View source for Romantische Oper

{{short description|Early nineteenth-century German opera genre}}
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{{lang|de|'''Romantische Oper'''}} (German for 'romantic opera'){{efn|Plural: {{lang|de|Romantische Opern}}}} is a genre of early nineteenth-century [[German opera]], developed not from the German [[Singspiel]] of the eighteenth-century but from the [[opéra comique|opéras comiques]] of the [[French Revolution]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} It offered opportunities for an increasingly important role for the [[orchestra]], and greater dramatic possibilities for reminiscence [[Motif (music)|motif]]s – phrases that are identified with a place, person or idea and which, when re-used in a work, remind the listener of the place, person or idea in question.

[[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' (1821) inaugurated the genre, which increasingly became associated with a distinctively German national style, as exemplified by composers such as [[Heinrich Marschner]] (e.g. ''[[Der Vampyr]]'' and ''[[Hans Heiling]]''), [[Albert Lortzing]] (e.g. ''[[Undine (Lortzing)|Undine]]'') and [[Louis Spohr]]. Themes explored included [[nature]], the [[supernatural]], the [[Middle Ages]] and popular culture, specifically [[folklore]]. Musically, German [[folk music]] also served as an inspiration. Spoken dialogue continued to be used between musical numbers.

The genre reached its apogee in the early works of [[Richard Wagner]], specifically ''[[Die Feen]]'', ''[[Das Liebesverbot]]'', ''[[The Flying Dutchman (opera)|The Flying Dutchman]]'' and ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'', although these differed from their predecessors in not using spoken dialogue. His later operas developed the reminiscence motif into the more protean [[Leitmotif]] and gradually abandoned many of the themes of ''romantische Oper'', while still largely focused on myths, legends and nature.

==Notes==
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== References ==
*{{cite book|last1=Warrack|first1=John|author-link1=John Warrack|first2=Ewan|last2=West|year=1992|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Opera|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-869164-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00warr|ref=none}}{{page needed|date=March 2023}}

{{Opera genres}}
{{Romantic music}}

[[Category:Romantische Opern| ]]
[[Category:Opera genres]]
[[Category:Opera terminology]]