Friedrich Flotow
Friedrich Freiherr von Flotow was born in Teutendorf, Mecklenburg, on April 26, 1812. He was descended from a family that traced its nobility back several centuries. After studying music in Paris with Anton Reicha and Johann Pixis between 1828 and 1830, he wrote his first opera, Peter und Katharina. Success came first with Alessandro Stradella introduced in Hamburg in 1844, and was solidified in 1847 with the opera by which he is still remembered, Martha. From 1856 to 1863 he was Intendant of the Schwerin Court Theater. He went into retirement in 1880 and died in Darmstadt, Germany, on January 24, 1883.
The ebullient melodies with which Flotow flooded his operas made him extremely popular in his day. This same joyous lyricism keeps the overtures to Alessandro Stradella and Martha fresh in the orchestral repertory.
Alessandro Stradella—introduced in Hamburg on December 30, 1844—was based on a romantic episode in the life of a 17th century opera composer; the libretto was by Wilhelm Friedrich. Stradella elopes with Leonora, whose guardian hires assassins to kill the composer. But Stradella’s singing has such an effect on the assassins that they are incapable of murdering him. They let him go, and in the end the guardian himself is moved to forgive the composer and sanction his union with Leonora.
The overture opens with a solemn chant for the brass (Stradella’s song in the last act). Vigorous transitional material leads to a robust song for full orchestra which is soon repeated expressively by the strings. A sprightly tune for strings (the bell chorus of the second act) is given prominent treatment and developed climactically. The mood now alternates between lightness and gaiety with an occasional intrusion of a strong dramatic effect.
Martha received its première in Vienna on November 25, 1847. The libretto, by Friedrich Wilhelm Riese was based on a ballet-pantomime by Vernoy de Saint-Georges. “Martha” is Lady Harriet in disguise as a servant girl for the sake of an amusing escapade; and the opera is concerned with her amatory adventures with Lionel, and that of her maid with Plunkett, at the Richmond fair. The complications that ensue when the men discover this deception are eventually happily resolved.
The overture begins with a slow introduction which leads into a Larghetto section where considerable attention is paid to the main melody of the quintet at the close of the third act, “Mag der Himmel euch vergeben.” The tempo quickens as the lively country dances of the opera are presented. A crescendo reaches towards a fortissimo restatement of the main theme of the third-act quintet, and the overture ends with a brief and energetic coda.
Salon orchestras often present potpourris of this opera’s main melodies. Two are always dominant in such potpourris. “The Last Rose of Summer” (“Qui sola, vergin rosa”)—an aria sung by the heroine in the second act—is a melody familiar to all; it is not by Flotow, but from an old Irish song, “The Groves of Blarney,” set to a poem by Thomas Moore. The second famous melody from Martha is the beautiful tenor aria from the third act, “M’Appari,” in which Lionel expresses his grief when he feels he has lost Martha for good.