Schwarzschwanenreich
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| Schwarzschwanenreich | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Siegfried Wagner | |
 Hoftheater Karlsruhe, the location of the opera's premiere | |
| Translation | Realm of the Black Swan |
| Librettist | Siegfried Wagner |
| Language | German |
| Premiere | 5 November 1918 Hoftheater Karlsruhe |
Schwarzschwanenreich (Realm of the Black Swan[1]), Op. 7, is an opera in German in three acts composed by Siegfried Wagner in 1910 to his own libretto. It premiered on 5 November 1918 in Karlsruhe at the court theatre Großherzogliches Hoftheater.
Siegfried Wagner, the son of Richard Wagner, composed several operas on fairy tale and legendary topics. He completed the first act of Schwarzschwanenreich on 13 April 1909 in Santa Margherita Ligure, worked on the second act in November 1909 in Bayreuth and finished the opera with the third act on 10 April 1910 in Santa Margherita.[2] The background of the action is provided by witch trials during the Thirty Years' War. As many women in Bohemia were burned as witches, the heroine Hulda, afraid of the Inquisition, has killed her illegitimate child and buried it in the forest. When the scene opens she is in the forest and sings of her regret and the dream of a friend whose understanding could free her from the burden of remorse.[2]
Roles
The action takes place in Bohemia in the 17th century.[3]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 5 November 1918 Conductor: Fritz Cortolezis[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Hulda (Linda) | soprano | Edith Sajitz |
| Liebhold (Ludwig) | tenor | Helmut Neugebauer |
| Ursula, Liebhold's sister | mezzo-soprano | Margarete Bruntsch |
| Oswald | baritone | Benno Ziegler |
| Aschenweibchen | contralto | Marie Mosel-Tomschik |
| Gefängniswärter (prison guardian) | bass | Gottfried Hagedorn |
| Versucher | baritone | Rudolf Maly-Motta |
| Young man | tenor | Franz Schwerdt |
| Girl | soprano | Nelly Schlager |