is a Singspiel in three acts by Ignaz Holzbauer. The German libretto was by Anton Klein.

The librettist, a former Jesuit who taught philosophy and literature at Mannheim University, was a strong advocate for the use of German and set about writing a libretto comparable to those written for Italian opera seria. The writing was also influenced by contemporary Sturm und Drang literature. However the colourful music was praised more than the drama when it was originally heard. Mozart attended a performance in November 1777 and wrote to his father on November 14, 1777:

Holzbauer's music is very beautiful. The poetry is unworthy of such music. What surprises me most of all is that someone as old as Holzbauer still possesses so much spirit; you wouldn't believe how much fire there is in the music.^[1]

Günther von Schwarzburg was the first full German opera score to come off a printing press. The beautifully engraved edition was published by the Mannheim firm of Johann Michael Götz with a dedication to Karl Theodor:

the most illustrious patron of music under whose august protection the Platinate Theatre has first hymned the praises of a German hero.^[1]

Performance history

The first performance took place at the Hoftheater in Mannheim on January 5, 1777 in a lavish production with sets designed by Lorenzo Quaglio. The performance also included a ballet choreographed by Étienne Lauchery to music by Christian Cannabich.^[1] The cast included two of the most famous singers of the day, Anton Raaff as Günther von Schwarzburg and Francesca Lebrun (née Franziska Danzi) as Anna, a role which Holzbauer had composed specifically for her voice.^[2] The opera was successfully revived in Mannheim in 1785. Modern revivals of the opera include a radio broadcast (RAI) in 1960, sung in Italian, with Luigi Infantino and Anna Moffo, conducted by Oliviero De Fabritiis, and the 1994 concert performance in Frankfurt conducted by Michael Schneider with Christoph Prégardien in the title role and the 1997 concert performance in Amsterdam conducted by Ton Koopman with John Aler in the title role.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere, 5 January 1777 (Conductor: )
Karl, King of Bohemia	tenor	Franz Hartig
Günther von Schwarzburg	tenor	Anton Raaff
Rudolf II, Count Palatine	bass	Ludwig Fischer
Anna, daughter of Rudolf	soprano	Franziska Danzi
Asberta, Dowager Queen, Karl's mother^[3]	soprano	Barbara Strasser

Synopsis

Set in 1349, the opera is loosely based on the 1347–1349 succession crisis in Germany. The plot centers on the conflict between Karl, King of Bohemia and Count Günther von Schwarzburg to succeed Ludwig the Bavarian as Holy Roman Emperor. Günther is supported by the powerful Elector, Rudolf II. However, Asberta indulges in intrigue on behalf of her son Karl by manipulating Anna, Rudolf's daughter. In the end, both Günther and his antagonist Asberta die. Günther is poisoned by Asberta, and she commits suicide.^[4] Karl secures his throne and marries Anna.

Recording

Ignaz Holzbauer: Günther von Schwarzburg (Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Claron McFadden (soprano), Clarry Bartha (soprano), Michael Schopper (bass), Robert Worle (tenor), La Stagione Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Michael Schneider). Live performance, Frankfurt 1994. Capriccio CPO 999265.

Notes and references

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Abert, Hermann (2007) p. 391
^ Höft, Brigitte (1992)
^ The mother of the historical figure King Karl was Elisabeth of Bohemia. She predeceased Karl's father John the Blind in 1330, long before the events in the opera take place.
^ Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004)

References

Abert, Hermann (2007), W. A. Mozart (translated from the original German by Stewart Spencer), Yale University Press
Amadeus Almanac (in Italian)
Corneilson, Paul (1992), 'Günther von Schwarzburg' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004) 'Dying Scenes in the German Opera of the late 18th Century' abstract of a paper given at the 3rd Global Conference of Making Sense of Dying and Death (Vienna, December 2 - 4, 2004)
Höft, Brigitte (1992), 'Lebrun' in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie (London)

External links

Essay on Günther von Schwarzburg (in German) with photographs of Ignaz Holzbauer's manuscript score.

[Abert,_Hermann_2007_p._391-1] Abert, Hermann (2007) p. 391

[2] Höft, Brigitte (1992)

[3] The mother of the historical figure King Karl was Elisabeth of Bohemia. She predeceased Karl's father John the Blind in 1330, long before the events in the opera take place.

[4] Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:Gunther von Schwarzburg Score - Gotz Edition.jpg|thumb|200px|right|First page of the ''Günther von Schwarzburg'' score published by Johann Michael Götz in 1777]]
+[[File:Gunther von Schwarzburg Score - Gotz Edition.jpg|thumb|First page of the ''Günther von Schwarzburg'' score published by Johann Michael Götz in 1777]]
-'''''Günther von Schwarzburg'''''  is a [[Singspiel]] in three acts by [[Ignaz Holzbauer]]. The [[German language|German]] libretto was by Anton Klein.
+'''''Günther von Schwarzburg''''' is a [[Singspiel]] in three acts by [[Ignaz Holzbauer]]. The German [[libretto]] was by Anton Klein.
+The librettist, a former [[Jesuit]] who taught philosophy and literature at Mannheim University, was a strong advocate for the use of German and set about writing a libretto comparable to those written for Italian [[opera seria]]. The writing was also influenced by contemporary [[Sturm und Drang]] literature. However the colourful music was praised more than the drama when it was originally heard. [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] attended a performance in November 1777 and wrote to [[Leopold Mozart|his father]] on November 14, 1777:
-The librettist, a former [[Jesuit]] who taught philosophy and literature at Mannheim University, was a strong advocate for the use of German and set about writing a libretto comparable to those written for [[Italian language|Italian]] [[opera seria]]. The writing was also influenced by contemporary [[Sturm und Drang]] literature. However the colourful music was praised more than the drama when it was originally heard. [[Mozart]] attended a performance in November 1777 and wrote to his father on November 14, 1777:
-<!-- Please do not remove or change this Copyvio message until the issue is settled -->
-{{Nobots}}
-{{Copyviocore
-|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=l6I6BwTMJ3sC&pg=PA391&dq=%22Holzbauer+still+possesses%22+%22whose+august+protection%22%22&hl=en&ei=JIvMTv3PL8nZ0QH7rPz7Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Holzbauer%20still%20possesses%22%20%22whose%20august%20protection%22%22&f=false
-|month = November
-|day = 23
-|year = 2011
-|time = 07:30
-|timestamp = 20111123073029}}
-<!-- Do not use the "Copyviocore" template directly; the above line is generated by "subst:Copyvio|url" -->
 <blockquote>
-"Holzbauer's music is very beautiful. The poetry is unworthy of such music. What surprises me most of all is that someone as old as Holzbauer still possesses so much spirit; you wouldn't believe how much fire there is in the music." <ref name="Abert, Hermann 2007 p. 391">Abert, Hermann (2007) p. 391</ref></blockquote>
+Holzbauer's music is very beautiful. The poetry is unworthy of such music. What surprises me most of all is that someone as old as Holzbauer still possesses so much spirit; you wouldn't believe how much fire there is in the music.<ref name="Abert, Hermann 2007 p. 391">Abert, Hermann (2007) p. 391</ref></blockquote>
-</div>
 ''Günther von Schwarzburg'' was the first full German opera score to come off a printing press. The beautifully engraved edition was published by the Mannheim firm of Johann Michael Götz with a dedication to [[Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria|Karl Theodor]]:
+<blockquote>the most illustrious patron of music under whose august protection the Platinate Theatre has first hymned the praises of a German hero.<ref name="Abert, Hermann 2007 p. 391"/></blockquote>
-<!-- Please do not remove or change this Copyvio message until the issue is settled -->
-{{Nobots}}
-{{Copyviocore
-|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=l6I6BwTMJ3sC&pg=PA391&dq=%22Holzbauer+still+possesses%22+%22whose+august+protection%22%22&hl=en&ei=JIvMTv3PL8nZ0QH7rPz7Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Holzbauer%20still%20possesses%22%20%22whose%20august%20protection%22%22&f=false
-|month = November
-|day = 23
-|year = 2011
-|time = 07:30
-|timestamp = 20111123073029}}
-<!-- Do not use the "Copyviocore" template directly; the above line is generated by "subst:Copyvio|url" -->
-<blockquote>"the most illustrious patron of music under whose august protection the Platinate Theatre has first hymned the praises of a German hero".<ref name="Abert, Hermann 2007 p. 391"/></blockquote>
-</div>
 ==Performance history==
-The first performance took place at the Hoftheater in [[Mannheim]] on January 5, [[1777 in music|1777]] in a lavish production with sets designed by [[Lorenzo Quaglio]]. The performance also included a ballet [[choreography|choreographed]] by Étienne Lauchery to music by [[Christian Cannabich]].<ref name="Abert, Hermann 2007 p. 391"/> The cast included two of the most famous singers of the day, [[Anton Raaff]] as Günther von Schwarzburg and [[Francesca Lebrun]] (''née'' Franziska Danzi) as Anna, a role which Holzbauer had composed specifically for her voice.<ref>Höft, Brigitte (1992)</ref> The opera was successfully revived in Mannheim in 1785. Modern revivals of the opera include a radio broadcast (RAI) in  1960, sung in Italian, with [[Luigi Infantino]] and [[Anna Moffo]], conducted by [[Oliviero De Fabritiis]], and the 1994 concert performance in [[Frankfurt]] conducted by [[Michael Schneider (conductor)|Michael Schneider]] with [[Christoph Pregardien]] in the title role and the 1997 concert performance in Amsterdam conducted by [[Ton Koopman]] with [[John Aler]] in the title role.
+The first performance took place at the Hoftheater in [[Mannheim]] on January 5, [[1777 in music|1777]] in a lavish production with sets designed by [[Lorenzo Quaglio]]. The performance also included a ballet [[choreography|choreographed]] by Étienne Lauchery to music by [[Christian Cannabich]].<ref name="Abert, Hermann 2007 p. 391"/> The cast included two of the most famous singers of the day, [[Anton Raaff]] as Günther von Schwarzburg and [[Francesca Lebrun]] (''née'' Franziska Danzi) as Anna, a role which Holzbauer had composed specifically for her voice.<ref>Höft, Brigitte (1992)</ref> The opera was successfully revived in Mannheim in 1785. Modern revivals of the opera include a radio broadcast (RAI) in 1960, sung in Italian, with [[Luigi Infantino]] and [[Anna Moffo]], conducted by [[Oliviero De Fabritiis]], and the 1994 concert performance in Frankfurt conducted by [[Michael Schneider (conductor)|Michael Schneider]] with [[Christoph Prégardien]] in the title role and the 1997 concert performance in Amsterdam conducted by [[Ton Koopman]] with [[John Aler]] in the title role.
 ==Roles==
-{| class="wikitable" border="1"
+{| class="wikitable"
-!bgcolor=ececec|Role
+!Role
-!bgcolor=ececec|Voice type
+![[Voice type]]
-!bgcolor=ececec|Premiere,<br>5 January 1777<br>(Conductor:  )
+!Premiere,<br />5 January 1777<br />(Conductor: )
 |-
 |Karl, ''King of Bohemia''
@@ Line 49: / Line 29: @@
 |-
 |Rudolf II, ''Count Palatine''
-|[[Bass (vocal range)|bass]]
+|[[Bass (voice type)|bass]]
-|[[Johann Ignaz Ludwig Fischer|Ludwig Fischer]]
+|[[Ludwig Fischer (bass)|Ludwig Fischer]]
 |-
 |Anna, ''daughter of Rudolf''
@@ Line 56: / Line 36: @@
 |[[Francesca Lebrun|Franziska Danzi]]
 |-
-|Asberta, ''Dowager Queen, Karl's mother''.<ref>The mother of the historical figure King Karl was [[Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292-1330)|Elisabeth of Bohemia]]. She predeceased Karl's father [[John of Bohemia|John the Blind]] in 1330, long before the events in the opera take place.</ref>
+|Asberta, ''Dowager Queen, Karl's mother''<ref>The mother of the historical figure King Karl was [[Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330)|Elisabeth of Bohemia]]. She predeceased Karl's father [[John of Bohemia|John the Blind]] in 1330, long before the events in the opera take place.</ref>
 |soprano
 |Barbara Strasser
-|-
 |}
 ==Synopsis==
-[[Image:Gunther von Schwarzburg Portrait 1716.jpg|thumb|120px|right|Günther von Schwarzburg<br> (1304 &ndash; 1349)]]
+[[File:Gunther von Schwarzburg Portrait 1716.jpg|thumb|upright|Günther von Schwarzburg (1304&ndash;1349)]]
-Set in [[1349]], the opera is loosely based on the 1347 &ndash; 1349 succession crisis in Germany. The plot centers on the conflict between [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Karl, King of Bohemia]] and [[Günther von Schwarzburg|Count Günther von Schwarzburg]] to succeed [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Ludwig the Bavarian]]  as [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. Günther is supported by the powerful [[Prince-elector|Elector]],  [[Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine|Rudolf II]]. However, Asberta indulges in intrigue on behalf of her son Karl by manipulating Anna, Rudolf's daughter. In the end, both Günther and his antagonist Asberta die. Günther is poisoned by Asberta, and she commits suicide.<ref>Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004)</ref> Karl secures his throne and marries Anna.
+Set in 1349, the opera is loosely based on the 1347&ndash;1349 succession crisis in Germany. The plot centers on the conflict between [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Karl, King of Bohemia]] and [[Günther von Schwarzburg|Count Günther von Schwarzburg]] to succeed [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Ludwig the Bavarian]] as [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. Günther is supported by the powerful [[Prince-elector|Elector]], [[Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine|Rudolf II]]. However, Asberta indulges in intrigue on behalf of her son Karl by manipulating Anna, Rudolf's daughter. In the end, both Günther and his antagonist Asberta die. Günther is poisoned by Asberta, and she commits suicide.<ref>Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004)</ref> Karl secures his throne and marries Anna.
 ==Recording==
-*'''Ignaz Holzbauer:''' '''''Günther von Schwarzburg''''' ([[Christoph Pregardien]] (tenor), Claron McFadden (soprano), Clarry Bartha (soprano), Michael Schopper (bass), Robert Worle (tenor), [[La Stagione]] Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by [[Michael Schneider (conductor)|Michael Schneider]]). Live performance, Frankfurt 1994. Capriccio CPO 999265.
+*Ignaz Holzbauer: ''Günther von Schwarzburg'' ([[Christoph Prégardien]] (tenor), Claron McFadden (soprano), Clarry Bartha (soprano), Michael Schopper (bass), Robert Worle (tenor), [[La Stagione]] Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by [[Michael Schneider (conductor)|Michael Schneider]]). Live performance, Frankfurt 1994. Capriccio CPO 999265.
 ==Notes and references==
@@ Line 75: / Line 54: @@
 *Abert, Hermann (2007), ''W. A. Mozart'' (translated from the original German by Stewart Spencer), Yale University Press
 *[http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=5&Mese=01&Anno=1777&Giornata=&Testo=&Parola=Stringa Amadeus Almanac] (in Italian)
-*Corneilson, Paul (1992), 'Günther von Schwarzburg' in ''The [[New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
+*Corneilson, Paul (1992), 'Günther von Schwarzburg' in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', ed. [[Stanley Sadie]] (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
-*Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004) [http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/mso/dd/dd3/s4.htm  'Dying Scenes in the German Opera of the late 18th Century'] abstract of a paper given at the 3rd Global Conference of ''Making Sense of Dying and Death'' ([[Vienna]], December 2 - 4, 2004)
+*Goldbach, Karl Traugott (2004) [http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/mso/dd/dd3/s4.htm 'Dying Scenes in the German Opera of the late 18th Century'] abstract of a paper given at the 3rd Global Conference of ''Making Sense of Dying and Death'' (Vienna, December 2 - 4, 2004)
 *Höft, Brigitte (1992), 'Lebrun' in ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London)