Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (c. 18 November 1786 – 5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic in the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Best known for his operas, he was a crucial figure in the development of German Romantische Oper (German Romantic opera). Throughout his youth, his father, Franz Anton, relentlessly moved the family between Hamburg, Salzburg, Freiberg, Augsburg and Vienna. Consequently, he studied with many teachers—his father, Johann Peter Heuschkel, Michael Haydn, Giovanni Valesi, Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, and Georg Joseph Vogler—under whose supervision he composed four operas, none of which survive complete. He had a modest output of non-operatic music, which includes two symphonies, two concertos and a concertino for clarinet and orchestra, a bassoon concerto, a horn concertino, two concertos and a Konzertstück for piano and orchestra, piano pieces such as Invitation to the Dance; and many pieces that featured the clarinet, usually written for the virtuoso clarinetist Heinrich Baermann. His mature operas—Silvana (1810), Abu Hassan (1811), Der Freischütz (1821), Die drei Pintos (comp. 1820–21), Euryanthe (1823), Oberon (1826)—had a major impact on subsequent German composers including Marschner, Meyerbeer, and Wagner; his compositions for piano influenced those of Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt. His best known work, Der Freischütz, remains among the most significant German operas.

Operas in the OperaPedia Catalogue

The following 5 operas by Carl Maria von Weber are catalogued in OperaPedia, listed in chronological order of premiere. Click any title for the full editorial entry, including synopsis, premiere details, language, and notable arias.

• 1810 Abu Hassan, 1810 German
• 1810 Der Freischütz, 1810 Schauspielhaus Berlin German
• 1823 Euryanthe, 1823 Theater am Kärntnertor German
• 1825 Oberon, 1825 German
• 1888 Die drei Pintos, 1888 Neues Stadttheater German

Stylistic Position & Reception

Carl Maria von Weber's position within the operatic canon has been shaped by performance tradition as much as by scholarly judgment. The works that survive in the active repertory of the major houses tend to be those that combine memorable vocal writing with dramatically effective situations · qualities that audiences continue to respond to from one generation to the next. Other works in the catalogue, less frequently performed, often reward closer study by singers, conductors, and dramaturges seeking to broaden the standard repertoire.

Modern scholarship on Carl Maria von Weber has been substantially enriched by the publication of critical editions of the major scores, by the rediscovery of forgotten works and revisions, and by the steady documentation of performance history through recordings, theatre archives, and contemporary criticism. The biographical sketch above and the catalogue of works are compiled from public-domain reference sources, including the structured Wikidata layer and the corresponding English Wikipedia article.

Editorial Note

OperaPedia maintains its composer entries as living documents, revised whenever new editorial work justifies a change. If you encounter a factual error in the biographical material above or in the linked opera entries, please write to the editors using the contact details on our about page.