Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Schubert: Die Zauberharfe

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

At various points in the course of his brief artistic career Franz Schubert attempted to make a name for himself as an opera composer. Besides the well-known incidental music for Rosamunde (1822), Schubert composed at least nine complete operas, three more in substantial fragments, and three more in rough sketch.

The sprightly overture to Rosamunde actually comes from Schubert's Singspiel of 1820, Die Zauberharfe or "The Magic Harp." It ran for seven nights, got mixed reviews and was never staged again in the composer's lifetime. Only when you hear the overture in its proper context can you understand how the melodic themes it introduces relate to the rest of the music. Some of Schubert's score consists of big choral numbers and there are several long passages of "melodrama," i.e. spoken word declamation over a beautiful orchestrated accompaniment.

The complete music for Die Zauberharfe was presented at the 1983 music festival of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna. The Italian label Bongiovanni picked up the live recording of "The Magic Harp" for issue on two compact discs. The Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus of Szeged in Hungary were brought in for the festival production. Heading the cast of singers and actors were American tenor Thomas Moser and the Hungarian basso Jozsef Nemeth. Tito Gotti directed the entire ensemble. I last broadcast Schubert's magical fairy opera on Sunday, May 6, 2001.