Alceste (Schweitzer)
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| Alceste | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Anton Schweitzer | |
 Anton Schweitzer, the composer | |
| Librettist | Christoph Martin Wieland |
| Language | German |
| Premiere | |
Alceste is an opera in German in five acts by Anton Schweitzer with a libretto by Christoph Martin Wieland. It was commissioned by Abel Seyler for the Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft, and premiered on 28 May 1773 at the Hoftheater Weimar. Considered a milestone of German opera, it was revived in Weimar and recorded in 1999.
Alceste was commissioned by Abel Seyler for the Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft. He was a strong proponent of German opera. Anton Schweitzer worked as a musical director for the company since 1769.[1] The opera was an effort to found a German opera style,[2] while earlier operas in German had relied on Italian and French traditions, for example the lost Dafne by Heinrich Schütz, and the first extant opera in German, Das geistliche Waldgedicht oder Freudenspiel, genannt Seelewig by Sigmund Theophil Staden on a libretto by Georg Philipp Harsdörffer, which is closely related to works of the Renaissance.
The librettist and the composer had collaborated already for the ballets Idris und Zenide and Aurora, with Wieland compared to Metastasio.[3] Wieland wrote several comments to the libretto of Alceste, including in his essay Versuch über das Deutsche Singspiel, explaining his intentions to Charles Burney who was surprised on his musical trips through France, Italy and Germany that he found now German lyrical theatre. Wieland's goal was an "interessante Art von Schauspielen" (a more interesting form of plays) with a focus on "Rührung" (emotional affect). Duchess Anna Amalie of Weimar wanted to establish a Nationalbühne, a stage for plays and operas in German.[4] Early pieces for such a theatre were the Singspiele Die Jagd by Johann Adam Hiller and Die Dorfgala by Schweitzer. Wieland and Schweitzer wanted to create in Alceste a work that could compete internationally.[2] The librettist reduced the number of characters to four, and employed no choir.[5] The opera is regarded as a milestone of German opera.[2][6]
