Drottningen av Golconda (The Queen of Golconda) is a three-act romantic 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...

 by Franz Berwald

Franz Berwald

Franz Adolf Berwald was a Swedish Romantic composer who was generally ignored during his lifetime. He made his living as an orthopedic surgeon and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory....

. The libretto was adapted by the composer from one by Vial and Favières intended for Henri Montan Berton

Henri Montan Berton

Henri Montan Berton was a French composer, teacher, and writer, and the son of Pierre Montan Berton.-Career:...

; this had been based on another by 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...

. Berwald may have known the Berton opera from when he played in the opera orchestra in Stockholm.

Background

The work is the culmination of a project Berwald commenced in 1863 as Lochleven Castle, (based on The Abbot

The Abbot

The Abbot is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. A sequel to The Monastery, it is one of Scott's Tales from Benedictine Sources and is set in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots...

by Walter Scott

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

). This was considerably revised for a potential production the composer hoped for at the Théâtre Lyrique

Théâtre Lyrique

The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century . The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-National by the French composer Adolphe Adam and renamed Théâtre Lyrique in 1852...

 in Paris starring Christina Nilsson

Christina Nilsson

Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, was a Swedish operatic soprano. She possessed a brilliant bel canto technique and was considered a rival to the Victorian era's most famous diva, Adelina Patti...

. The opera was not seen during Berwald’s lifetime, and first staged at the Royal Swedish Opera

Royal Swedish Opera

Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...

, Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 on 3 April 1968.

The attractive overture may be a later version of the tone poem 'Humorous Capriccio' (1841) from Berwald’s Viennese years; it has occasionally been recorded.

Roles and role creators

Role	Voice type	Cast of first stage production, 3 April 1968 (Conductor: Stig Westerberg Stig Westerberg Stig Evald Börje Westerberg, born 26 November 1918 in Malmö, Sweden, died 1 July 1999 in Lidingö, was a Swedish conductor and pianist, whose career was based mostly in his home country.- Biography :... )
Drottning Aline	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Elisabeth Söderström Elisabeth Söderström Elisabeth Anna Söderström CBE was a Swedish soprano, who performed both opera and song. She was particularly well known for her recordings of the lead soprano roles in the three Janáček operas Jenůfa, Káťa Kabanová, and The Makropoulos Affair, all of which received Gramophone Awards...
Zelie, lady-in-waiting	soprano	Birgit Nordin Birgit Nordin Birgit Nordin is a Swedish opera soprano. She was married to the Swedish bass-baritone Jerker Arvidson .-Life and career:...
Saint Phar, French ambassador	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Erik Saedén Erik Saedén Carl Erik Saedén, born 3 September 1924 in Vänersborg, died 3 November 2009, was a Swedish bass-baritone whose career was principally centred on Stockholm, both on the operatic stage as well as the concert platform...
Sadomar, Prime minister	baritone	Rolf Jupither
Nadir, Queen's guard	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Sven Olof Eliasson
Abdala, marshal	baritone	Carl-Axel Hallgren
Kaleb	tenor	Sven Erik Vikström
Osmin, judge of the court	baritone	Paul Höglund

Synopsis

The story concerns the widowed Queen of Golconda, Aline, who as a girl in Provence had loved Saint Phar. However, she was abducted as a child and sold as a slave to the old King of Golconda who then married her. Saint Phar has recently appeared at court as the new French ambassador. The veiled Aline is not recognised by Saint Phar who delivers to her a friendship treaty with France. At a later meeting in the French gardens where Aline comes in Provençal attire, it emerges that he is still in love with her. Aline and her court are held prisoner during a revolution led by Sadomar, but she is rescued by Saint Phar, to whom she finally reveals her face.

Sources

Forbes E. Drottningen av Golconda. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.