Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern (Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus) is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20 December 1823.
Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern (Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus) is a play in four acts by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily known for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. The premiere of the play took place on 20 December 1823 in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien. The text version of the original play by von Chézy is lost. A modified version in five acts was discovered in the State Library of Württemberg and was published in 1996. Fragmentary autograph sources relating to the original the play have been recovered.[1]
The story concerns the attempt of Rosamunde, who was brought up incognito as a shepherdess by the mariner's widow Axa, to reclaim her throne. The long-established governor Fulgentius (Fulvio in the revised version), who already has Rosamunde's parents on his conscience, attempts to thwart Rosamunde, initially by intrigue, then by a marriage proposal and finally by an attempt at poisoning. Rosamunde, whose claim is backed by a deed in her father's hand, enjoys the support of the Cypriots and the Cretan Prince Alfonso, her intended husband. All the attempts of Fulgentius fail; he dies by his own poison, and Rosamunde ascends the throne.[2]
Schubert's incidental music is scored for orchestra, and for some of the numbers diverse combinations of singers.
There are two overtures associated with Rosamunde. The overture used for the stage production was the one Schubert had originally composed for Alfonso und Estrella, but Schubert thought it less suitable for that opera. The first publication that linked the overture of Die Zauberharfe (The Magic Harp) with the incidental music for Rosamunde was an 1855 publication of the score parts of that overture, linking it with the drama Rosamunde. There is however no proof it was ever Schubert's intention to associate it with the rest of the Rosamunde music.
The ten numbers of the Rosamunde incidental music, 797, are:
No. 3b was published in 1824 as Op. 26, in a version with piano accompaniment. Nos. 8, 4 and 7 were possibly first published in the same series. Other publications with one or more numbers followed. By 1867 all numbers except 3a and 6 had been published in one or more versions.
The English music writer George Grove and his friend the composer Arthur Sullivan rediscovered the original manuscript parts of the music when they visited Vienna in 1867 specifically to research Schubert. Grove wrote:[4]
It was not until Series XV, Volume 4 of the Breitkopf & Härtel Gesammtausgabe was published in 1891 that all the numbers of the incidental music were joined in one publication, with the full orchestration.
Excerpts from the Rosamunde music are frequently performed, and are some of Schubert's most performed pieces. They have been recorded several times, including versions conducted by Kurt Masur and Claudio Abbado.
The complete score, which lasts an hour, is seldom heard. In one rare performance, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, performed the full score at the Styriarte festival in Graz, Austria, in June 2004. The Arnold Schoenberg Choir sang the vocal parts with soloists Elisabeth von Magnus and Florian Boesch.
The Overture was used for a ballet sequence in the 1952 Samuel Goldwyn film Hans Christian Andersen, starring Danny Kaye.[5] The ballet sequence was danced by Zizi Jeanmaire. A fragment of Entr'acte #2 was used in many episodes of Wings of the Red Star. Another excerpt was incorporated into the Christmas carol Mille cherubini in coro, a song made popular by Luciano Pavarotti in a 1980 TV Christmas programme.[6]