Posse mit Gesang
Encyclopedia
Posse mit Gesang is a form of popular German-language
music
drama
, that developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early examples are sometimes called 'Possenspil' or 'Possenspiel'. It is also sometimes referred to simply as 'Posse' (farce).
Associated with Vienna
, and also Berlin
and Hamburg
, the Posse mit Gesang was similar to the Singspiel
, but generally had more action and less music than the more opera
tic form. Viennese examples included Ferdinand Raimund
's Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind of 1828 and many of the works of Johann Nestroy
. Composers who contributed music for Posse included Wenzel Müller
, Conradin Kreutzer
, and Philip Jakob Riotte.
Some 20th-century examples of posse written by Walter Kollo
were Filmzauber (1912) and Wie einst im Mai (1913).
More specialized examples of the genre were 'Lokalposse' (daily life themes), 'Zauberposse' (magic), 'Charakterposse' (personalities), 'Situationsposse' (situations), and 'Parodierende Posse' (parodies).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, that developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early examples are sometimes called 'Possenspil' or 'Possenspiel'. It is also sometimes referred to simply as 'Posse' (farce).
Associated with Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and also 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...
and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, the Posse mit Gesang was similar to the Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
, but generally had more action and less music than the more opera
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...
tic form. Viennese examples included Ferdinand Raimund
Ferdinand Raimund
Ferdinand Raimund was an Austrian actor and dramatist.- Life and work :...
's Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind of 1828 and many of the works of Johann Nestroy
Johann Nestroy
Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath...
. Composers who contributed music for Posse included Wenzel Müller
Wenzel Müller
Wenzel Müller was an Austrian composer and conductor.Müller was born in Turnau. He studied with Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf and performed as a theatre musician in his youth. In 1786 he became Kapellmeister at the Theater in der Leopoldstadt in Leopoldstadt, Vienna...
, Conradin Kreutzer
Conradin Kreutzer
Conradin Kreutzer or Kreuzer was a German composer and conductor. His works include the opera for which he is remembered, Das Nachtlager in Granada, and Der Verschwender, both produced in 1834.Kreutzer owes his fame almost exclusively to Das Nachtlager in Granada , which kept the stage for...
, and Philip Jakob Riotte.
Some 20th-century examples of posse written by Walter Kollo
Walter Kollo
Walter Kollo was a German composer of operettas, Possen mit Gesang, and Singspiele as well as popular songs. He was also a conductor and a music publisher.Kollo was born in Neidenburg, East Prussia...
were Filmzauber (1912) and Wie einst im Mai (1913).
More specialized examples of the genre were 'Lokalposse' (daily life themes), 'Zauberposse' (magic), 'Charakterposse' (personalities), 'Situationsposse' (situations), and 'Parodierende Posse' (parodies).
Other examples of Posse mit Gesang
- 1820: Die ZwillingsbrüderDie ZwillingsbrüderDie Zwillingsbrüder is a one-act Singspiel composed by Franz Schubert in 1819 on a libretto by Georg Ernst von Hofmann...
by Franz SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, Vienna, Theater am KärntnertorTheater am KärntnertorTheater am Kärntnertor or Kärntnertortheater was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries... - 1826: Herr Josef und Frau Baberl by Wenzel MüllerWenzel MüllerWenzel Müller was an Austrian composer and conductor.Müller was born in Turnau. He studied with Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf and performed as a theatre musician in his youth. In 1786 he became Kapellmeister at the Theater in der Leopoldstadt in Leopoldstadt, Vienna...
, Vienna, Theater in der LeopoldstadtTheater in der LeopoldstadtThe Theater in der Leopoldstadt was an opera house in Vienna, founded in 1781 by Karl von Marinelli, following the Schauspielfreiheit by Joseph II in 1776... - 1842: Einen Jux will er sich machenEinen Jux will er sich machenEinen Jux will er sich machen , , is a three-act musical play, designated as a Posse mit Gesang, by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy first performed at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 10 March 1842...
by Johann NestroyJohann NestroyJohann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath...
(text) and Adolf Müller (music) - 1889: Wiener Luft by Karl Michael ZiehrerKarl Michael ZiehrerKarl Michael Ziehrer was an Austrian composer. In his lifetime, he was one of the fiercest rivals of the Strauss family; most notably Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss....
, Vienna, Theater an der WienTheater an der WienThe Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...