Christian Gottlob Neefe
Encyclopedia
Christian Gottlob Neefe was a German opera
composer
and conductor
.
Neefe was born in Chemnitz
, Saxony
. He received a musical education and started to compose at the age of 12. He studied law at the University of Leipzig
, but subsequently returned to music to become a pupil of the composer Johann Adam Hiller, under whose guidance he wrote his first comic operas.
He later became court organist in Bonn
and was a teacher of Ludwig van Beethoven
. He helped Beethoven produce some of his first works. His best known work was a Singspiel
called Adelheit von Veltheim (1780). He died in Dessau
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
Neefe was born in Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. He received a musical education and started to compose at the age of 12. He studied law at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, but subsequently returned to music to become a pupil of the composer Johann Adam Hiller, under whose guidance he wrote his first comic operas.
He later became court organist in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and was a teacher of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
. He helped Beethoven produce some of his first works. His best known work was a Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
called Adelheit von Veltheim (1780). He died in Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
.
Operas
| Title | Genre | Subdivisions | Libretto | Première date | Place, theatre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Der Dorfbarbier (with Johann Adam Hiller) | komische Operette | 1 act | Christian Felix Weiße Christian Felix Weiße Christian Felix Weiße was a German writer and pedagogue. Weiße was among the leading representatives of the Enlightenment in Germany and is regarded as the founder of German children's literature.-Life:... , after Michel-Jean Sedaine Michel-Jean Sedaine Michel-Jean Sedaine was a French dramatist, was born in Paris.- Biography :His father, who was an architect, died when Sedaine was quite young, leaving no fortune, and the boy began life as a mason's labourer... 's Blaise le savetier |
18 April 1771 | Leipzig Leipzig Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing... , Rannstädter Thore |
| Die Apotheke | komische Oper | 2 acts | Johann Jacob Engel | 13 December 1771 | Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... , Theater in der Behrenstrasse |
| Amors Guckkasten | Operette | 1 act | Johann Benjamin Michaelis | 10 May 1772 | Leipzig |
| Die Einsprüche | komische Oper | 1 act | Johann Benjamin Michaelis | late 1772 | Leipzig, Rannstädter Thore |
| Zemire und Azor | komische Oper | 4 acts | Moritz August von Thümmel, after Jean-François Marmontel Jean-François Marmontel Jean-François Marmontel was a French historian and writer, a member of the Encyclopediste movement.-Biography:He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin... |
5 March 1776 | Leipzig (Koberwein Company) |
| Heinrich und Lyda | Drama | 1 act | Bernhard Christian d'Arien | 26 March 1776 | Berlin, (Döbbelin Company) |
| Sophonisbe | musikaliches Drama | 1 act | August Gottlieb Meissner | 12 October 1776 | Leipzig |
| Die Zigeuner | Lustspiel mit gesang | 5 acts | H F Möller, after Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written... |
November 1777 | Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010... |
| Adelheit von Veltheim | Schauspiel mit Gesang | 4 acts | Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann | Frankfurt, Junghof | |
| Der neue Gutsherr | 3 acts | Johann Gottfried Dyck and Johann Friedrich Jünger, after Marivaux Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux , commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French novelist and dramatist.... 's Le paysan parvenu Le Paysan parvenu Le Paysan parvenu is an unfinished novel by Pierre de Marivaux. It was written in 1735 and an ending was added by another writer. The work is supposedly the original for subsequent tales of poor boys of a heroic nature who have "made good"... |
unperformed |
Other works
- Oden von Klopstock: Serenade for piano and voice. FlensburgFlensburgFlensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
1776 - Twelve piano sonatas