Prinzessin Brambilla

Prinzessin Brambilla (Princess Brambilla), Op. 12b, is an opera in a prologue and five scenes by Walter Braunfels. The German libretto, written by the composer, is based on the novella of the same name [de] by E. T. A. Hoffmann published in 1820.

Prinzessin Brambilla
Opera by Walter Braunfels
Walter Braunfels in 1902
Librettist	Braunfels
Language	German
Based on	E. T. A. Hoffmann's novella
Premiere	25 March 1909 (1909-03-25) Stuttgart Court Theatre

History

Braunfels began the composition in 1906 and completed the original two-act version in 1908. He revised the opera in 1929/1930. The second version consists of a prologue and five scenes separated by orchestral interludes. The score of this revised version is published by Universal Edition.^[1]

The opera was first performed in its original two-act version on 25 March 1909 at the Stuttgart Court Theatre with Max von Schillings conducting.^[1]

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast

Role[1]	Voice type[1]	Premiere cast, 25 March 1909[2] Conductor: Max von Schillings
Pantalone	baritone	Hermann Wilhelm Weil
Prince Bastaniello di Pistoja	baritone	Reinhold Fritz
Claudio, an actor	tenor	Alfred Goltz
Giazinta, a young seamstress	soprano	Anna Sutter
Barbara, Giazinta's old friend	contralto	Johanna Schönberger
Gascon, a nobleman, Claudio's friend	tenor
Brutz, Claudio's drinking companion	bass
Buffel, Claudio's drinking companion	tenor
Cuniberto, the landlord	bass
A young girl	soprano

Recordings

In 2005 Marco Polo released a live recording, made during the October 2004 Wexford Festival Opera production run, with Daniele Belardinelli conducting the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra. The cast included Enrico Marabelli as Pantalone, Peter Paul as Prince Bastaniello, Eric Shaw as Claudio, Elena Lo Forte as Giazinta, and a young Ekaterina Gubanova in the minor role of Barbara.^[3]