Der Trompeter von Säckingen (The Trumpeter of Säckingen) is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Viktor Nessler. The German libretto was by , based on the epic poem, Der Trompeter von Säkkingen , by Joseph Victor von Scheffel.
Performance history Arthur Nikisch, to whom Nessler dedicated the opera,Score, p. 1, Schubert & Co, Leipzig 1884 conducted the first performance at the (or Stadttheater) in Leipzig on 4 May 1884. It was Nessler's greatest success, albeit in part because of the popularity of von Scheffel's poem. It was subsequently given at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on 23 November 1887, and at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London on 8 July 1892 by the Hamburg Stadttheater, conducted by Leo Feld.
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 4 May 1884Conductor: Arthur NikischWerner Kirchhofer, law student, later a trumpeterbaritoneOtto SchelperKonradin, a trumpeterbassKarl GrenggBaron von SchönaubassKarl GrenggMaria, daughter of the BaronsopranoMargarethe JahnsCount von WildensteinbassKarl GrenggCountess Wildenstein, Maria's aunt, former wife of the CountcontraltoDamian, son of the Count by a subsequent wifetenorGeorge MarionThe majordomobaritoneThe rectorbassKarl Grengg
Synopsis Setting: 17th-century Heidelberg and Säkkingen, after the Thirty Years' War. The trumpeter Werner loves Maria, the daughter of the Baron, but her father and mother want her to marry the cowardly Damian. Werner proves himself a hero and is opportunely discovered to be of noble birth, so all ends happily.
Recordings Nessler: Der Trompeter von Säckingen – WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln and Chorus, conductor: Helmuth Froschauer, Alfred Kuhn (bass); Christoph Späth (tenor); (bass); Hermann Prey (baritone); Katharina Kammerloher (mezzo-soprano); 2013 Capriccio C5187 (CD)"Der Trompeter von Säckingen" (Capriccio), Chandos Records, includes liner notes.
Sources
Franklin, Peter (1992), "Trompeter von Säckingen, Der" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London)
External links
Der Trompeter von Säckingen website , Richard Tauber.