About the work
Die drei Pintos is a comic opera that Carl Maria von Weber began composing in 1821 to a libretto by Theodor Hell, but left only in sketches at his death in 1826. Gustav Mahler completed the fragment at the request of Weber's grandson Carl von Weber and conducted the premiere on 20 January 1888 at the Neues Stadttheater in Leipzig.
Plot
Don Pinto travels to an arranged marriage with Clarissa, daughter of Don Pantaleone, but is outwitted en route by the rake Don Gaston, who poses as "Don Pinto" himself and competes with a third rival for Clarissa's hand. The mix-up comedy over the three supposed "Pintos" ends with the love marriage of Clarissa and Don Gaston.
Cultural significance
Mahler expanded Weber's fragment to 21 musical numbers, partly by setting further Weber songs to music; the Leipzig premiere became a high-society event, but after Mahler's death in 1911 the hybrid work largely disappeared from the repertoire.