Premiere: 12 April 1826 in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, under the direction of the composer
Duration: 9 minutes
Performances by the Berliner Philharmoniker:
first performed on 8 May 1897, conductor: Arthur Nikisch
After the triumphant premiere of Der Freischütz in the summer of 1821, the music world had found a new favourite: Carl Maria von Weber, the composer of this romantic opera, was in high demand on Europe’s stages. Charles Kemble, director of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, was eager to ride the wave of Weber’s success. He therefore commissioned the composer to write a musical drama centred around the fairy king Oberon. Though already gravely ill with tuberculosis, Weber could not resist the generous fee. He accepted the offer, fully aware that he was embarking on his final journey: “I am going to London – to die.” Indeed, he would never return to his hometown of Dresden. Less than two months after the premiere, his life ended in the British capital on 5 June 1826.
At first, his audiences might have associated the title Oberon with the fairy king from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but in fact, Weber drew on a verse narrative by Christoph Martin Wieland. Set in a mythical Middle Ages, the story extends as far as the exotic Orient. There, the knight Hüon encounters Rezia, daughter of the Caliph, and falls in love with her. A magic horn, gifted to him by Oberon, is meant to aid Hüon whenever he is in danger. The overture to Oberon opens with the mysterious sounds of this horn before quoting striking passages from the opera – from the realm of the fairies to the lovers’ emotions and their perilous flight across stormy seas. The overture’s brilliant conclusion is marked by Rezia’s rapturous outburst of joy upon their long-awaited rescue.