Organization

Singer

Bass

Günther Groissböck

Hans Stadinger

Soprano

Miriam Kutrowatz

Marie

Contralto

Juliette Mars

Irmentraut

Tenor

Andrew Morstein

Georg

Chorus master

Erwin Ortner

Jan Petryka

Brenner

Baritone

Timothy Connor

Ritter Graf von Liebenau

Ivan Zinoviev

Adelhos

Conductor

Leo Hussain

Moderation

Nikolaus Habjan

MusikTheater an der Wien

Others

Arnold Schoenberg Chor

Orchestra

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

German

Der Waffenschmied -  (The Armourer)

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

Public

The Armourer

Approved

For Albert Lortzing, the Theater an der Wien was a place of longing for hope in 1845, because he had been thrown out of Leipzig, where he had worked as Kapellmeister since 1833. His financial situation was desperate. The then director of the Theater an der Wien, Franz Pokorny, offered Lortzing to present a new opera to him as a test piece, so to speak, and to employ him permanently if it was successful. The "specimen" was The Armourer . Lortzing was a theatrical jack of all trades who was also very popular as an actor. In the template for The Armourer , the successful comedy lover and rival rolled into one(1790) by Friedrich Wilhelm Ziegler, Lortzing had often appeared as Count Liebenau. He transformed the piece himself into a libretto and transformed the comic intrigue into an ironic love comedy about class arrogance. A frequent problem in comedies is that higher-ranking characters should not marry lower-ranking characters because the latter are not worthy - here it is the other way round: Count Liebenau has fallen in love with Marie, the daughter of the armourer Stadinger. But instead of such a noble son-in-law being welcome, the count has to fear being turned away, because the proud citizen Stadinger despises the nobles as a generally depraved estate. Therefore, Liebenau disguises himself as a blacksmith and tries to win Marie's love. Infected by the bourgeois ideal of true love, he also wants to be loved for himself. At the same time, as Count von Liebenau, he approaches Marie to see what impresses her more, the simple journeyman or the wealthy castle owner. Absurd situations are preprogrammed. The whole thing takes place in a Worms dreamed up in Biedermeier style from the 16th century, where the bourgeois way of life triumphs over the noble, the 19th century as a model. At the premiere on May 30, 1846, it was popular where the bourgeois way of life triumphs over the noble, the 19th century as a model. At the premiere on May 30, 1846, it was popular where the bourgeois way of life triumphs over the noble, the 19th century as a model. At the premiere on May 30, 1846, it was popularThe armourer with his well-known and popular, catchy and song-like arias and turbulent ensembles. Lortzing received the dreamed-of position as Kapellmeister. Unfortunately, he was not lucky in Vienna for long, he was fired in 1848, and three years later he died impoverished in Berlin.

English

The Armourer by Lortzing, From (2021/2021), Conductor Leo Hussain, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues