User:Theshoveljockey/My Sandbox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (The Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is a five-act opera by Alsatian composer Victor Nessler to a German libretto by Friedrich Hofmann. It is based on the poem by Julius Wolff. The story is well-known in English as The Pied Piper of Hamelin. The opera premiered at Leipzig on March 19, 1879.
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type |
|---|---|
| Hunold Singuf, the rat-catcher | Baritone |
| Gertrud, a fisher-girl | soprano |
| Regina, the mayor's daughter | soprano |
[edit] Synopsis
The townsfolk of Hamelin hires the stranger Hunold to rid the town of rats. The fisher-girl Gertrud falls for him and abandons her lover. Hunold lures the rats out of town with his pipe playing and leads them to the river where they are drowned. However, the town councilers cheat him from his payment for the deed by claiming that he has seduced the mayor's daughter. Believing this rumor, Gertrud drowns herself in the river. The grief-stricken Hunold takes revenge by enchanting the children of the town with his piping, and leading them across the river and into the mountains where they all disappear.
[edit] Criticism
The critics of the day felt that the story was badly out of date and poorly adapted. Also, it was considered oppressively long in duration at around 4 hours.
