In 1815, Franz Schubert wrote four singspiels. During that same year, he also composed two masses, a symphony and at least 150 songs. He was 17 years old.

Schubert was encouraged to compose for the theater by his teacher, Antonio Salieri (1750 - 1825), and he first attempted to imitate the popular singspiels of Josef Weigl (1766 - 1846). However, his early efforts were hampered by attempts to graft overly sophisticated music onto simple, folk-like librettos. Perhaps seeking a better match between text and music, Schubert next chose a more high-minded text by the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832). Entitled Claudine von Villa Bella and composed in July - September 1815, it was Schubert's most ambitious project to date, and may very well have been an effective work for the stage. However, it was not performed during his lifetime, and in 1848, Acts II and III were burned by their owners to light their stove. What remains of the work, however, is enough to demonstrate the growth in Schubert's compositional technique over his previous singspiels.

Given Schubert's nearly supernatural talent for song writing, it comes as no surprise that the cantabile arias are the brightest moments in the surviving act. Two of these, "Hin und wieder fliegen Pfeile" (Arrows fly back and forth) and "Liebe schwärmt auf allen Wegen" (Love swarms over every path), have found their way into the concert repertory. Occasionally, the brief aria "Alle Freuden, alle Gaben" (All joys, all gifts) appears on concert programs as well. In these numbers one still hears Schubert's melodic link to Italian aria and art song, but the overall settings are simpler and communicate more directly. Ensembles, too, are succinct. The overture, with its dramatic, punctuated opening and layers of melody, is also performed in concert.

The introduction shows Schubert's assimilation of the singspiel style. Constructed by Goethe along the typical lines of a singspiel introduction, but with greater complexity, the texture moves from duet to trio, "Heut' ist er zu beneiden" (Today he is to be envied), to a choral segment, "Fröhlicher, seliger, herrlicher Tag!" (Happy, blessed, splendid day!). Schubert follows this progression, but cleverly separates the choral section by moving to a new key, thus creating two smaller, more accessible singspiel numbers. Schubert reused the choral number as an introduction to the third act of his opera, Fierabras, of 1823.



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