Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Hand-colored printed broadside illustration of costumed characters from the opera "Oberon," C0458, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Steve Gerber from J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians, October 2016.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Amanda Brent in September 2020. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in October 2020. This item was formerly part of the Performing Arts Manuscript Materials collection, C0215.

Biographical / Historical

"Oberon" is an 1826 opera by German composer Carl Maria von Weber, who is known as the creator of German Romantic Opera, established by his most popular work "Der Freischütz" in 1821. Born November 18, 1786, von Weber had a somewhat successful career in music, though his personal life suffered many illnesses and setbacks, which affected his compositions and reputation in the music world. Von Weber was commissioned by the Opera at Covent Garden in London to compose an opera focused on either the fictional characters Faust or Oberon. Von Weber chose Oberon, the fairy king of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and accepted the commission, mostly for financial reasons and against the advice of his doctor. "Oberon" was von Weber's last work, written and staged in London in April 1826. The production took its toll on von Weber's already fragile health, leading to his death at 39 years of age on June 4th of the same year.

"Oberon" was written in English, though it has been successfully translated to von Weber's native German and is performed in both languages. Focusing on characters made famous by Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" including the titular Oberon, the fairy queen Titania, and Puck, the opera focuses on another instance of the fairies meddling with mortal lovers and their lives, this time in an orientalist, medieval setting. The libretto, written by James Robinson Planché, is an adaptation of the German poem "Oberon" by Christoph Martin Wieland, which is itself an adaptation of "Huon de Bordeaux", a 13th French epic poem. The opera is most known for its overture, and is still performed today.

Scope and Content

Hand-colored printed broadside illustration of costumed characters from the opera "Oberon" by Carl Maria von Weber, created circa 1820s. From left to right are the characters Oberon, Titania, Sir Huon of Bordeaux (written is German as Hüon), Reiza (Rezia), Sherasmin (Scherasmin), Fatima, Caliph of Baghdad (Kalif von Bagdad), Roshana (Roschana), Almanzor (Almansor), and Turk Officer.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections related to opera and the performing arts.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Costume design
• Fairies
• Opera
• Orientalism
• Weber, Carl Maria von, 1786-1826