Carl Maria Weber briefly. Carl Maria von Weber - founder of German romantic opera

Back in 1810, Weber drew attention to the plot of Freischütz (Free Shooter); but only this year did he begin to write an opera on this plot, adapted by Johann Friedrich Kind. Freischütz, staged in 1821 in Berlin under the direction of the author, caused a positive sensation, and Weber's fame reached its apogee. “Our shooter hit the target,” Weber wrote to librettist Kind. Beethoven, surprised by Weber's work, said that he did not expect this from such a gentle person and that Weber should write one opera after another.

Before Freischütz, Wolf's Preciosa was staged in the same year, with music by Weber.

By the proposal Vienna Opera the composer wrote "Euryanthe" (at 18 months). But the success of the opera was no longer as brilliant as Freischütz. The last work Weber's opera Oberon, after its production in London in 1826, he soon died.

Monument to K. M. von Weber in Dresden

Weber is rightly considered a purely German composer, who deeply understood the structure of national music and brought German melody to high artistic perfection. Throughout his entire career, he remained faithful to the national direction, and his operas contain the foundation on which Wagner built Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. Especially in "Euryanthe" the listener is enveloped in exactly the same musical atmosphere that he feels in the works of Wagner of the middle period. Weber is a brilliant representative of the romantic operatic movement, which was so strong in the twenties of the 19th century and which later time found a follower in Wagner.

Weber's talent is in full swing in his last three operas: "The Magic Arrow", "Euryanthe" and "Oberon". It is extremely diverse. Dramatic moments, love, subtle features of musical expression, a fantastic element - everything was accessible to the composer’s wide talent. The most various images outlined by this musical poet with great sensitivity, rare expression, and great melody. A patriot at heart, he not only developed folk melodies, but also created his own in a purely folk spirit. Occasionally, his vocal melody at a fast tempo suffers from some instrumentality: it seems as if it was written not for the voice, but for an instrument for which technical difficulties are more accessible. As a symphonist, Weber mastered the orchestral palette to perfection. His orchestral painting is full of imagination and has a unique coloring. Weber is primarily an opera composer; symphonic works, written by him for the concert stage, are far inferior to his operatic overtures. In the field of song and instrumental chamber music, namely piano works, this composer left wonderful examples.

Weber also owns the unfinished opera “Three Pintos” (1821, completed by G. Mahler in 1888).

A monument to Weber was erected in Dresden, by Rietschel.

Max Weber, his son, wrote a biography of his famous father.

Essays

"Hinterlassene Schriften", ed. Hellem (Dresden, 1828);
"Karl Maria von W. Ein Lebensbild", by Max Maria von W. (1864);
Kohut's "Webergedenkbuch" (1887);
“Reisebriefe von Karl Maria von W. an seine Gattin” (Leipzig, 1886);
"Chronol. thematischer Katalog der Werke von Karl Maria von W.” (Berlin, 1871).

Among Weber's works, in addition to the above mentioned, we point out the concertos for piano and orchestra, op. 11, op. 32; "Concert-stück", op. 79; string quartet, string trio, six sonatas for piano and violin, op. 10; large concert duet for clarinet and piano, op. 48; sonatas op. 24, 49, 70; polonaises, rondos, variations for piano, 2 concertos for clarinet and orchestra, Variations for clarinet and piano, Concertino for clarinet and orchestra; andante and rondo for bassoon and orchestra, concerto for bassoon, “Auforderuug zum Tanz” (“Invitation à la danse”), etc.

Operas

"Forest Girl", 1800
"Peter Schmoll and his neighbors" (Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn), 1802
"Rübetzal", 1805
"Silvana", 1810
"Abu Hassan", 1811
"Preciosa", 1821
“Free Shooter” (“The Magic Shooter”, “Freischütz”) (Der Freischütz), 1821 (premiered in 1821 at the Berliner Schauspielhaus)
"Three Pintos" 1888. Unfinished. Completed by Mahler.
"Euryanthe" 1823
"Oberon" 1826

Bibliography

Ferman V., Opera House, M., 1961;
Khokhlovkina A., Western European Opera, M., 1962:
Koenigsberg A., Karl-Maria Weber, M. - L., 1965;
Laux K., S. M. von Weber, Lpz., 1966;
Moser H. J.. S. M. von Weber. Leben und Werk, 2 Aufl., Lpz., 1955.

Links

Summary (synopsis) of the opera “Free Shooter” on the “100 Operas” website
Carl Maria Weber: Sheet music of works at the International Music Score Library Project

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Carl Maria von Weber" is in other dictionaries:

Not to be confused with Bernhard Weber, also a German composer. Carl Maria von Weber (1786 1826), the founder of German romantic opera, a composer who had extensive knowledge of art, poetry and literature... Wikipedia

- (Weber, Carl Maria von) CARL MARIA VON WEBER (1786 1826), founder of German romantic opera. Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was born in Eutin (Oldenburg, now Schleswig Holstein), on November 18 or 19, 1786. His father, Baron Franz... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

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- (Weber) (1786 1826), German composer and conductor, musical critic. The founder of German romantic opera. 10 operas (“Free Shooter”, 1821; “Euryanthe”, 1823; “Oberon”, 1826), virtuoso concert pieces for piano. (“Invitation to… … encyclopedic Dictionary

Carl Maria Friedrich August (Ernst) von Weber (German: Carl Maria von Weber; November 18 or 19, 1786, Eitin June 5, 1826, London) baron, German composer, conductor, pianist, music writer, founder of German romantic opera. Contents... ...Wikipedia

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- (Weber) Weber Karl Maria von Weber (1786 1826) German composer, conductor, music critic. The founder of the romantic trend in opera. From 1804 bandmaster in Breslavl. From 1813 he was a theater conductor in Prague. Since 1817... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Von (1786 1826) German composer and conductor, music critic. The founder of German romantic opera. 10 operas (Free Shooter, 1821; Evryanta, 1823; Oberon, 1826), virtuoso concert pieces for piano (Invitation to Dance, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Carl Maria von Weber went down in music history as the founder of romantic German opera. As such, his memory is immortalized even in space: the asteroids Euryantha, Retia, Preciosa, Fatme and Zubaida are named after the characters in his operas. The opera genre really occupies a central place in his work, which, however, is not limited to operas. Weber was not only a composer - he acted as a conductor and pianist, and showed himself as a writer.

Weber came from a family that was by no means the most respected (it was no coincidence that Leopold Mozart was dissatisfied with his son’s marriage to a representative of this family) - and the father of the future composer was a completely “worthy” representative of his family: gifted, but prone to adventure, he managed to be both an artist and a speculator, and a soldier, and an official, and a musician in a traveling troupe. Karl was the sixth of his surviving children, and his father, seeing the abilities of his offspring, set out to make artists out of them. Karl had poor health since childhood, but this did not stop him from traveling with his family’s musical and dramatic traveling troupe. His childhood passed behind the scenes of various theaters, his toys were theatrical props.

Weber Sr., who was haunted by the laurels of the Mozart family, noticed his son’s musical talent and wanted to make him a child prodigy. Karl's first piano teacher was his older brother Fritz, who constantly shouted at him and even beat the boy; his father was not much more patient, so his studies were not successful. But at the age of ten, Karl had a real mentor - Peter Heuschkel, and later he studied with Michael Haydn (brother of the great composer). Karl showed his talent as a composer, creating six fuguettes, which his father hastened to publish.

At the age of twelve, Weber almost gave up the idea of becoming a composer: at the insistence of his father, he began to write the opera “The Power of Love and Wine,” but the closet where the unfinished score was kept burned down in the most mysterious way (not a single piece of furniture in the room was damaged) . Seeing this as a sign from above, Karl abandoned composition and took up lithography, but his love for music still prevailed, and two years later his opera “The Silent Forest Girl” was staged for the first time, and a year later a new composition was completed - “Peter Schmoll and his neighbor”, staged in 1802 in Ausburg.

In subsequent years, Weber studied with Franz Lauski and also with Georg Joseph Vogler. On the latter’s recommendation, he became bandmaster in 1804 opera house in Breslau. He tried to improve the work of the theater: he seated the orchestra in a new way, achieving greater unity of sound, streamlined the rehearsal system, and insisted on including only highly artistic works in the repertoire. Weber's innovations did not evoke understanding among either the artists, the management, or the public, accustomed to light entertainment performances.

The conductor's activities did not interfere with composing music. Weber created songs and numerous pieces for viola, horn, violin and other instruments, but the most significant work of those years was the opera Rübetzal, based on German fairy tale(only four numbers of it have survived).

In 1806, Weber left Breslau and became the head of the court orchestra of Prince Eugene of Württemberg, and during his service he managed to create two symphonies. The orchestra was soon disbanded due to the outbreak of war, and Weber, on the recommendation of the prince, became the personal secretary of his brother Ludwig. The composer had to keep accounts, negotiate with merchants and moneylenders, and do other things that were completely out of character for him. “Get away from here... Into the open space... The artist’s field of activity is the whole world,” says the novel “The Life of an Artist,” on which he began working in 1809. At the same time, he began composing two operas – “Silvana” and “Abu Hasan."

Service at the court of Ludwig of Württemberg ended with arrest on unjust charges. Weber spent only sixteen days in prison, but it was after that that he felt like a truly mature person. As a pianist, he successfully gave concerts in Mannheim, Frankfurt am Main and other cities, created concert pieces for various instruments (he had a special love for the bassoon and clarinet), wrote articles and reviews. He made many concert trips in 1811-1812, but in 1813 the war forced him to stay in Prague, where he worked for several years as a conductor at the opera house. He launched a vigorous activity - the number of premieres carried out in one year amounted to dozens, leaving little time for composing music. And yet, some works were written precisely in those years - for example, a collection of songs based on poems by Theodor Körner “The Sword and the Lyre”.

From 1817 Weber lived and worked in Dresden. Here, at the Royal Drama, Italian operas and German dramas were staged - the question had not even been raised for years, so Weber had at his disposal not singers, but singing actors, while Italians were reluctant to perform in German operas, and the language barrier created difficulties. But even under such conditions, Weber managed to stage operas by German composers. The composer’s two best operas date back to the Dresden period: “” was written in 1821, and “Euryanthe” was written in 1822. Greatest success fell to the lot of the “Free Shooter”.

In 1825, Weber began working on the opera Oberon, commissioned by the Covent Garden Theater. Work on it was repeatedly interrupted due to worsening lung disease, and yet in 1826 the opera was completed. Along with the creation of the opera, Weber, under the terms of the contract, had to conduct several performances and concerts. He understood that given his state of health, a trip to London would be sheer suicide, but he thought about the interests of his family: “Whether I go or not, I will die this year,” he said. “However, if I go, my children will have food when their father dies.”

Oberon premiered in London with great success. The composer did not have time to return to his homeland - he died and was buried in England. In 1844, through the efforts of Richard Wagner, the composer’s ashes were transported to Dresden, and at the burial ceremony a funeral march was played, which Wagner composed based on motifs from the opera “Euryanthe.”

Carl Maria Friedrich August von Weber (born 18 or 19 November 1786, Eitin - died 5 June 1826, London), baron, German composer, conductor, pianist, music writer, founder of German romantic opera.

1798 - Weber's first works appeared - small fugues. Weber was then a student of the organist Kalcher in Munich. Weber subsequently studied the theory of composition more thoroughly with Abbot Vogler, having Meyerbeer and Gottfried Weber as his classmates. Weber's first stage experience was the opera Die Macht der Liebe und des Weins. Although he wrote a lot in his early youth, his first success came with his opera “Das Waldmädchen” (1800). The opera by the 14-year-old composer was performed on many stages in Europe and even in St. Petersburg. Subsequently, Weber reworked this opera, which, under the name “Silvana,” lasted for a long time on many German opera stages.

Having written the opera “Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn” (1802), symphonies, piano sonatas, the cantata “Der erste Ton”, the opera “Abu Hassan” (1811), he conducted orchestras in different cities and gave concerts.

1804 - worked as a conductor of opera houses (Breslau, Bad Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin).

1805 - wrote the opera “Rübetzal” based on the fairy tale by I. Muzeus.

1810 - opera "Silvana".

1811 - opera "Abu Hassan".

1813 - headed the opera house in Prague.

1814 - becomes popular after composing war songs based on poems by Theodor Kerner: “Lützows wilde Jagd”, “Schwertlied” and the cantata “Kampf und Sieg” (“Battle and Victory”) (1815) based on text by Wohlbruck on the occasion of the Battle of Waterloo. The jubilee overture, masses in es and g, and cantatas written later in Dresden had much less success.

1817 - headed and until the end of his life led the German musical theater in Dresden.

1819 - back in 1810, Weber drew attention to the plot of “Freischütz” (“Free Shooter”); but only this year he began to write an opera on this plot, processed by Johann Friedrich Kind. Freischütz, staged in 1821 in Berlin under the direction of the author, caused a positive sensation, and Weber's fame reached its apogee. “Our shooter hit the target,” Weber wrote to librettist Kind. Beethoven, surprised by Weber's work, said that he did not expect this from such a gentle person and that Weber should write one opera after another.

Before Freischütz, Wolf's Preciosa was staged in the same year, with music by Weber.

1822 - at the suggestion of the Vienna Opera, the composer wrote “Euryanthe” (at 18 months). But the success of the opera was no longer as brilliant as Freischütz. Weber's last work was the opera Oberon, after which he died soon after its production in London in 1826.

Weber is rightly considered a purely German composer, who deeply understood the structure of national music and brought German melody to high artistic perfection. Throughout his entire career, he remained faithful to the national direction, and his operas contain the foundation on which Wagner built Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. Especially in "Euryanthe" the listener is enveloped in exactly the same musical atmosphere that he feels in the works of Wagner of the middle period. Weber is a brilliant representative of the romantic operatic movement, which in the twenties XIX century was in such force and which in later times found a follower in Wagner.

Weber's talent is in full swing in his last three operas: "The Magic Arrow", "Euryanthe" and "Oberon". It is extremely diverse. Dramatic moments, love, subtle features of musical expression, a fantastic element - everything was accessible to the composer’s wide talent. The most varied images are outlined by this musical poet with great sensitivity, rare expression, and great melody. A patriot at heart, he not only developed folk melodies, but also created his own in a purely folk spirit. Occasionally, his vocal melody at a fast tempo suffers from some instrumentality: it seems as if it was written not for the voice, but for an instrument for which technical difficulties are more accessible. As a symphonist, Weber mastered the orchestral palette to perfection. His orchestral painting is full of imagination and has a unique coloring. Weber is primarily an opera composer; the symphonic works he wrote for the concert stage are far inferior to his operatic overtures. In the field of song and instrumental chamber music, namely piano works, this composer left wonderful examples.

Plan:

1 Biography
2 Essays
- 2.1 Operas
3 Bibliography

Introduction

Not to be confused with Bernhard Weber, also a German composer.

Carl Maria Friedrich August (Ernst) von Weber(German) ; November 18 or 19, 1786, Oytin - June 5, 1826, London) - German composer, conductor, pianist, music writer, founder of German romantic opera. Baron.

1. Biography

Weber was born into the family of a musician and theater entrepreneur, always immersed in various projects. His childhood and youth were spent wandering around the cities of Germany with his father’s small theater troupe, due to which it cannot be said that he went through a systematic and strict music school in his youth. Almost the first piano teacher with whom Weber studied for a more or less long time was Johann Peter Heuschkel, then, according to theory, Michael Haydn, and he also took lessons from G. Vogler. 1798 - Weber's first works appeared - small fugues. Weber was then a student of the organist Kalcher in Munich. Weber subsequently studied the theory of composition more thoroughly with Abbot Vogler, having Meyerbeer and Gottfried Weber as his classmates; At the same time, he studied piano with Franz Lauski. Weber's first stage experience was the opera Die Macht der Liebe und des Weins. Although he wrote a lot in his early youth, his first success came with his opera “Das Waldmädchen” (1800). The opera by the 14-year-old composer was performed on many stages in Europe and even in St. Petersburg. Subsequently, Weber reworked this opera, which, under the name “Silvana,” lasted for a long time on many German opera stages.

1804 - worked as a conductor of opera houses (Breslau, Bad Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin).

1805 - wrote the opera “Rübetzal” based on the fairy tale by I. Muzeus.

1810 - opera "Silvana".

1811 - opera "Abu Hassan".

1813 - headed the opera house in Prague.

1817 - headed and until the end of his life directed the German musical theater in Dresden.

Before Freischütz, Wolf's Preciosa was staged in the same year, with music by Weber.

In 1821 he gave lessons in the theory of composition to Julius Benedict, who was later honored by Queen Victoria for his talent. noble title.

1822 - at the suggestion of the Vienna Opera, the composer wrote “Euryanthe” (at 18 months). But the success of the opera was no longer as brilliant as Freischütz.

Weber's last work was the opera Oberon, for which he traveled to London and died at the home of conductor George Smart shortly after the premiere.

Monument to K. M. von Weber in Dresden

Weber is rightly considered a purely German composer, who deeply understood the structure of national music and brought German melody to high artistic perfection. Throughout his entire career, he remained faithful to the national direction, and his operas contain the foundation on which Wagner built Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. Especially in "Euryanthe" the listener is enveloped in exactly the same musical atmosphere that he feels in the works of Wagner of the middle period. Weber is a brilliant representative of the romantic operatic movement, which in the twenties years XIX century was in such force and which in later times found a follower in Wagner.

Weber's talent is in full swing in his last three operas: "The Magic Arrow", "Euryanthe" and "Oberon". It is extremely diverse. Dramatic moments, love, subtle features of musical expression, a fantastic element - everything was accessible to the composer’s wide talent. The most varied images are outlined by this musical poet with great sensitivity, rare expression, and great melody. A patriot at heart, he not only developed folk melodies, but also created his own in a purely folk spirit. Occasionally, his vocal melody at a fast tempo suffers from some instrumentality: it seems as if it was written not for the voice, but for an instrument for which technical difficulties are more accessible. As a symphonist, Weber mastered the orchestral palette to perfection. His orchestral painting is full of imagination and has a unique coloring. Weber is primarily an opera composer; the symphonic works he wrote for the concert stage are far inferior to his operatic overtures. In the field of song and instrumental chamber music, namely piano works, this composer left wonderful examples.

Weber also owns the unfinished opera “Three Pintos” (1821, completed by G. Mahler in 1888).

1861 - A monument to Weber was erected in Dresden, by Ernst Rietschel.

Max Weber, his son, wrote a biography of his famous father.

2. Essays

"Hinterlassene Schriften", ed. Hellem (Dresden, 1828);
"Karl Maria von W. Ein Lebensbild", by Max Maria von W. (1864);
Kohut's "Webergedenkbuch" (1887);
“Reisebriefe von Karl Maria von W. an seine Gattin” (Leipzig, 1886);
"Chronol. thematischer Katalog der Werke von Karl Maria von W.” (Berlin, 1871).

Among Weber's works, in addition to the above mentioned, we point out the concertos for piano and orchestra, op. 11, op. 32; "Concert-stück", op. 79; string quartet, string trio, six sonatas for piano and violin, op. 10; large concert duet for clarinet and piano, op. 48; sonatas op. 24, 49, 70; polonaises, rondos, variations for piano, 2 concertos for clarinet and orchestra, Variations for clarinet and piano, Concertino for clarinet and orchestra; andante and rondo for bassoon and orchestra, concerto for bassoon, “Aufforderung zum Tanz” (“Invitation à la danse”), etc.

2.1. Operas

"Forest Girl" (German) Das Waldmädchen), 1800 - some fragments have survived
"Peter Schmoll and his neighbors" (German) Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn ), 1802
"Rübezahl" (German) Rubezahl), 1805 - some fragments have survived
"Silvana" (German) Silvana), 1810
"Abu Hasan" (German) Abu Hassan), 1811
"Magic Shooter" (German) Der Freischütz), 1821
"Three Pintos" (German) Die drei Pintos) - not finished; completed by Mahler in 1888.
"Euryanthe" (German) Euryanthe), 1823
"Oberon" (German) Oberon), 1826

3. Bibliography

Ferman V., Opera House, M., 1961;
Khokhlovkina A., Western European Opera, M., 1962:
Koenigsberg A., Karl-Maria Weber, M. - L., 1965;
Byalik M. G. Opera creativity Weber in Russia // F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and the traditions of musical professionalism: Collection scientific works/ Comp. G. I. Ganzburg. - Kharkov, 1995. - pp. 90 - 103.
Laux K., S. M. von Weber, Lpz., 1966;
Moser H. J.. S. M. von Weber. Leben und Werk, 2 Aufl., Lpz., 1955.

Notes

Benedict, Sir Julius - ru.wikisource.org/wiki/ESBE/Benedict,_sir_Julius // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

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This abstract is based on an article from Russian Wikipedia. Synchronization completed 07/09/11 16:46:33
Similar abstracts:

Constance, studied music since childhood. He made his mark as a pianist and then as musical director theaters in Prague and Dresden.

All the best, viable, democratic in romanticism (aesthetic ideas, new stylistic features literary and musical works) received its original implementation in the works of Weber.

As a composer, he is especially famous as the author of the first significant German romantic opera, Freeshot.

Carl Maria Friedrich von Weber was born in small town Eytin in Holstein, northern Germany, on December 18, 1786 in the family of a passionate music lover and entrepreneur of traveling dramatic troupes, Franz Anton Weber.

The childhood years of the future composer were closely connected with the environment and atmosphere of the nomadic provincial German theater, which later determined, on the one hand, the composer’s interest in musical and dramatic genres, and on the other, professional knowledge of the laws of the stage and a subtle sense of the specifics of musical and dramatic art. As a child, Weber showed equal interest in music and painting.

Weber's first acquaintance with music was carried out under the guidance of his father and older brother Edmund. IN early childhood the future composer showed equal interest in both music and painting. Despite the difficulties that arose due to the family's frequent moves from one city to another, Franz Anton Weber sought to give his son a professional musical education.

In 1796 in Hildburghausen, Karl Maria studied with I. P. Geishkel, in 1797 and in 1801 in Salzburg he studied the basics of counterpoint under the guidance of Michael Haydn, in 1798-1800 in Munich he studied composition with the court organist I. N. Kalcher and singing from I. E. Valesi (Wallishauser).

In 1798, under the direction of Michael Haydn, Weber wrote six fuguettes for clavier - the composer's first independent opus. This was followed by a large number of new works in different genres:

six variations on an original theme
twelve allemandes and six ecosaises for the clavier
Great Youth Mass Es-dur
several songs for voice and piano
comic canons for three voices
opera "The Power of Love and Wine" (1798)
unfinished opera “The Dumb Forest Girl” (1800)
Singspiel "Peter Schmoll and His Neighbors" (1801), approved by Michael Haydn

Big shift in creative development The composer's breakthrough came in 1803, when, after wandering around many cities in Germany, Weber arrived in Vienna, where he met the famous music teacher Abbot Vogler. The latter, noticing gaps in Weber’s musical theoretical education, demanded a lot of painstaking work from the young man. In 1804, on the recommendation of Vogler, seventeen-year-old Weber received the position of director of music (kapellmeister) at the Breslau Opera House. From that moment on, a new period began (1804-1816) in the life and work of the composer.

Theater in the life of a young composer

This was one of the most important periods in Weber’s evolution, when his worldview and aesthetic views, and the composer's talent was entering a period of bright flowering. While working with opera companies, Weber discovered outstanding conducting abilities

Working with opera theater troupes in Breslau and Prague, Weber discovered outstanding conducting abilities and talent as an organizer of musical and theatrical affairs. Already in Breslau, at the very beginning of his conducting career, Weber established a new order of placing musicians in the opera orchestra - according to groups of instruments. Weber anticipated the principle of placing instruments in an orchestra, which would become characteristic of the entire 19th and, to a certain extent, the 20th century.

The eighteen-year-old conductor boldly and principledly carried out his innovations, despite the sometimes stubborn resistance of singers and musicians who adhered to the old traditions that had developed in provincial German theaters.

The years 1807-1810 marked the beginning of Weber's literary and musical critical activity. He writes articles, reviews of performances, musical works, annotations to his works, begins the novel “The Life of a Musician” (1809).

In the works that appeared during the first period of independent creative life Weber (1804-1816), the features of the future mature style of the composer are gradually revealed. During this period of creativity, Weber's most artistic works were associated with the musical and dramatic genre:

romantic opera "Silvana" (1810)
Singspiel "Abu Hasan" (1811)
two cantatas and two symphonies (1807)
a number of overtures and many instrumental works in other genres
many individual arias, songs, choirs, among which the cycle of heroic songs “Lyre and Sword” to the words of Theodor Koerner (1814, op. 41-43) stands out

Thus, when at the beginning of 1817 Weber took the position of conductor of the Deutsche Oper in Dresden, he was already fully prepared to fight for the establishment of German national musical and dramatic art. That same year he married one of his former singers, Caroline Brandt.

The last, Dresden period of Weber's life

The last, Dresden period of Weber's life (1817-1826) is the peak in the composer's work. His organizational and conducting activities took on an intensive character here. The century and a half tradition of the existence of an Italian opera theater in Dresden, the active opposition of the conductor of the Italian opera troupe F. Morlacchi, the resistance of court circles - all this complicated Weber’s work. Despite this, in an unusually short period of time, Weber managed not only to assemble a German opera troupe, but also to stage a number of excellent performances with the help of a new (and in many ways professionally insufficiently prepared) team (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”, “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart, “Fidelio”) ", "Yessonda" Spohr and many others). Museum Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden

During this period of Weber's activity he wrote and staged best works. Among them, the first place is occupied by the opera “Free Shooter”.

The story, rooted in folklore, is about a man who sold his soul to the devil for a few magic bullets that allowed him to win a shooting competition, and with it his hand. beautiful lady, which he loved. The opera presented for the first time everything that was familiar and dear to the heart of every German. Simple country life with her crude humor and sentimental naivety. The surrounding forest, whose gentle smile hides supernatural horror. And above all - the characters: from cheerful hunters and village girls to a simple, valiant hero and the prince who ruled over them.
The opera Free Shooter made Weber a national hero

All this grew together with melodic, delightful music and turned into a mirror in which every German could find his reflection. With Free Risen, Weber was not only able to liberate German opera from French and Italian influence, but also laid the foundations for one of the main forms of opera of the 19th century. The brilliant victory of the triumphal premiere of the brilliant “Free Shooter” (June 18, 1821 in Berlin) marked major achievements Weber on his chosen path, making him a national hero.

Next, Weber began creating a comic opera, The Three Pintos, which remained unfinished. Work on new opera was interrupted by the composition of music for the play by P.A. Wolf's "Preciosa" (1820), in 1823 the first great heroic-romantic opera "Euryanthe" appeared, written for Vienna. It was an ambitious project and a great achievement, but failed due to an unsuccessful libretto.

In 1826, Weber's brilliant series of operatic works was worthily completed by the fabulous Oberon staged in London. The motive for creating this opera was the desire to provide for his family, so that after his death (which, he knew, was not far off), they could continue a comfortable existence.
In 1826, Weber's brilliant series of operatic works was worthily completed by the fabulous Oberon.

The form of "Oberon" had little of Weber's style, the structure was ponderous for a composer who advocated fusion performing arts with opera. But it was this opera that he filled with the most exquisite music. Despite his rapidly failing health, Weber went to the premiere of his work. "Oberon" received recognition, the composer was feted, but he could barely walk. Shortly before his planned return to Germany, on June 5, he was found dead in his room. Opera reformer K. Weber