- Königskinder (“King’s Children”) began as incidental music to a fairy tale play by Elsa Bernstein-Porges (pseudonym Ernst Rosmer). Humperdinck turned the material into a melodrama in 1895 and revised it as a full opera in 1910.1
- Fun fact: The melodrama version of Königskinder contains the first notated example of Sprechstimme.
- Humperdinck felt that Königskinder was his best work. He said it was “written with my life’s blood.”2
- Story: Königskinder is a dark fairy tale about a prince who disguises himself in order to live humbly among his people and become worthy to be king. However, when he and his love, a goose girl, reveal themselves to be the royal couple, they are mocked and driven away by the townsfolk.3
Sources
- Ian Denley, “Humperdinck, Engelbert,” Grove Music Online (2001) accessed October 24, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000013550.
- Ibid.
- “Königskinder: Information,” Bayerische Staatsoper, accessed October 24, 2019, https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productioninfo/koenigskinder/2007-12-19-19-00.html.
Cut IDs
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