Introduction A Singspiel (German literally meaning "song-play") (plural: Singspiele) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias (which were often lyrical, strophic, or folk-like), rather like an operetta. Although in nature not a consistent musical type, it was capable of artistic unity and effectiveness. Its power lay in its simple tunefulness and its ready adaptation to comic characters and scenes. Its topics were nearly always taken from common life and its treatment filled with local color. The German Singspiel Historical background The term ' singspiel ' has no precise meaning, being used of any of the German derivatives of the mediaeval plays in which songs were introduced in the midst of the spoken dialogue without distinctly adding to the dramatic effect by their musical treatment. The taste for both part-songs and solo songs was so early developed in Germany under the impress of folk-music, that it was inevitable that all dramatic experiments should seek such musical extensions and decoration. It was natural, also, that an effort should ultimately be made to construct a play out of a chain of vocal numbers almost or quite without spoken dialogue. In this case the singspiel differed from the opera in the form of music adopted, which was not dramatic, but lyrical, often laid out upon the strict strophe-plan. Song-plays of some sort are traceable in Germany as early as the 13th and 14th centuries, when they gradually detached themselves from the original church plays. In the 15th century they dropped into great vulgarity, from which in the 16th they were lifted again into dignity by the poets such as Hans Sachs the Meistersinger (d. 1576), and his follower Jacob Ayrer (d. 1605) —the last of whom is sometimes called the inventor of the singspiel. Singspiel versus opera In the 17th century the stimulus of the young Italian opera was early felt, and what are often styled the first German operas (Schütz' Dafne, 1627, and Staden's Seelewig, 1644) were really singspiele. From this time the singspiel becomes merged in the opera, though late in the 18th century came a notable effort to revive it as a distinct type — the result being analogous to the English ballad-opera, the French vaudeville and the modern operetta. Until this later development the singspiel exerted no important general influence, except to modify slightly the earlier German imitations of the Italian opera. For the most part the early story of German opera is simply that of the Italian type transplanted. Singspiel revival In the early i8th century the German singspiel lay almost dormant, but from about 1 760 it began to reappear in Germany and Austria as a popular type of much influence. Its cultivation proceeded from two centres, the one in Saxony and Prussia, the other at Vienna. In both cases it was obviously stimulated by the success of analogous forms elsewhere, such as the French comic operetta and the English ballad-opera. Its revival was one symptom of the reaction against the artificiality of the Italian opera, and, being taken up by original and resourceful writers, who knew how to appeal to the popular sentiment of northern Europe, it exerted a large and healthy influence, though presently its individuality was lost in the rise of the romantic opera. Depending for its musical success upon the abundant use of simple vocal melody, its progress was closely associated with the recognition and development of the artistic song as a distinct and beautiful branch of composition. The basal type was the true folk-song, which was imitated in the form known as the 'volksthümliches lied' (folk-like song), and then extended by natural steps of unfolding to the longer and richer forms of the 'kunstlied', including the dramatic ballade. In this way it helped to prepare the way for one of the most significant movements of the early 19th century: 'Lied' (Schubert, Schumann) and 'Ballade' (Löwe). Composers In the North German group were the following important Singspiel composers: Johann Adam Hiller (d. 1804), Georg Benda (d. 1795) (the brother of the violinist Franz Benda), Johann Friedrich Reichardt (d. 1814), Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (d. 1800; his first and best reputation came from his beautiful Lieder im Volkston (1782-90), but he also wrote about 10 successful singspiele and operas, from 1775), and Johann Rudolph Zumsteeg (d. 1802). The Vienna group of singspiel-writers was at first more limited in influence, contributing less to the development of the song as such ; but, on the other hand, their efforts were ultimately valuable in helping forward the advent of true German opera. Joseph Haydn (d. 1809) was a pioneer. His Der neue krumme Teufel (1751?) and the marionette-plays at Esterhaza (1762) belonged to the singspiel class. They are connected to Mozart's Singspiele as his Bastien und Bastienne (1768) and Die Entführung (1782). Ferdinand Kauer (d. 1831) was extremely prolific in composition —about 200 singspiele and operas, of which Das Donauweibchen was the best. Remarks Melodrama is a related concept: music under spoken words (or smetimes pantomime), either as a complete work (also called monodrama or duodrama) or as part of an opera. Function of music: to intensify the effect of certain scenes. Nice examples can be found in Beethoven's Egmont (Act V Scene 4, Süßer Schlaf) and Fidelio (Act II Scene 1, Wie kalt ist es in diesem unterirdischen Gewölbe!) and Der Freischütz of Carl Maria von Weber (The Wolf’s Glen at night).