Hüon und Amande

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Original cover of Hüon und Amande from 1789, that reads "Hüon und Amande: A Romantic Singspiel in Five Acts after Wieland's Oberon. By Friederike Sophie Seyler."

Hüon und Amande (also known as Oberon or Oberon oder König der Elfen) is a romantic Singspiel in five acts by Friederike Sophie Seyler, based on the poem Oberon by Christoph Martin Wieland. It was published in "Flensburg, Schleswig and Leipzig" in 1789 (the same year as Seyler's death), and was dedicated to the actor Friedrich Ludwig Schröder, a long-time friend and collaborator of Seyler and her husband Abel Seyler, the founder of the Seyler theatrical company (see also Seyler family). Seyler's libretto formed the basis of Karl Ludwig Giesecke's libretto for the opera Oberon, written for Emanuel Schikaneder's troupe and set to music by Paul Wranitzky. As Giesecke did not credit her, he later came under much criticism for plagiarism, although it soon became evident that his work was based on Seyler's libretto. The opera The Magic Flute, with a libretto by Schikaneder, was to a significant degree based on Giesecke's version of Oberon and thus ultimately on Seyler.[1] Seyler's husband had also been a freemason since 1753.

According to Peter Branscombe, "it has long been recognized that Giesecke, the named author of Wranitzky's libretto, deserves little credit for what is largely a plagiarism," concluding that "Giesecke's "Oberon, König der Elfen is hardly more than a mild revision of Seyler's book." After the theatrical success of Giesecke's plagiarized version (and also after Seyler's death), Seyler's original was renamed Oberon and performed under this title.[2] Giesecke's version of Seyler's Oberon was the first opera performed by Schikaneder's troupe at their new theater, and established a tradition within the company of fairy tale operas that was to culminate later in The Magic Flute two years later.

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References

  1. ↑ David J. Buch, Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater, University of Chicago Press, 2008
  2. ↑ Peter Branscombe, W. A. Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Cambridge University Press, 1991, p. 28

External links

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