Oberon (opera)

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Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath is a romantic opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber to an English libretto by James Robinson Planche, after a poem by Christoph Martin Wieland. It was first performed at Covent Garden, London on 12 April 1826.

Commissioned by Charles Kemble, Weber undertook the project against his doctor's advice for financial reasons. He travelled to London to complete the music before the successful premiere of the opera, however he destroyed his health in the process and died in London on 5 June of the same year.

[edit] Roles

• Oberon, King of the Elves (tenor)
• Puck, (mezzo-soprano)
• Reiza, daughter of Haroun al Rachid (soprano)
• Sir Huon of Bordeaux, Duke of Guienne (tenor)
• Sherasmin, Huon's squire (baritone)
• Namouna, Fatima's grandmother (spoken)
• Fatima, Reiza's attendant (mezzo-soprano)
• Haroun al Rachid, Caliph of Baghdad (spoken)
• Babekan, a Saracen prince (spoken)
• Abdallah, a corsair (spoken)
• Two mermaids, (mezzo-sopranos)
• Roshana, wife of Almanzor (spoken)
• Almanzor, Emir of Tunis (spoken)