Der Vampyr
Music by Heinrich Marschner · libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück · premiered 1828 · at Altes Theater
Der Vampyr (The Vampire) is a Romantic opera in two acts by Heinrich Marschner. The German libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück (Marschner's brother-in-law) is based on the play Der Vampir oder die Totenbraut (1821) by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter, which itself was based on the short story The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori.
The first performance took place on 29 March 1828 in Leipzig, where it was a hit. The opera is still occasionally performed, and, in 1992, an updated adaptation, entitled The Vampyr: A Soap Opera, with new lyrics by Charles Hart, starring Omar Ebrahim and produced by Janet Street-Porter, was serialised on BBC television. In June 2014, OperaHub in Boston premiered a new English-language adaptation of Der Vampyr by John J King that spoofs more modern vampire stories such as Twilight, Dracula, the Vampire Chronicles, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Der Vampyr", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Heinrich August Marschner (16 August 1795 – 14 December 1861) was a German composer best known for his operas. He is considered to be the most important composer of German opera between Weber and Wagner.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Heinrich Marschner", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Heinrich Marschner
- Der Templer und die Jüdin (1819)
- Hans Heiling (1833)
- Der Bäbu (1834)