March 07th | Marcus Bosch with Cappella Aquileia – Winteroper “Die Zauberharfe” at Heidenheim Festspielhaus
Winteroper presents Franz Schubert’s Die Zauberharfe (D644), a “Zauberspiel mit Musik” in three acts to a text by Georg von Hofmann.
Following its premiere at the Theater an der Wien in 1820, the 23-year-old Schubert received immediate recognition for his talent. Contemporary critics praised his musical sensitivity, noting how effectively he accompanied the text and infused the choruses with vitality and strength, while even suggesting that he had perhaps interrupted the spoken drama too often with music. Yet the melodrama’s original text has since been largely lost, surviving only in fragments preserved within the score.
With this performance, Marcus Bosch and the Cappella Aquileia embark on a journey of rediscovery, bringing back to life a work that disappeared from the stage shortly after its premiere. Through careful reconstruction and textual revision by Stephan Knies, this early and rarely performed Schubert jewel regains its theatrical presence.
The production features tenor Lukas Siebert, alongside the distinguished actors Andrea Sawatzki and Christian Berkel as narrators. The VOKALWERK der OH! and members of the Junge Kammerchor Ostwürttemberg join Cappella Aquileia to complete a rich musical and dramatic ensemble.
A rare opportunity to experience Schubert’s early stage work in a revived and thoughtfully reconstructed version.
