Der Stein der Weisen
{{Short description|Opera composed in 1790}}
{{italic title}}
{{lang|de|Der Stein der Weisen, oder die Zauberinsel}} (German for The Philosopher's Stone, or the Enchanted Isle) is a singspiel in two acts, jointly composed by Johann Baptist Henneberg, Benedikt Schack, Franz Xaver Gerl, Emanuel Schikaneder, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1790. The libretto was written by Schikaneder.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/02/arts/music-review-all-ears-on-an-opera-recently-linked-to-mozart.html|date=2 November 1998|newspaper=The New York Times|title=All ears on an opera recently linked to Mozart|author=Oestreich, James|authorlink=James R. Oestreich}}
Composition
Der Stein der Weisen was composed using a "team approach" in which each composer contributed individual sections of the piece. All five wrote parts of act 2, and all except Mozart wrote parts of act 1. Henneberg composed the work's overture. Schikaneder wrote the libretto for the entire piece. The text is based on a fairy tale from Christoph Martin Wieland's {{ill|Dschinnistan|de}}, published in the late 1780s.
All five were later involved in The Magic Flute: Mozart as composer, Schikaneder as librettist, impresario and performer (Papageno), Henneberg as conductor, and Schack and Gerl as performers (respectively Tamino and Sarastro).{{cite web|url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=8226|accessdate=6 August 2013|publisher=ArkivMusic|title=Der Stein der Weisen / Boston Baroque|archive-date=14 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714005121/http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=8226|url-status=dead}} Der Stein der Weisen may have provided a model for that work, as the two have a similar structure and source.
Reception and study
The work was initially popular, but was largely absent from the standard repertoire for the two centuries after 1814. American musicologist David Buch announced the discovery of a Viennese score with attributions to all five composers.{{cite book|editor-last=Buch|editor-first=David|editor-link=David J. Buch|title=Der Stein der Weisen|publisher=A-R Editions|year=2007|isbn=9780895796165|oclc=181102930}} This was taken by some to indicate that Der Stein der Weisen was a previously unknown Mozart work, although in fact only a duet ("Nun, liebes Weibchen", known as the "cat duet") and two sections of the act 2 finale were attributed to him.{{cite web|url=http://www.fanfaire.com/derstein.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203314/http://www.fanfaire.com/derstein.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 24, 2021|accessdate=22 June 2021|work=Fanfaire|title=Celebrating Mozart}} Mozart's contributions are catalogued as K. 714.[https://kv.mozarteum.at/en/work/der-stein-der-weisen-oder-die-zauberinsel-the-sorcerers-stone-or-the-magic-island-pasticcio-three-contributions-for-act-ii-finale-11815 K. 714]
The autograph of "Nun, liebes Weibchen" (K. 625/592a/Anh.A 64) is held by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris; the rest of the original score is lost. The work is known from a ca. 1795 copy.{{cite book|editor-last=Keefe|editor-first=Simon|editor-link=Simon P. Keefe|title=The Cambridge Companion to Mozart|series=Cambridge Companions to Music|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521001922|pages=163–167|edition=reprinted}}
Performances
The singspiel was premiered on 11 September 1790 in the Theater auf der Wieden, conducted by Henneberg. It was first recorded by the Boston Baroque in 1999.{{cite book|last=Rushton|first=Julian|authorlink=Julian Rushton|title=Mozart|url=https://archive.org/details/mozart0000rush|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199726912|page=[https://archive.org/details/mozart0000rush/page/208 208]}}
After the successful world premiere, the opera was performed over 24 years without interruption, the last performance was on 28 February 1814 in Linz, Austria.{{cite web|url=https://www.tamino-klassikforum.at/index.php?thread/1721-die-zauberinsel-oder-der-stein-der-weisen-z-t-mozart/|title=Die Zauberinsel oder: Der Stein der Weisen [z.T. Mozart]|author=Ulli|date=20 September 2005|language=de|website=Tamino Klassikforum}}{{better source needed|date=July 2024|reason=Source is a discussion forum}}
Performances after discovery of the manuscript and re-publication by Buch in 1998 include:
- 2000: Hampstead and Highgate Festival[https://highgatefestival.org/ Website Highgate Festival]{{failed verification|date=July 2024|reason=Nothing about this opera there.}}
- 2001: AugsburgJan Schleusener: [https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article449580/Ein-Fingerabdruck-Mozarts-Der-Stein-der-Weisen.html "Ein Fingerabdruck Mozarts: Der Stein der Weisen"], Die Welt, 8 May 2001 {{retrieved|access-date=18 September 2018}} (in German)
- July 2001: Bampton Classical Opera in an English translation by Barry Millington[https://www.bamptonopera.org/operadetail.htm?event=67 "The Philosopher's Stone"], Bampton Classical Opera
- 2001: Pepperdine University[https://arts.pepperdine.edu/facilities/contact-us.htm Website Pepperdine University]{{failed verification|date=July 2024|reason=Nothing about this opera there.}}
- 2003: {{ill|Combattimento Consort Amsterdam|nl||fr}}{{YouTube|xH3yzGc3WCk|Video}}, Piotr Micinski (bass), Renate Arends (soprano), {{ill|Combattimento Consort Amsterdam|nl||fr}}, {{ill|Jan Willem de Vriend|nl}} conducting{{better source needed|date=July 2024|reason=YouTube clips are not a suitable source for Wikipedia.}}
- 2006: Astoria Music Festival{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}
- 2006: Haus für Mozart, Salzburg{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}
- 2006: Garsington Opera Festival 2006George Hall: [https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2006/der-stein-der-weisen-review-at-garsington-oxfordshire/ "Der Stein der Weisen review at Garsington Oxfordshire"], The Stage, 6 July 2006 {{retrieved|access-date=18 September 2018}}
- September 2010: Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur / Zurich Opera House[https://www.oper-aktuell.info/kritiken/details/winterthur-der-stein-der-weisen-05092010.html "Winterthur: Der Stein der Weisen, 05.09.2010"] by Kaspar Sannemann, 6 September 2010, Oper Aktuell (in German)[https://felixbreisach.at/2019/04/10/der-stein-der-weisen-oder-die-zauberinsel/ "Der Stein der Weisen oder Die Zauberinsel"], performance details and reviews, website of the director, {{ill|Felix Breisach|de}} (in German)
- June 2018: Tyrolean State Theatre, InnsbruckUdo Pacolt: [https://onlinemerker.com/innsbruck-tiroler-landestheater-der-stein-der-weisen-von-mozart-und-vier-weiteren-komponisten/ "Innsbruck/ Tiroler Landestheater: Der Stein der Weisen von Mozart und vier weiteren Komponisten"], Online Merker, 23 June 2018 (in German) {{retrieved|access-date=18 September 2018}}
- December 2022: Augsburg, in concert[https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/der-stein-der-weisen-oder-die-zauberinsel-singspiel-augsburg-zauberfloete-1.5713485 "Quantensprung mit Mozart"] by Klaus Kalchschmied, 11 December 2022, Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{NMA|216|14|5="Nun, liebes Weibchen, ziehst mit mir"}}
- {{IMSLP|work=Nun, liebes Weibchen, K.625/592a (Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus)|cname="Nun, liebes Weibchen"}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}
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Category:German-language operas
Category:Operas by multiple composers
Category:Arias by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart