Pfitzner: Der arme Heinrich
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- Composer: Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949)
- Instrumentation: Opera
- Work: Der arme Heinrich, WoO 15
- Work Language: German
- Size: 8.3 x 11.6 inches
- Pages: 161
Description
Der arme Heinrich is Pfitzner's first opera. It was composed between 1891-93 and received its premiere in Mainz in 1895. The work is based on a medieval German poem by Hartmann von Aue, believed to have been written in the late 12th century. The poem tells the story of the Swabian nobleman and knight Heinrich, who was also a Minnesinger. God afflicts Heinrich with leprosy, and after unsuccessfully seeking treatment, he learns that he can only be cured through blood sacrifice: a marriageable virgin must give up her life to save his. in despair, Heinrich gives away all of his worldly possessions and goes to live in a farmhouse on his estate. There, he is cared for by the farmer's daughter, Agnes, who learns of the terms of Heinrich's cure and is determined to sacrifice her life to save him. Heinrich takes her to a doctor who has offered to perform the sacrifice, but at the last moment, Heinrich changes his mind, stops the doctor from killing Agnes, and accepts his leprosy as God's will. His leprosy is promptly cured through God's providence, and his lands and status are restored. Heinrich then marries Agnes.
Pfitzner's operatic adaptation of von Aue's text is based on a libretto devised by James Grun and Pfitzner himself, and is cast in three acts. As of the late 19th century, Pfitzner, along with many other composers of the period, was influenced by the music of Richard Wagner, and this influence—especially Wagner's Tannhäuser and Lohengrin—is in evidence in Der arme Heinrich, in its idealism, religious themes and focus on the psychology of the characters. Musically, the opera is clearly an echo of a Wagnerian sound-world, with its shimmering chromaticism, use Leitmotifs, and lush orchestration. Pfitzner's sometimes spikey dissonances, however, locate the work as post-Wagnerian, and the shorter motives, tighter vocal phrasing and thinner textures hint at Pfitzner's skill and experience as a composer of Lieder and chamber music, rather than as a dramatist.
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Pfitzner: Der arme Heinrich
