Composer
Friedrich von Flotow (1813-1883); DEU
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Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand Flotow, Freiherr von Teutendorf, became one of the best-known figures in popular German opera. His opera Martha was a staple of the nineteenth century repertory.
As his lengthy name and title indicate, Flotow came from an aristocratic family. His father was an estate owner who wanted his son to become a government official, but did not oppose his growing interest in music. Flotow attended the Paris Conservatory from 1828 to 1830, studying composition with Antonin Reicha and taking in the city's lively operatic scene with its productions of works by Auber, Meyerbeer, Rossini, and Donizetti.
Revolution broke out in Paris in 1830, and Flotow quickly left for Teutendorf, taking with him what he had written of his first opera, Pierre et Cathérine, finishing it there. The work concerned Tsar Peter the Great's incognito stint as a shipbuilder in Holland. In a German translation by Flotow's uncle, it was performed several times in small German towns.
Flotow returned to Paris, trying to break into the operatic big time. After some private performances of small works, he gained recognition when he collaborated with the better-established Albert Grisar, writing numbers for a pair of new operas, Lady Melvil (1838) and L'eau merveilleuse (1839). He agreed to write another joint opera, Le naufrage de la Méduse, with Grisar and Auguste Pilati. Flotow wrote both acts two and three of the successful opera. A Hamburg company then contracted to perform it, but a fire at the theater destroyed the manuscript. Flotow entirely rewrote it with a new German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Reise, under the name Die Matrosen. The two worked together congenially and produced two other operas, Alessandro Stradella (which actually preceded Die Matrosen), and Martha. Those two operas, Flotow's greatest successes, are the only ones still staged; Martha was given all over Europe and America. Interestingly, its most famous music is the familiar Thomas Moore Irish ballad, "The Last Rose of Summer," which plays a role in the plot. Flotow once again fled Paris during the Revolution of 1848.
In 1849 Flotow married Elise von Zadow, who died shortly after the birth of their only son. In his grief, Flotow lived for a while with a friend, Putlitz, at the latter's estate at Retzien. Putlitz wrote the text for some of Flotow's operas after this, but none had more than moderate success. In 1853 Flotow married Anna Theen, a 20-year-old dancer; the couple had two sons, who both survived into maturity, and in 1855 Flotow took a position as intendant of the grand ducal court theater in Schwerin, retaining that position until 1863. He wrote an opera there, as well as some occasional works. After moving back to Vienna, he divorced his wife in 1867 and married her much younger sister, Rose Theen, a singer. They bought a villa in Lower Austria, lived there until 1873 when Flotow moved back to Teutendorf, and in 1880 moved to Darmstadt, Flotow's last residence.
Flotow's many operas failed to enter the repertoire partly because he tended to choose serious topics, while his talent ran toward rather sentimental, undemanding music. Only in Martha did he chose a text that matched his music exactly. He wrote a large number of songs that are often very nice, but have that cloying Victorian quality. His relatively small quantity of instrumental music shows a true dramatic flair, and his operas have many defenders among those who have studied them closely.
© Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide
As his lengthy name and title indicate, Flotow came from an aristocratic family. His father was an estate owner who wanted his son to become a government official, but did not oppose his growing interest in music. Flotow attended the Paris Conservatory from 1828 to 1830, studying composition with Antonin Reicha and taking in the city's lively operatic scene with its productions of works by Auber, Meyerbeer, Rossini, and Donizetti.
Revolution broke out in Paris in 1830, and Flotow quickly left for Teutendorf, taking with him what he had written of his first opera, Pierre et Cathérine, finishing it there. The work concerned Tsar Peter the Great's incognito stint as a shipbuilder in Holland. In a German translation by Flotow's uncle, it was performed several times in small German towns.
Flotow returned to Paris, trying to break into the operatic big time. After some private performances of small works, he gained recognition when he collaborated with the better-established Albert Grisar, writing numbers for a pair of new operas, Lady Melvil (1838) and L'eau merveilleuse (1839). He agreed to write another joint opera, Le naufrage de la Méduse, with Grisar and Auguste Pilati. Flotow wrote both acts two and three of the successful opera. A Hamburg company then contracted to perform it, but a fire at the theater destroyed the manuscript. Flotow entirely rewrote it with a new German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Reise, under the name Die Matrosen. The two worked together congenially and produced two other operas, Alessandro Stradella (which actually preceded Die Matrosen), and Martha. Those two operas, Flotow's greatest successes, are the only ones still staged; Martha was given all over Europe and America. Interestingly, its most famous music is the familiar Thomas Moore Irish ballad, "The Last Rose of Summer," which plays a role in the plot. Flotow once again fled Paris during the Revolution of 1848.
In 1849 Flotow married Elise von Zadow, who died shortly after the birth of their only son. In his grief, Flotow lived for a while with a friend, Putlitz, at the latter's estate at Retzien. Putlitz wrote the text for some of Flotow's operas after this, but none had more than moderate success. In 1853 Flotow married Anna Theen, a 20-year-old dancer; the couple had two sons, who both survived into maturity, and in 1855 Flotow took a position as intendant of the grand ducal court theater in Schwerin, retaining that position until 1863. He wrote an opera there, as well as some occasional works. After moving back to Vienna, he divorced his wife in 1867 and married her much younger sister, Rose Theen, a singer. They bought a villa in Lower Austria, lived there until 1873 when Flotow moved back to Teutendorf, and in 1880 moved to Darmstadt, Flotow's last residence.
Flotow's many operas failed to enter the repertoire partly because he tended to choose serious topics, while his talent ran toward rather sentimental, undemanding music. Only in Martha did he chose a text that matched his music exactly. He wrote a large number of songs that are often very nice, but have that cloying Victorian quality. His relatively small quantity of instrumental music shows a true dramatic flair, and his operas have many defenders among those who have studied them closely.
© Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide
Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
Click on a category to view the list of works-
Stage Works
132 tracks
- Martha, opera
107 tracks
- Alessandro Stradella, opera in 3 acts
25 tracks
- Martha, opera
-
Vocal Works
4 tracks
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