Abu Hassan

**Abu Hassan** is a comic opera in one act by Carl Maria von Weber to a German libretto by Franz Carl Hiemer, based on a story in *One Thousand and One Nights*. It premiered on 4 June 1811 at the Residenz Theater in Munich.

## Roles

Non-speaking roles include Caliph and Zobeide (*the Caliph's wife*).

## Synopsis

Abu Hassan, a favorite of the Caliph of Baghdad, is heavily in debt. To retrieve his fortunes, he sends his wife Fatime to the Caliph's wife, Zobeide, to announce his (Hassan's) death, for which Fatime will receive 50 pieces of gold and a piece of brocade. After Fatime has set off, creditors enter Abu Hassan's house to collect money. Omar, the richest creditor, is tricked into believing that Fatime has spoken to him of love, so he agrees to pay all the other creditors.

Fatime returns with the presents from Zobeide. Abu Hassan now goes to visit the Caliph, intending to try a similar story about his wife and get money from him. While he is out, Omar reappears and demands a kiss from Fatime, but Abu Hassan returns. Omar hides in an adjoining room, and the husband and wife enjoy his fear of being discovered.

Now Mesrur, a messenger from the Caliph, arrives, to see if Fatime really is dead. Both the Caliph and his wife want to know who it was who died, and if both, who died first. Mesrur, seeing Fatime lying on the divan, her husband in apparent distress at her side, runs back to tell the Caliph. He has only just gone, when Zobeide's nurse runs in on a similar errand. This time it is Hassan who feigns death, while Fatime is all tears and lamenting.

Finally the Caliph and his wife are announced. Hassan and Fatime throw themselves on the divan, covering themselves, as if dead. The Caliph now offers 1,000 gold pieces to anyone who will tell him which of them died first. Hassan revives and throws himself at the Caliph's feet, saying "It was me - I died first!" He asks for a pardon, as well as the gold. Fatime does likewise, and the Caliph pardons them both. Omar, having paid off Hassan's debts in the hope of winning Fatime's heart, is sent away in disgrace.

## Musical numbers

* "Liebes Weibchen, reiche Wein!" - Abu Hassan, Fatime
* "Was nun zu machen" - Abu Hassan
* "Geld! Geld! Geld!" - Abu Hassan, Omar, chorus
* "Thränen sollst du nicht vergiessen" - Abu Hassan, Fatime
* "Wird Philomele trauern" - Fatime
* "Siehst du diese grosse Menge" - Omar, Fatime
* "Ich such' und such' in allen Ecken" - Fatime, Abu Hassan, Omar
* "Hier liegt, welch' martervolles Loos!" - Fatime
* "Aengstlich klopft es mir im Herzen" - Fatime, Abu Hassan, Omar, chorus
* "Heil ist dem Haus beschieden" - chorus

## Recordings

* **1944**: Conductor Leopold Ludwig, Berliner Rundfunk-Sinfonie Orchester, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Erich Witte, Michael Bohnen
* **1971**: Conductor Heinz Rögner, Dresdner Staatskapelle, Ingeborg Hallstein, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam
* **1972**: Conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Great Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio and TV, Ludmilla Belobragina, Yuri Yelnikov, Eugeni Vladimirov
* **1975**: Conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch, Bayerische Staatsoper, Edda Moser, Nicolai Gedda, Kurt Moll
* **2001**: Conductor Joachim Harder, Detmolder Kammerorchester, Christina Schültke, Fabian Hemmelmann, Meik Schwalm
* **2002**: Conductor Bruno Weil, Cappella Coloniensis, Johanna Stojkovic, Jörg Dürmüller, Franz-Josef Selig