Characters and plot summary for the opera Der Vampyr (The Vampire) by Heinrich August Marschner, with a libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück based on "The Vampyre."
Heinrich August Marschner's opera Der Vampyr (The Vampire) premiered in Leipzig in 1828. The libretto was written by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück, Marschner's brother-in-law. The story takes place in Scotland in the present day of the time.
The story is based on John Polidori's short story “The Vampyre,” which was first published in the April 1819 edition of New Monthly Magazine. The story was based on a fragment written by Lord Byron, and the publishers credited the completed story to Byron to attract a wider audience, despite protests by both authors. Elements of the plot are also drawn from theatrical adaptations of "The Vampyre" by Charles Nodier (Le vampire, 1820), J.R. Planché (The Vampire, or The Bride of the Isles, 1820), and Heinrich Ludwig Ritter (Der Vampyr, oder Die Todten-braut, 1821).
In 1833, Richard Wagner composed an allegro to replace the second half of Aubry's aria in the second act. This replacement was intended to strengthen Aubry's character, and the effort was well-received by the audience. Der Vampyr is still sometimes performed with Wagner's allegro in place of Marschner's original agitato.
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