Die glückliche Vorbedeutung and Aristheus : unknown libretti of German-language operas performed in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna in 1741

Abstract

This article focuses on newly identified librettos of operas set to original German texts and produced at the Kärntnertortheater in the 1740s. The opera Die glückliche Vorbedeutung premiered in the spring of 1741 as part of the grandious celebrations of the birth of Archduke Joseph, the first son of Maria Theresa. The next German-language opera, Aristheus, was produced during the same year both in Vienna and Graz. Finally, the third opera, Hypsipile, was produced sometime before 1747. All three works should be understood in the social and political context of the Wars of the Austrian Succession.

Keywords

• Vienna
• opera
• Kärntnertortheater
• German language
• Maria Theresa
• Joseph II