Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (The Rat-Catcher of Hamelin or The Piper of Hamelin) is a grand opera (Große Oper) in five acts by Viktor Nessler. The German libretto by is based on a 1875 romantic poem by Julius Wolff about the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Performance history
The opera was first performed at the Neues Stadttheater in Leipzig, on 19 March 1879, conducted by Arthur Nikisch. The first performance in the U.S. was at the Thalia Theatre, New York City, on 28 April 1886 conducted by John Lund."Amusements – Thalia Theatre", The New York Times, 29 April 1886, p. 4
The premiere in Vienna was given in 1897, which the critic Eduard Hanslick attended. He regarded the opera as overly long and old fashioned.
Roles +RoleVoice typeHunold Singuf, the rat-catcherbaritoneBertholdus de Sunneborne, the bailiffbassHeribert de Sunneborne, son of Bertholdus, in love with ReginatenorEthelerus, a clerk, also in love with ReginatenorGertrud, a fisher-girlsopranoWulf, a smith, in love with GertrudebaritoneIsfried Rhynperg, canonbassWichard Gruwelhot, the mayorbassRegina, the mayor's daughtersopranoDorothea, Regina's cousincontralto
Synopsis
The 13th-century tale is about Hunold Singuf, a name given by Wolff in his poem to the "pied piper", who rids the town of Hamelin of its rats. Hunold is not suitably rewarded by the townspeople, and they pay a terrible price when he lures all the children away and they disappear.
References
Further reading Franklin, Peter (1992), "Rattenfänger von Hameln, Der" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London)
External links
Review, 7 February 2004, production at , in Freiberg, Saxony