Liebe und Eifersucht
Liebe und Eifersucht is a Singspiel, an opera with spoken dialogue, in three acts by the German composer and author E. T. A. Hoffmann, composed in 1807 on his own libretto based on the translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel of a play by Calderón. The opera was first published by Schott in 1999, and premiered at the 2008 Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele.
History
The author Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was interested in music, wanted originally to become a musician, and added Amadeus to his names in honour of Mozart. He composed one successful opera in 1816, Undine, which became a major influence on the development of German Romantic opera. He wrote his own libretto for the earlier work Liebe und Eifersucht, based on August Wilhelm Schlegel's translation of a play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, La banda y la flor. Hoffmann composed the opera in 1807.The opera was not performed in Hoffmann's lifetime. It was first published by Schott in 1999. and premiered at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele on 27 July 2008, at the Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg, in a coproduction with the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, where it was first performed on 27 September that year. Michael Hofstetter, who staged a series of revivals of rarely played operas, conducted the Ludwigsburg Festival orchestra and singers from the Gärtnerplatztheater in performances and a recording. The first production in Switzerland was mounted in Zurich in 2016 by the Free Opera Company, with dialogues in more modern German and a reduced orchestra, conducted by Emmanuel Siffert.
Roles and music
The action takes place in Florence.| Roles | Voice type | Premiere cast, 27 July 2008 Conductor: Michael Hofstetter |
| Duke of Florence | high bass | Gary Martin |
| Enrico, in the duke's service | tenor | Robert Sellier |
| Ottavio, in the duke's service | tenor | Florian Simson |
| Fabio | bass | Jörg Simon |
| Lisida, daughter of Fabio | soprano | Christina Gerstberger |
| Chloris, daughter of Fabio | soprano | Thérèse Wincent |
| Nisa | low soprano | Sybille Specht |
| Celia, servant | soprano | Sybilla Duffe |
| Ponlevi, Enrico's servant | bass | Stefan Sevenich |
| A singer, musicians, court people | - | - |
The plot is marked by confusions in relationships, caused partly by disguise and by misunderstanding of signs and tokens of love. The music was described as inspired by Mozart, "everywhere marked by understanding and craftsmanship – and nowhere distinguished by genius."