Die Feen
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Die Feen (The Fairies) is Richard Wagner's first completed opera, composed entirely in 1833, when Wagner was 20 years old. The year before, Wagner had abandoned his first attempt at writing an opera, Die Hochzeit (The Wedding). However, Wagner borrowed the names of two of Die Feen's principal characters, Ada and Arindal, from his Die Hochzeit.
Die Feen remained unperformed until shortly after the composer's death in 1883, when it was premiered in Munich. It is rarely performed today. It is the only Wagner opera that has not been recorded for broadcast television or video. There are some audio recordings, the most available being a live 1982 performance conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Die Feen imitated the musical style of Carl Maria von Weber. This work by the young Wagner did not introduce the complex chains of melody and chromatic harmony that distinguished the composer's mature works.
Wagner personally gave the original manuscrpt of Die Feen to King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The manuscript was later given as a gift to Adolf Hitler, and perished with him in flames in the Berlin bunker in the final days of World War II[citation needed].
The United States premiere was held at the New York City Opera on February 24, 1982.
[edit] Characters
| Premiere, June 29, 1888 (Franz Fischer) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Der Feen König | bass | Victorine Blank |
| Ada | soprano | Lili Dressler |
| Zemina | soprano | Pauline Sigler |
| Farzana | soprano | Marie Sigler |
| Arindal | tenor | Max Mikorey |
| Gunther | tenor | Heinrich Herrmann |
| Morald | baritone | Rudolf Fuchs |
| Gernot | bass | Gustav Siehr |
| Lora | soprano | Adrienne Weitz
|
| Drolla | soprano | Emilie Herzog
|
| Harald | bass | Kaspar Bausewein
|
| Ein Bote | tenor | Max Schlosser |
Die Feen (recording and textbook, 1984), Munich: Orfeo GmbH.
