Undine (Hoffmann)

Undine is an opera, with spoken dialogue, in three acts by the German composer and author E. T. A. Hoffmann. The libretto, by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, is based on his own story Undine. It received its premiere at the Königliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin on 3 August 1816. Undine was Hoffmann's greatest operatic success and a major influence on the development of German Romantic opera.

Undine
Opera by E. T. A. Hoffmann
E. T. A. Hoffmann, self portrait
Librettist	Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
Language	German
Based on	Undine by Fouqué
Premiere	3 August 1816 (1816-08-03) Königliches Schauspielhaus, Berlin

Carl Maria von Weber's enthusiastic review of the opera admired it as "an art work complete in itself, in which partial contributions of the related and collaborating arts blend together, disappear, and, in disappearing, somehow form a new world".^[1]

It was revived by the Wuppertal Opera in 1970.

There is a 1960 recording (including the spoken dialogue) by the Choir and Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, conductor: Jan Koetsier, Undine: Rita Streich, Hulbrand von Ringstetten: Raimund Grumbach, Berthalda: Melitta Muszely, Kuhleborn: Karl-Christian Kohn, Ein alter Fischer: Max Proebstl, Seine Frau: Sunhild Rauschkolb, Heilmann: Kieth Engen, Herzog: Anton Rosner, Herzogin: Marjorie Heistermann; and a 3 CDs 1993 recording^[2] (leaving out the spoken dialogue) by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, conductor: Roland Bader; Roland Hermann, Hans Franzen [de], Elisabeth Glauser, Krisztina Laki, Heikki Orama, Karl Ridderbusch, Ulrich Ress, Dora Koschak, Mani Mekler.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 3 August 1816[3] Conductor: Bernhard Romberg
Undine	soprano	Therese Eunicke-Schwachhofer [de]
Huldbrand	baritone	Heinrich Blume [de]
Berthalda	soprano	Emilie Willmann
Heilmann	bass	Johann Gottfried Karl Wauer [de]
Kühleborn	bass
Fisherman	bass	Johann Georg Gern
Fisherman's wife	mezzo-soprano	Wilhelmine Leist
Archduke	tenor	Friedrich Eunicke [de]
Archduchess	mezzo-soprano	Johanna Eunicke

Further reading

• Ingo Müller: Die Rezeption E.T.A. Hoffmanns in der klassischen Musik des 19. bis 21. Jahrhunderts. In: Unheimlich Fantastisch – E.T.A. Hoffmann 2022. Book for exhibition of the Berlin State Library, Deutsches Romantik-Museum in Frankfurt and the Bamberg State Library, edited by Benjamin Schlodder, Christina Schmitz, Bettina Wagner and Wolfgang Bunzel, Leipzig 2022, ISBN 3959055730 pp. 315-322.