Carl Maria von Weber and the Search for a German Opera

Appendix 2. Comparative Table: Versions of Das unterbrochene Opferfest

Appendix 2 Comparative Table: Versions of Das unterbrochene Opferfest The scenes and numbers that play a large role in the chapter discussion appear in boldface. Neither the early printed versions, nor the various German-language librettos , nor the German-language performance materials in Dresden contain dialogue—the dialogue sections of the “Printed German” column below are based on later printed versions of the work. A printed piano-vocal score of the work came out very early (a Simrock score in the New York Public Library bears the date 1796) and was reproduced, with only very minor variations, by many publishers, including C. M. Meyer in Braunschweig and Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig. These scores only very occasionally contain a few cues and are in the “horizontal format” common in the early nineteenth century. A later edition (from which I have also drawn my musical examples) in “vertical format” was printed sometime in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries by Universal in Leipzig and Vienna.1 “Dresden German” describes the orchestral score preserved as Sächsische Landesbibliothek Mus. 3950–F-505, “Dresden Italian” describes Sächsische Landesbibliothek Mus. 3950–F-8, and “Revised Italian”describes the orchestral parts in Sächsische Landesbibliothek Mus. 3950–F-8a. Printed German (1796) Dresden German (c. 1819?) Dresden Italian (1798–1810?) Nos. 1–4 are essentially the same in all sources, except that in the Italian score the dialogues are replaced by recitatives. No. 5: Aria (Tempo di Marcia) (Pedrillo) Omitted Aria (Tempo di Marcia) (Pedrillo) No. 6: Aria (Gulira) Omitted Aria (Gulira) Printed German (1796) Dresden German (c. 1819?) Dresden Italian (1798–1810?) No. 7: Duettto (Myrrha, Murney) (not present) (not present) Recitative and Aria (Mira) “Quelle pupille tenere” No. 8: Aria (Mafferu) “Allmächt’ger Sonne, höre” Bound separately at the end of the Partitur. Same as “Printed German” Aria (Mafferu) (not present) (not present) Recit (Mafferu alone) No. 9: Aria (Myrrha) “Ich war, wenn ich erwachte ” Same as “Printed German” (incorporated into “Quelle pupille tenere,” above) No. 10: Duetto (Myrrha, Mafferu) No. 11: Aria (Elvira) “Süss sind der Rache Freuden” Omitted Omitted No. 12: Duetto (Pedrillo, Basila) Omitted Duetto (Pedrillo, Balisa) No. 13: Finale No. 14: Quintetto e Coro Shortened version Introduzione (Coro) Dialogue (Villakumu, Rocca, Mafferu, Murney , Inca, and Coro Dialogue Recit (Inca solo) No. 15: Terzetto No. 16: Duetto (Pedrillo, Guliru) Omitted Duetto (Pedrillo, Guliru) No. 17: Aria (Syra) Omitted Aria (Guliru) No. 18: Quartetto (Myrrha , Syra, Guliru, Balisa) Omitted Canzonetta (Mira, Guliru, Balisa) No. 19: Aria (Murney) “Mir graut vor dem Tode nicht” Same as "Printed German" Aria (Murney) substantially revised 182 Appendix 2 Printed German (1796) Dresden German (c. 1819?) Dresden Italian (1798–1810?) (not present) (not present) Aria (Mira) “Io sento già che l’alma.” No. 20: Quintetto No. 21: Aria (Pedrillo) Omitted Aria (Pedrillo) No. 22: Finale Versions of Das unterbrochene Opferfest 183 ...