Opera Der Alchymist Program Notes Sheet Music and Recordings

Program Notes & Analysis

A German Opera from an American Author

In the landscape of German Romantic opera, Louis Spohr's Der Alchymist is a unique and surprising work. Its contemporaries were dark, supernatural Schauerromantik (shudder-romantic) operas like Heinrich Marschner's Der Vampyr (1828) or Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz (1821), works that were steeped in German forests, ghosts, and folk legends. Spohr, at the very height of his fame as the court Kapellmeister in Kassel, turned instead to an American author: Washington Irving. The libretto by Karl Pfeiffer is based on Irving's story "The Alchymist," from his famous collection Tales of the Alhambra. This choice of source material immediately set the opera apart. This was not to be a dark, philosophical drama about magic and the devil, like Spohr's own earlier masterpiece, Faust. Instead, it was a Spieloper (a "play-opera" or comic opera), a light, satirical, and "exotic" character study set in the "sunny," "Spanish" world of Granada. The opera premiered in 1830 and was an immediate, sensational success, performed all over Germany and in London. It was one of the most popular operas of its day, a perfect example of the "Biedermeier" era's love for witty, elegant, and morally clear entertainment. Its complete disappearance from the repertoire is a direct result of the Richard Wagner "revolution," which, just a few years later, would change the "rules" of German opera forever, making Spohr's graceful, classical-leaning works seem instantly, and tragically, old-fashioned.

The "Con Man" of Granada

The libretto's "magic" is a fraud. The opera is not about alchemy; it is about greed. The Alchymist himself, Zebna, is not a sorcerer; he is a charismatic, silver-tongued con man, later revealed to be a disgraced nobleman named Count de Vado. His "mark" is Pancratius, a wealthy but foolish old man who is not "evil," but is corrupted by his desire for "easy" wealth. He desperately wants to believe in the magic that will make him richer. This setup is a classic opera buffa plot, a direct descendant of the comedies of Mozart and Cimarosa. The drama is not "epic"; it is "human-scale." The "good" is represented by the two young lovers, Pancratius's daughter, Felicia, and the noble young officer, Valentin. The plot is a "morality play," a warning against the dangers of "get rich quick" schemes and a celebration of "true love" over "false gold." This was a perfect, comfortable, and deeply resonant theme for the middle-class "Biedermeier" audience of the 1830s.

The "Classical" Romantic

Louis Spohr is, perhaps, the most important "bridge" composer between the Classical and Romantic eras. He was a man who adored Mozart (especially Don Giovanni) but who also championed the "radical" early works of Richard Wagner. His music is a fascinating, and beautiful, fusion of these two worlds. He is a "Classical" composer in his forms: his operas are "number" operas, with clear, distinct arias, duets, and ensembles, just like Mozart's. He is not an "endless melody" composer like Wagner. However, he is a "Romantic" composer in his harmonies. Spohr was a famous "progressive," a master of rich, chromatic harmony and daring, "sliding" modulations. This is the very "language" that Wagner (who admired Spohr's Faust) would later seize upon and expand into the "music of the future." In Der Alchymist, you can hear both Spohrs. The melodic lines are graceful, lyrical, and "Classical," but the orchestral "cushion" beneath them is full of the rich, dark, and "longing" chromaticism that defines early Romanticism.

An Opera for Singers, Especially Baritones

Spohr, a virtuoso violinist, knew how to write for "performers." His vocal writing is, above all, elegant and singable. It is a German bel canto, which demands a smooth, beautiful vocal line (a legato) over mere "fireworks." The soprano (Felicia) and tenor (Valentin) are given beautiful, ardent, and "innocent" music, most notably in their main love duet. But the real "stars" of the opera, as is so often the case in German opera, are the "low" male voices. The opera is a "battle of the basses." Pancratius is a classic basso buffo (comic bass), a bumbling, greedy fool. His rival is Vargas, a noble, "serious" bass who represents order and the law. But the title role, the Alchymist, is a brilliant "cavalier" baritone. He is the opera's "Figaro"—a charismatic, fast-talking, and utterly charming "master of ceremonies." His music is suave, witty, and seductive. Spohr's greatest gift, like Mozart's, was in the "ensemble." The trios and quartets, where the lovers' "secret" plot, Pancratius's "greedy" plot, and the Alchymist's "con man" plot all collide, are the musical and dramatic highlights of the score.

A "Spanish" Score

Like many "exotic" operas of its day (like Weber’s Oberon or Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila), Der Alchymist is a "postcard" from a foreign land. Spohr’s "Spain" is not the "authentic" Spain of Falla. It is the "Romantic" idea of Spain. He creates this atmosphere not with "real" folk songs, but with the musical "tropes" of Spain: dance rhythms (like the bolero and fandango), the use of "Moorish" (or "gypsy") chromaticism in the melodies, and, most importantly, brilliant orchestration that imitates the "strumming" of a guitar (using pizzicato strings and harps). This "exotic" color, combined with Spohr's masterful and delicate writing for the woodwinds, creates a score that is light, sparkling, and full of "southern" warmth. This "sun-drenched" sound was a huge part of its popular appeal, a perfect antidote to the "dark forests" of his German contemporaries.

Buried by Bayreuth

Der Alchymist was a "hit" in the 1830s. It was performed regularly. So, what happened? In a word: Wagner. Richard Wagner’s "music dramas" (Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and, later, The Ring Cycle) were not just "new operas"; they were a "new religion." They were "total works of art" (Gesamtkunstwerk), massive, philosophical, and "symphonic" in a way that Der Alchymist was not. Wagner’s revolution, with its "endless melody" and rejection of "numbers," made the entire "Biedermeier" school of Spohr, Marschner, and Lortzing seem, almost overnight, to be "frivolous" and "old-fashioned." Wagner himself respected Spohr as a "serious" and "noble" master, but his successors were ruthless. Der Alchymist was a casualty of this massive shift in "taste." It is a masterpiece of its time, a perfect example of the graceful, "Classical-Romantic" style that Wagner's revolution buried. Today, it is a "lost gem," a witty, charming, and beautifully crafted work that is long overdue for rediscovery.

The Story of the Opera

Act I: A Street in Granada

In a square in Granada, the wealthy (but greedy and social-climbing) citizen, Pancratius, has become obsessed with a mysterious "Alchymist" named Zebna, who has promised to make him even richer by turning lead into gold. Pancratius’s daughter, Felicia, is in love with a young officer, Valentin. Valentin, however, is worried; his friend and superior officer, Vargas, has warned him that Pancratius's "obsession" is dangerous and that this "alchemist" is likely a fraud. Valentin and Felicia meet in secret and sing a passionate duet, vowing to love each other, but they are interrupted by Pancratius. Pancratius, obsessed, tells Felicia that he has "greater plans" for her. The scene changes to the alchemist's dark, "magic" laboratory. Pancratius arrives. Zebna (the Alchymist), in a brilliant, theatrical display of smoke, "magic" words, and "mysterious" potions, performs a fake ritual, "proving" to the gullible Pancratius that his magic is real. He tells Pancratius that the "great work" is almost complete, but he requires one final, "pure" ingredient.

Act II: The Con

In the garden of Pancratius's house. Felicia is met by Valentin. Valentin tells her that his commander, Vargas, is now in Granada and that he knows the Alchymist. He begs her to be careful. The Alchymist, Zebna, arrives. He tells Pancratius that the "final ingredient" he needs to make the gold is a "pure" virgin's dowry. He proposes that, to "sanctify" the process, he "marry" Felicia. Pancratius, blinded by his greed and the promise of "mountains of gold," enthusiastically agrees. Felicia is horrified. Zebna, left alone, sings an aria revealing his true nature: he is a charlatan, and this is his final "con." He plans to get the dowry, "marry" Felicia, and then flee the city before his fraud is discovered.

Act III: The Unmasking

In the great hall of Pancratius's house, a "wedding" is prepared. Felicia is in despair. As the "marriage contract" (which is actually the contract for her dowry) is about to be signed, Valentin and his commander, Vargas, arrive with the city guard. Vargas confronts the Alchymist. In a dramatic "unmasking," Vargas reveals that "Zebna" is, in fact, the "Count de Vado," a disgraced nobleman and notorious swindler who has been exiled from the court of Madrid. The Alchymist, cornered, tries to bluff his way out, but the guards arrest him. Pancratius, his "dream of gold" shattered, is left completely humiliated. He sees the "true gold" he almost threw away: his daughter's happiness. He begs Felicia for forgiveness and gives his blessing to her and Valentin. The opera ends in a joyous, ensemble finale, as the chorus praises the triumph of true love over the "false magic" of greed.