Gustav Albert Lortzing was born in Berlin on October 23, 1801. His
parents were actors compelled to lead an itinerant life which made it
impossible for Albert to obtain any systematic education. His mother
taught him music, the study of which he later continued briefly in
Berlin with Rungenhagen. His first effort at composition consisted of
some songs, but in 1824 he completed his first opera, _Ali Pascha von
Janina_. From 1833 to 1844 he was employed as a tenor at the Municipal
Theater in Leipzig, for which he wrote the comic opera _Die beiden
Schuetzen_, successfully produced in 1837. He achieved his greatest
success the same year with the comic opera, _Zar und Zimmermann_, which
within a few years’ time became a favorite among theater audiences
throughout Europe. His later operettas included _Der Wildschuetz_ (_The
Poacher_) in 1842 and _Der Waffenschmied_ (_The Armourer_) in 1846,
while one of his finest romantic operas was _Undine_ in 1845. Lortzing
also filled several engagements as conductor of operas and operettas in
Leipzig, Vienna and Berlin, and as an opera impresario. He died in
Berlin on January 21, 1851, one day after his last opera, _Die
Opernprobe_ (_The Opera Rehearsal_) was introduced in Frankfort.
Lortzing was one of the earliest and most successful exponents of German
national comic opera; and _Czar and the Carpenter_ (_Zar und
Zimmermann_) was his masterwork. It was first produced in Leipzig on
December 22, 1837. The music is consistently light and tuneful,
frequently in the style of German folk songs. The libretto, by the
composer, is a delightful comedy based on an actual historic episode:
the escapade of Peter the Great of Russia in Holland where he worked as
a carpenter. In the Lortzing comic opera, Peter the Great is a carpenter
on a ship at Saardam where he meets a compatriot, also named Peter, who
is a deserter. Temporarily they become rivals for the affection of Mary.
After the arrival of the Ambassadors from France and England to seek out
the Emperor, the latter quietly departs for his homeland, leaving behind
him both money and an official pardon for the other Peter. The gay
spirit of the comic opera as a whole is magically caught not only in its
vivacious overture, but in several familiar excerpts. The most notable
are: the Burgomaster’s comic entrance song, “_O sancta justa_”; in the
second act, the Wedding Chorus, and the French Ambassador’s beautiful
air, “_Lebe wohl, mein flandrisch’ Maedchen_”; in the third act the
vigorous _Clog Dance_ (_Holzschutanz_), and the very famous air of Czar
Peter, “_Sonst spielt’ ich mit Zepter_.”