Der Stein der Weisen, oder die Zauberinsel (English: The Philosopher's Stone, or the Enchanted Isle) is a two-act singspiel jointly composed by Johann Baptist Henneberg (de), Benedikt Schack, Franz Xaver Gerl, Emanuel Schikaneder, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1790. The libretto was written by Schikaneder.
Composition
Der Stein der Weisen was composed using a "team approach" in which each composer contributed individual sections of the piece. All five wrote parts of Act II, and all except Mozart wrote parts of Act I. Henneberg composed the work's overture. Schikaneder wrote the libretto for the entire piece. The text is based on a fairy tale from Christoph Martin Wieland's Dschinnistan, published in the late 1780s.
All five were later involved in The Magic Flute: Mozart as composer, Schikaneder as librettist, impresario and performer (Papageno), Henneberg as conductor, and Schack and Gerl as performers (respectively Tamino and Sarastro). Der Stein der Weisen may have provided a model for that work, as the two have a similar structure and source.
Reception and study
The work was initially popular, but was largely absent from the standard repertoire for the two centuries following Mozart's death. In 1996, American musicologist David Buch announced the discovery of a portion of the score written in Mozart's hand. This was taken by some to indicate that Der Stein der Weisen was a previously unknown Mozart work, although in fact only the discovered portion ("Nun liebes Weibchen", known as the "cat duet") and two sections of Act II were by him.
The autograph of "Nun liebes Weibchen" (K. 625) is held by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris; the rest of the original score is lost. The work is known from a 1795 copy.
The singspiel was premiered on 11 September 1790 in the Theater auf der Wieden, conducted by Henneberg. It was first recorded by the Boston Baroque in 1999.
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MUSIC REVIEW; All Ears on an Opera Recently Linked to Mozart
By JAMES R. OESTREICH
Published: November 2, 1998
BOSTON, Nov. 1— It was almost ''Man Bites Dog.'' Listeners who had filled Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory here on Friday to savor newly discovered Mozart not only endured but also applauded at every opportunity a long evening of music by obscure figures like Johann Baptist Henneberg, Benedikt Schack, Franz Xaver Gerl and Emanuel Schikaneder.
To the extent that these worthies had been familiar at all, it was only for their connection to the creation of Mozart's ''Zauberflote,'' in 1791. And here they were, returned to vibrant life because of Mozart's connection to their jointly composed opera of 1790, ''Der Stein der Weisen, Oder die Zauberinsel'' (''The Philosopher's Stone, or The Enchanted Isle''), in a concert version by Boston Baroque.
Mozart's contributions to the work -- identified in a copy that seems to dates from the mid-1790's that was discovered by David J. Buch in 1996 in a library in Hamburg, Germany -- were modest, consisting of a duet long attributed to Mozart and already recorded, and two other little duets, each part of the second-act finale. In addition, Mozart may have helped in orchestrating and polishing.
The production was presented in connection with the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society here, and Mr. Buch and others discussed the work on Saturday in a session at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. ''The evidence points in one direction, but that doesn't mean it's true,'' Mr. Buch said. ''We may never know for sure the extent of Mozart's involvement.''
The innocuous ditties may well have been the work of a few minutes of Mozart's time. What was remarkable was how seamlessly they fit into the whole. Here, after all, were four unknown composers who were mainly performers, producing music on the level of minor Mozart.
There was unevenness to be sure, as much within the work of individual composers as between them. Henneberg (a keyboard player and conductor), for example, was slow to achieve momentum in the ''Introduzione.'' But he applied a delightful touch in the first-act finale when the magic bird (a flute, of course) failed to sing, putting forward instead a clarinet and a bassoon.
Schack, Gerl and Schikaneder, singers all (think Tamino, Sarastro and Papageno), also had fine moments. It just goes to show how little we know even about periods we are reasonably familiar with.
The fantastical plot itself, as Mr. Buch pointed out, represents a fascinating underside to what we think we know as the Enlightenment. Schikaneder's tale involves a beneficent deity with a taste for virgins (as identified by the magic bird) and the deity's evil brother.
The performance, conducted by Martin Pearlman, the music director of Boston Baroque, was good enough to sell the work, sometimes better. The chorus was excellent and the orchestra rose to difficult moments (as with the horns in the hunting choruses), but didn't always maintain that high level.
The cast was reasonably even, short on glamour, long on substance. Jane Giering-De Haan and Kevin Deas made a delightful rustic couple, even managing to keep all that Mozartean meowing (yes, meowing) from becoming cloying. Judith Lovat and Paul Austin Kelly were less vivid as the higher-born couple.
Kurt Streit and Alan Ewing were effective as the high and low deities. Sharon Baker was a fine Genie, and Chris Pedro Trakas was strong at the start, when the role of the ruler counted.
The German spoken text was transmuted here into a tiresome English narration by Robert Scanlan, spoken by Alvin Epstein and Carmen de Lavallade. The work is being recorded this week by Telarc, with the German speech in place. That release will be most welcome for the further opportunity to get to know this odd lot of composers better, and take their measure alongside the master.
