Travel tips for opera lovers – Berlin and Otto Nicolai

Otto Nicolai in Berlin

The series about historical places of opera art & culture. Get to know exciting excursion and travel ideas for opera lovers. This time: Otto Nicolai in Berlin.

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Otto Nicolai in Berlin

Otto Nicolai, born in what was then Prussian Poland, came to Berlin at the age of seventeen to study music and left at 23 with a contract as Kapellmeister of the German legation in Rome. After many years in Italy and years in Vienna, he returned to Berlin as Kapellmeister of the Royal Court Opera with his most famous work, the “Merry Wives of Windsor.” There he personally conducted the first performance of his work. To his disappointment, it was a flop and had to be cancelled in 1849 after 3 performances. He died 4 months later of cerebral hemorrhages and was buried in the Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof.

Destination Staatsoper Berlin

This traditional and beautiful opera house has had an eventful history and many name changes (Unter den Linden, German State Opera, Royal Court Opera, etc.). It was severely damaged by fire twice (in the 18th century and in the Second World War) and splendidly rebuilt. Famous conductors worked here such as Richard Strauss, Daniel Barenboim  and Erich Kleiber and “Wozzeck” by Alban Berg premiered here. Otto Nicolai also served as director of the opera here, where he premiered his work “The Merry Wives of Windsor”.

State Opera Berlin:

Musical background: the music of “The Merry Wives of Windsor

In programmatic writings, Nicolai advocated the unification of German depth and Italian lightness. He was an admirer of Mozart, who was the last to succeed in uniting the best of both worlds. In this opera one can find many elements of the Italian opera buffa as well as of the German Singspiel. The result is a true cross-over work that Nicolai called “a comic-fantastic opera,” which aptly describes its hybrid origins. The role of Fenton will probably forever be associated with Fritz Wunderlich; listen to the aria “Horch die Lerche singt im Hain” sung by the German tenor:

https://opera-inside.com/the-merry-wives-of-windsor-by-otto-nicolai-the-opera-guide-and-synopsis/#Horch