Fennimore and Gerda

Fennimore und Gerda (subtitled Two Episodes from the Life of Niels Lyhne in Eleven Pictures, RT I/8) is a German-language opera with four interludes, by the English composer Frederick Delius. It is usually performed and recorded in English, as Fennimore and Gerda in a translation by Philip Heseltine. The German libretto, by the composer himself, is based on the novel Niels Lyhne by the Danish writer Jens Peter Jacobsen. In neither German nor English is the libretto highly regarded; rather, the work is considered an "orchestral opera," limited in its dramatic appeal but voluptuous and engaging in its instrumental texture.[1]

Frederick Delius

Delius began writing Fennimore und Gerda in 1908; he finished in 1910, but the premiere, intended for the Cologne Opera, was delayed by the First World War and did not take place until 21 October 1919, and then at the Opernhaus in Frankfurt. It was the composer's last opera. The United States premiere of the work was staged by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 1981 with Kathryn Bouleyn as Fennimore and Kathryn Gamberoni as Gerda.[2]

Roles
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 21 October 1919
(Conductor: Gustav Brecher)[3][4]
Consul ClaudibassWalter Schneider
The Consul's wifemezzo-soprano
Fennimore, their daughtermezzo-sopranoEmma Holt
Niels Lyhne, Claudi's nephewbaritoneRobert von Scheidt
Erik Refstrup, Niels's cousintenorErik Wirl
A Squirebaritone
A Tax Collectorbaritone
A Tutortenor
A Brandy Distillerbaritone
A Doctortenor
Councillor Skinnerupbass
Gerda, his daughtersopranoElisabeth Kandt
Ingrid, his daughtersoprano
Lila, his daughtersoprano
Marit, his daughtersoprano
Maidservants, girls and farmhands

Synopsis
Place: Denmark
Time: Around 1860

Two cousins, the writer Niels Lyhne and the painter Erik Refstrup, are in love with the consul's daughter, Fennimore. She chooses Erik but the marriage begins to break down as a result of the artist's drinking and Fennimore embarks on an affair with Niels. Erik is killed in an accident and, overwhelmed with guilt, Fennimore breaks off the affair. The rejected Niels spends years travelling before he settles down and marries his neighbour's daughter, Gerda.

Recordings
gollark: > Excessive preoccupation with or admiration of oneself. synonym: conceit.according to the duckduckgoed definition.
gollark: You ONLY care about your own preferences adn nobody else's.
gollark: Since you apparently do not care what anyone else thinks of this.
gollark: > as long as there is not a deity to punish me i dont see why these should matterExactly, narcissism!
gollark: Ah, of course.

References
Notes
  1. Boyd, p. 406, 408
  2. Margaret Ross Griffel (2012). Operas in English: A Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. p. 170.
  3. Amadeus Online
  4. Details at Boosey & Hawkes
Cited sources
  • Boyden, Matthew, et al, The Rough Guide to Opera, Rough Guides, 2002. ISBN 978-1-85828-749-2
  • Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
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