The Merry Wives of Windsor (in German: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor) is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal, based on the play The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare.
The opera is a Singspiel, containing much spoken dialogue between distinct musical numbers. The opera remains popular in Germany, and the overture is sometimes heard in concert in other countries.
Contents |
The first performance was at the Hofoper in Berlin on 9 March 1849.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 9 March 1849 (Conductor: Otto Nicolai) |
|---|---|---|
| Frau Fluth (Alice Ford) | soprano | Leopoldine Tuczek |
| Frau Reich (Meg Page) | mezzo soprano | Pauline Marx |
| Sir John Falstaff | bass | August Zschiesche |
| Fenton | tenor | Julius Pfister |
| Herr Fluth (Ford) | baritone | Julius Krause |
| Anna Reich (Anne Page) | soprano | Louise Köster |
| Herr Reich (Page) | bass | August Mickler |
| Spärlich (Slender) | tenor | Eduard Mantius |
| Dr. Cajus | bass | A. Lieder |
| Men and women of Windsor, neighbors, elves, spooks, insects chorus | ||
The story is close to that of Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff. Pistol and Bardolph are absent from this version, but Slender is present. The women have German names. Alice is Frau Fluth and Meg is Frau Reich.