Marschner: Hans Heiling
Heinrich Marschner was the most important German Romantic opera composer between Weber and Wagner, and in fact Wagner derived many of his ideas, including the use of leitmotiven, from Marschner. In Hans Heiling, Marschner's dramatic masterpiece, a dwarf who rules an underground kingdom travels to the Upper World of Earth to woo a human maiden. Sound familiar? Live performance, Köln, July, 1966.