Undine (Lortzing)

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Undine is an opera in four acts by Albert Lortzing. The German libretto was by the composer after Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's story of the same name.

There had been a revival of interest in Fouqué following the writer's death in 1843 to which Lortzing responded. Unlike Lortzing's earlier comedies, this work is a serious one, described as a Romantische Zauberoper ('romantic magic opera').

A number of other operas and ballets have been based on Fouqué's version of the myth of the water spirit Ondine, including Tchaikovsky's Undina, E T A Hoffmann's Undine, Cesare Pugni's Ondine and Hans Werner Henze's Ondine.

[edit] Performance history

The opera was first performed at the Nationaltheater in Magdeburg, on 21 April 1845.

[edit] Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, April 21, 1845. (Conductor: -)
Bertalda, presumed daughter of Duke Heinrich	soprano	Beer
Hans, a cellarer	bass
Hugo von Ringstetten	tenor	Nissen
Kühleborn, prince of the water spirits	baritone	Werlitz
Marthe	contralto	Detroit
Pater Heilmann	bass
Tobias, a fisherman	bass
Undine, Tobias's adopted daughter	soprano	Marie Minna Kiel
Veit, Ringstetten's squire	tenor	Quint

[edit] Sources

• Amadeus Almanac
• Brown, Clive (1992), 'Undine' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7