Der Schatzgräber

Franz Schreker
Operas Flammen (1902) Der ferne Klang (1912) Die Gezeichneten (1918) Der Schatzgräber (1920) Irrelohe (1924)
v · d · e

Der Schatzgräber (The Treasure Hunter) is an opera in four acts, with a prologue and an epilogue, by Franz Schreker, libretto by the composer.

Composition history

Schreker composed the opera between 1915 and 1918. He dated the completed manuscript full score 12 November 1918.^[1] The score is published by Universal Edition Vienna.^[2]

Performance history

The Alte Oper in Frankfurt 1880–1945

The opera was first performed on 21 January 1920 at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, conducted by Ludwig Rottenberg.^[3] It was Schreker's most (but also his last) successful opera.^[1] It received 354 performances in over fifty cities between 1920 and 1924/1925, but after the change in the cultural and political climate in Germany, only a further 31 performances took place until 1932,^[1] by which time Schreker's music had been banned due to his Jewish ancestry.

The opera was revived in a concert performance in Vienna in 1985, followed by a fully staged production at the Hamburg State Opera in 1989.^[3]

In 1922, Schreker prepared a Symphonic Interlude for concert performance, mainly drawn from the orchestral interlude from Act 3. This was premiered by the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg in October 1923.

Roles

Role[2]	Voice type	Premiere cast[4] 21 January 1920 (Conductor: Ludwig Rottenberg)
The king	high bass	Hans Erl
The queen	silent part	Marta Uersfeld
The chancellor	tenor	Hermann Schramm
The count	baritone	Rudolf Brinkmann
The schoolmaster	bass
The fool	tenor	Erik Wirl
The bailiff	baritone	Robert vom Scheidt
The young nobleman	baritone or high bass
Elis	tenor	John Gläser
The mayor	bass	Carl Bauermann
The scribe	tenor	Otto Weindel
The innkeeper	bass	Josef Gareis
Els	soprano	Emma Hol
Albi	lyric tenor	Franz Wartenberg
A soldier	low bass	Arthur Simon
First citizen	tenor	Hermann Schramm
Second citizen	baritone	Robert vom Scheidt
Third citizen	bass	Arthur Simon
First old maid	mezzo-soprano
Second old maid	mezzo-soprano (or contralto)
A woman	contralto (or mezzo-soprano)

Synopsis

The opera is set in legendary medieval times.

Prologue

The queen has lost her jewels, and with them her beauty and fertility. The fool knows about Elis, a wandering minstrel whose magic lute points out all hidden treasures to him. The king promises the fool that he will be allowed to choose a wife as a reward, if Ellis can find the jewels.

Act 1

Els, daughter of the innkeeper, has to marry a brutal but rich young nobleman she despises. She therefore sends him away to find the queen's jewels, and has him murdered by Albi, her servant. The minstrel Elis presents Els with an ornament he has found in the woods. Els falls in love with the young minstrel, but then the body of the dead nobleman is found in the woods; the bailiff, who wants Els for himself, arrests Elis on suspicion of murder.

Act 2

Elis is to be hanged. Els seeks the advice of the fool, who promises to help. The king's messenger stops the execution at the last moment, so Elis can go in search of the ornament. To avoid being exposed, Els orders Albi to steal the minstrel's magic lute.

Act 3

During a night of love, Els shows herself to Elis in the full beauty of the jewels. She hands over the jewellery to him, on condition that he will never ask her about the provenance, and will always trust her.

Act 4

Elis has returned the jewels to the queen. During a celebration, the bailiff intervenes and announces that Albi has confessed to the murder. Els is denounced as the instigator of the murder, and the bailiff demands her immediate execution. But the fool reminds the king of his promise: he chooses Els as his wife and thus saves her from being executed.

Epilogue

One year later, Els is dying. Only the fool has remained with her. He fetches the minstrel, who sings his most beautiful ballad for Els. She dies in the minstrel's arms.

Instrumentation

The orchestral score requires:

• 3 flutes (flute 3 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn (doubling oboe 3), 2 clarinets in A/B flat, bass clarinet in B flat, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon;
• 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, bass tuba;
• timpani, percussion (4 players), high bells, 2 harps, celesta;
• strings (violins I, violins II, violas, violoncellos, double basses).^[2]

Recordings

• In 1990 the German record label Capriccio released a live recording made in May/June 1989 at the Hamburg State Opera, with Gerd Albrecht conducting the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} (1990) Release notes for Der Schatzgräber by Franz Schreker (CD liner). Capriccio (60010-2).
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Franz Schreker: Der Schatzgräber". Universal Edition. http://www.universaledition.com/Franz-Schreker/composers-and-works/composer/659/work/1921. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Christopher Hailey: Franz Schreker: A cultural biography (Cambridge University Press, 1993)
4. ^ "Musical Events 21 January 1920". AmadeusOnline. http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=21&Mese=01&Anno=1920. Retrieved 1 August 2010. 

References

• András Batta: Opera - Komponisten, Werke, Interpreten (Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2000, Dutch translation)
• Christopher Hailey: Franz Schreker: A cultural biography (Cambridge University Press, 1993)