Opera Scotland

Goldsmith of Toledo Der Goldschmied von Toledo; The Goldsmith of Toledo

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Music

Jacques Offenbach (born Cologne, 20 June 1819; died Paris, 5 October 1880)

Arranged from lesser known works of the composer by Julius Stern and Alfred Zamara, especially Der schwarze Korsar (Vienna 1872).

Text

Karl Georg Zwerenz.

Source

Story Das Fräulein von Scuderi (1819) by E T A Hoffmann (1776-1822).

 

Premieres

First Performance: Mannheim (), 7 February 1919.

First Performance in UK: Edinburgh (King's Theatre), 16 March 1922.

 

Background

As with Johann Strauss, Offenbach composed huge quantities of music that did not find its way into successful stage works in his lifetime. It was tempting for theatre managements to construct fresh works using this source. For Johann Strauss, Wiener Blut was created in this way. Der Goldschmied von Toledo (The Goldsmith of Toledo) was one of several works created from Offenbach's leftovers.

Given the composer's enthusiasm for Hoffmann's writings, it is perhaps appropriate that Stern and Zamara should have used the same source.

It is a strange coincidence that Paul Hindemith should, just a few years later, have also used this story as the basis for his opera Cardillac, premiered in Dresden (1926).

 

Characters

Francisco Malaveda, a goldsmith (baritone)

Magdalena, his daughter (soprano)

Lionardo, his apprentice (tenor)

Teresa, his housekeeper (mezzo-soprano)

Marchesa Dolores (soprano)

Don Miguel, her lover (tenor)

Mendoza, a doctor (bass)

Carmona, a composer (baritone)