Gustav Albert Lortzing (October 23, 1801 - January 21, 1851) was a German composer, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German Spieloper, a form similar to the French Opéra comique, which grew out of the Singspiel. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Opéra comique is a French style of opera that is a partial counterpart to the Italian opera buffa. ... Singspiel (song-play) is a form of German-language music drama, similar to modern musical theater, though it is also referred to as a type of operetta or opera. ...

Biography

Lortzing was born in Berlin to Johann Gottlieb Lortzing and Charlotte Sophie. They had abandoned their leather shop and travelled through Germany as itinerant actors, founding the Berlin theatre company Urania, and turning their amateur passion into a profession. The young Lortzing's first stage appearance was at the age of 12, entertaining the audience with comic poems during the interval in the Kornhaus at the Freiburg Münster. From 1817, the Lortzing family were part of Josef Derossi ensemble in the Rhineland, treading the boards at Bonn, Düsseldorf, Barmen and Aachen. Albert Lortzing became an audience favourite, playing the roles of a youthful lover, a country boy and bon vivant, sometimes also singing in small tenor or baritone parts. This article is about the capital of Germany. ... The Freiburg Münster The Freiburg Münster is the cathedral of Freiburg, Germany. ... The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. ... Düsseldorf (IPA: ) is the capital city of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the economic and cultural centres of Germany and western Europe. ... Barmen is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ... This article is about Tenor vocalists in music. ... For other uses, see Baritone (disambiguation). ...

He married an actress, Rosina Regine Ahles, on 30 January 1824, with whom he subsequently had 11 children. The couple belonged to the Hoftheater in Detmold from late 1826, which toured to Münster and Osnabrück. Lortzing joined the Freemasons, a popular refuge for artists in Metternich's police state. Lortzing composed an oratorio in Detmold, Die Himmelfahrt Christi (Christ's Ascension), which premiered in Münster, and predictably earned a rebuke for the young composer from the Münster regional governor, who claimed that Lortzing would "never become famous as a composer". is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 80,000. ... American Square & Compasses Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. ... Metternich redirects here. ...

Lortzing composed the music for Christian Dietrich Grabbe's Don Juan und Faust, playing the role of Don Juan himself, with his wife as Donna Anna. Lortzing received a glowing report from an anonymous reviewer in a Frankfurt paper, who also mistakenly praised Lortzing for the text "by this brilliant poet". Grabbe, the real poet, was outraged, although the review did bring good publicity for the piece. Christian Dietrich Grabbe (December 11, 1801 – September 12, 1836) was a German dramatist. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ...

Lortzing's statue in the Berlin Tiergarten, by Gustav Eberlein

On 3 November 1833, the young Lortzings gave their debut at the Leipziger Stadttheater. Lortzing's parents had been members of this ensemble since 1832, under Friedrich Sebald Ringelhardt. Here, Lortzing became a member of the artists' club "Tunnel unter der Pleisse" ("Tunnel under the Pleiße"), and in 1834 he became a member of the Leipzig Freemasons lodge "Balduin zur Linde" ("Balduin to the Linden Tree"). Lortzing was much loved in the Leipzig ensemble, particularly when acting in Johann Nestroy's comedies. However, his tendency to improvise and to deviate from the script attracted the attention of the theatrical police. is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Look up debut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Pleiße is a tributary of the Weiße Elster in Saxony. ... Species About 30; see text A lime-lined avenue in Alexandra Park, London Tilia leaf Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia (where the greatest species diversity is found), Europe and eastern North America; it is absent... Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (born December 7, 1801 at Vienna, Austria; died May 25, 1862 at Graz, Austria) was an opera singer, actor and, primarily, a playwright. ...

His first comic opera, Zar und Zimmermann, had a tough time with the Leipzig censors. It premiered in Leipzig on 22 December 1837. Lortzing himself sang the role of Peter Iwanow, but it did not make a major breakthrough until its Berlin performances in 1839, where it was much praised. is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1844, Lortzing became Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Stadttheater, but was dismissed in April 1845 due to his "rheumatic troubles". The repeated protests of the public were to no effect. In an open letter, signed by almost everyone in the ensemble, he made a plea against the measures taken by the city government. A Kapellmeister is nowadays the director or conductor of an orchestra or choir. ...

Between 1845 and 1847, Lortzing worked as Kapellmeister at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. At the behest of the Freedom Movement, he wrote text and music in 1848 for his political opera Regina, named after his wife. This work concerned both labour struggles and fear of suicide. His last full-length opera was an 1849 fairy-tale satire of the Prussian military state called Rolands Knappen (Roland's Squire), featuring the repeated line "And this is supposed to be a world order?" ("Und das soll eine Weltordnung sein?") The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre in Vienna. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... Germany at the time of the Revolutions of 1848 had been a collection of 38 states loosely bound together in the German Confederation. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ...

In 1848 he lost his appointment and had to return to work as a touring actor to support his large family. He worked at Gera and Lüneburg, among other cities. Finally in 1850, he became the Kapellmeister in Berlin at the newly-opened Friedrich-Wilhelmstädtisches Theater. The Deutsches Theater in Berlin, Germany is a well known theater, which was built in 1850 (then as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Friedrich Wilhelm). ...

On the morning of 21 January 1851, Albert Lortzing died, under huge stress and deeply in debt. A number of luminaries from the musical world were present at his funeral, including Giacomo Meyerbeer, Heinrich Dorn, Wilhelm Taubert and Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen. Lortzing's theatrical colleagues decorated his coffin with black, red and gold, a combination forbidden after 1848. is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 – May 2, 1864) was a noted German-born opera composer, and the first great exponent of Grand Opera. ...

Works

His first opera, Ali Pascha von Janina, appeared in 1824, but his fame as a musician rests chiefly upon the two operas Zar und Zimmermann (1837) and Der Wildschütz (1842). For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... See also: 1823 in music, other events of 1824, 1825 in music and the list of years in music. ... See also: 1836 in music, other events of 1837, 1838 in music and the list of years in music. Events June 11th Prussian Copyright Act protecting for the first time performances of concert music Published popular music Hark, Brothers, Hark, words and music by John Hill Hewitt Woodman, Spare That... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... See also: 1841 in music, other events of 1842, 1843 in music and the list of years in music. Events May 31 - Frederick William IV of Prussia creates a new order of merit for the arts and sciences. ...

Zar und Zimmermann was received with very little enthusiasm by the public of Leipzig. However, at subsequent performances in Berlin there was a much more positive reaction. The opera soon appeared on all the stages of Germany, and today is regarded as one of the masterpieces of German comic opera. It was translated into English, French, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Bohemian, Hungarian and Russian. The story is based around Tsar Peter I 'The Great' of Russia, who travelled to Germany, Holland and England disguised as a carpenter in order to gain first-hand technical knowledge he believed necessary for his country's economic progress, such as modern shipbuilding. Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... Peter the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр I Алексеевич Pyotr I Alekse`yevich, Пётр Великий Pyotr Veli`kiy) (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.][1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his...

Der Wildschütz was based on a comedy by August von Kotzebue, and was a satire on the unintelligent and exaggerated admiration for the highest beauty in art expressed by the bourgeois gentilhomme. August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (May 3, 1761 in Weimar - March 23, 1819 in Mannheim) was a German dramatist. ... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Of his other operas, Der Pole und sein Kind, produced shortly after the Polish insurrection of 1831, and Undine (1845) are notable. Although the majority of the szlachta was reconciled to the end of the Commonwealth in 1795, the possibility of Polish independence was kept alive by events within and without Poland throughout the nineteenth century. ... See also: 1844 in music, other events of 1845, 1846 in music and the list of years in music. Events April 21 - Albert Lortzings opera Undine debuts in Magdeburg. ...

Lortzing was popular in Berlin and after his death, a memorial statue was erected in the Tiergarten in Berlin.

List of Selected works

• Die Himmelfahrt Christi (Christ's Ascension) - oratorio (premiered in Münster in 1828)
• Der Pole und sein Kind (The Pole and His Child) (1831)
• Szenen aus Mozarts Leben (Scenes from Mozart's Life) (Münster 1832)
• Der Weihnachtsabend (Christmas Eve) (Münster 1832)
• Die beiden Schützen (The Two Riflemen) (Leipzig 1837)
• Zar und Zimmermann (Leipzig 1837)
• Hans Sachs (Leipzig 1840)
• Casanova (Leipzig 1841)
• Der Wildschütz (The Poacher) ((Leipzig 1842)
• Undine (Magdeburg 1845)
• Der Waffenschmied (The Armourer) (Vienna 1846)
• Regina (Vienna 1848) (called his freedom opera. Not performed in Lortzing's lifetime)
• Rolands Knappen oder Das ersehnte Glück (Roland's Squire, or The Longed-For Happiness) (Leipzig 1849)
• Die Opernprobe (The Opera Rehearsal) (Frankfurt 1851)

Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other places with the same or similar names, and other uses of the word, see Munster (disambiguation) Münster is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the German city. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ...

Literature

• Dario Weißenhoffer: Das Verzeichnis von Gustav Albert Lortzing (LoWV) (The Gustav Albert Lortzing Catalogue) ISBN 3-89564-003-4
• Irmlind Capelle: Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Gustav Albert Lortzing (LoWV) (Chronological and Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Albert Lortzing's Works) Studio, Köln 1994, ISBN 3-89564-003-4
• Irmlind Capelle: Albert Lortzing. Sämtliche Briefe (Collected Correspondence of Albert Lortzing) Bärenreiter, Kassel 1995, ISBN 3-7618-1178-0
• Hans Christoph Worbs: Albert Lortzing. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1980, ISBN 3-499-50281-X
• Heinz Schirmag: Albert Lortzing. Glanz und Elend eines Künstlerlebens (Albert Lortzing: Glamour and Squalor of an Artist's Life) Henschel, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-89487-196-2
• Jürgen Lodemann: Lortzing. Leben und Werk des dichtenden, komponierenden und singenden Publikumslieblings, Familienvaters und komisch tragischen Spielopernweltmeisters aus Berlin (Lortzing: Life and Work of the poem-writing, composing and singing darling of the audience, devoted father and comically tragic world champion of the Spieloper from Berlin) Steidl, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-88243-733-2
• Jürgen Lodemann: Oper - O reiner Unsinn - Albert Lortzing, Opernmacher (Opera - O Total Nonsense - Albert Lortzing, Opera-maker) Edition WUZ, Nr. 19, Freiberg a.N. 2005

Sources

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language wikipedia article (retrieved September, 2007).

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External links

• George Overmeire's Albert Lortzing Website