Peter Cornelius' comic opera Der Barbier von Baghdad became an important contribution to the genre of German Komische Oper only after a long struggle of almost 50 years. Cornelius had, at the outset, the encouragement and help of his mentor and friend Franz Liszt. However, when the opera opened in Weimar with Liszt on the podium directing the production, political machinations on the part of the director of the theater resulted in demonstrations against the so called neo-German school of composition and against Liszt in particular as a representative of that school. The opera closed after only one performance, and Liszt resigned his post. He left Weimar in disgust, as did Cornelius. Several other attempts were made to revise and restage the opera in subsequent years at different opera houses, but with limited success. Finally, in June of 1904, the original version as composed by Cornelius was again staged in the Weimar Hoftheatre, this time to popular approval and critical acclaim. It has since held its own in German opera companies, and has a minor niche in the operatic repertoire.

Cornelius had chosen as his subject a story from the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and constructed his own libretto. It is a comic love story in which a loquacious but intelligent Barber plays a prominent role. The comedy is highly sophisticated, and the musical nuances subtle. The subject obviously inspired Cornelius, who was a literate, well-rounded composer with an aptitude for humor. He wanted his compositions to offer the public something different than contemporary German opera composers such as Wagner, whose ideological fervor he found overwhelming. He loved the colorful orchestrations of Berlioz, and admired the compositional practices of Wagner and Liszt. But he wanted his works to be of the people, and down to earth. The plot of Der Barbier has more than the run of the mill amount of complications to it, and Cornelius met the challenge of this complex story with a wealth of musical inventiveness. The melodies are fresh, and the atmosphere warm and human. Liszt encouraged Cornelius when he saw the score to Der Barbier, for he found the younger composer's forms imaginative.

© Rita Laurance, Rovi