An allem ist Hütchen schuld!

An allem ist Hütchen schuld! ('Hattie is to blame for everything!'), Op. 11, is an opera in German in three acts composed by Siegfried Wagner in 1914/15 to his own libretto. It is described as a Märchenspiel or fairy-tale play. It premiered on 6 December 1917 at the Ccourt Theatre Stuttgart.

An allem ist Hütchen schuld!
Opera by Siegfried Wagner
Playbill for the premiere
DescriptionMärchenspiel
TranslationHattie is to blame for everything!
LibrettistSiegfried Wagner
LanguageGerman
Based onFairy-tales by the Brothers Grimm
Premiere
5 November 1917 (1917-11-05)

History edit

Siegfried Wagner, the son of Richard Wagner, composed several operas on fairy tale and legendary topics. He began the composition of An allem ist Hütchen schuld! in September 1914. He finished a draft for the first act on 22 September and its score in November that year, a draft for the second act on 10 January 1915 and its score on 12 April, and the draft for the third act on 11 June, completing the opera on 26 August 1915.[1] He wrote the libretto based on several episodes from fairy-tales by the Brothers Grimm.[1]

The premiere was at the Hoftheater Stuttgart on 6 December 1917, staged by Franz Ludwig Hörth and conducted by Erich Band.[1][2] It was a success with the public comparable to his Der Bärenhäuter.[2] The opera was performed again in Halle in 1929, staged by Heinrich Kreutz and conducted again by Band. A production in Leipzig in 1939 was directed by Wolfram Humperdinck [de] in a stage set by Wieland Wagner and conducted by Gilbert of Gravina. A production in Altenburg in 1944 was also shown in Bayreuth, directed by Wieland Wagner, conducted by Kurt Overhoff and with choreography by Gertrud Wagner.[1]

After World War II, the opera was not played. The first complete production was in 1997 at the Theater Hagen, staged by Peter P. Pachl [de] and conducted by Gerhard Markson.[3][4][5] The opera was played once at the AudiMax of the Ruhr University Bochum on 18 October 2015, again staged by Pachl, with Lionel Friend conducting the Bochumer Symphoniker.[6][7]

Roles edit

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 6 December 1917[1][8]
Conductor: Erich Band [de]
Hütchen, a kobold soprano Helene Heim
Märchenfrau soprano Erna Ellmenreich
Katherlieschen soprano Else Betz
Frieder tenor George Maeder
Frieder's Mutter / Wirtsfrau / Sonne mezzo-soprano Emma Scheidl-Haußer
Trude contralto Sigrid Onégin
Hexenweibchen / Stern coloratura soprano Helene Berden
Dorfrichter tenor Felix Decken
Tod baritone Theodor Scheidl
Teufel bass Albin Swoboda
Des Teufels Ellermutter mezzo-soprano Johanna Schönberger
Königssohn baritone Felix Fleischer
Müller bass Felix Fleischer
Wirt baritone Otto Helgers
Müllerin soprano Roda von Glehn
Sakristan tenor Rudolf van Schaik
Menschenfresser / Mond bass Reinhold Fritz
Das singende, springende Löweneckerchen soprano
Jacob Grimm, Siegfried Wagner speaking roles

Fairy tales edit

Wagner used elements from many fairy tales in his libretto, including:[2]

Recordings edit

  • An Allem ist Hütchen Schuld! Niklas Mix, Hans-Georg Priese, Rebecca Broberg, Alessandra di Giorgio, Maarja Purga, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, David Robert Coleman Marco Polo/Naxos 3CD 2022
  • An Allem ist Hütchen Schuld!, DVD Alexander Lueg, Hans-Georg Priese, Rebecca Broberg, Julia Ostertag, Bochum Symphony Orchestra, Lionel Friend, Marco Polos/Naxos DVD 2019

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "An allem ist Hütchen schuld! Op. 11 – Siegfried Wagner" (in German). wagnerportal.de. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Pachl, Peter P. (2015). ""Und was du da wieder aufgebaut: Vierzig Märchen zusammengebraut!" – oder: "Wollt ihr den totalen Grimm?"". Siegfried Wager zum 85. Todestag (in German). Internationalen Siegfried Wagner Gesellschaft. pp. 20ff.
  3. ^ Bahr, Achim (2015). Das Schweigen der Kröte (Bochum program book) (in German). pp. 31ff.
  4. ^ Gier, Albert (2015). Kreuz und quer durchs Märchenland (Bochum program book) (in German). pp. 23ff.
  5. ^ Schmöe, Stefan (1997). "An allem ist Hütchen schuld". Online Musik Magazin (in German). Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  6. ^ Kampe, Gordon (2015). "Grimm und Käse – An allem ist Hütchen schuld im Audimax Bochum". Neue Musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  7. ^ Rosén, Friedeon (2015). "Bochum/ Audimax: An allem ist Hütchen schuld". Der Neue Merker (in German). Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. ^ "An allem ist Hütchen schuld!" (in German). Bayreuth: Internationale Siegfried Wagner Gesellschaft. Retrieved 7 March 2017.

External links edit