About the work
Eugen d’Albert's „Gernot“ is an opera in three acts to a libretto by Gustav Kastropp, strongly shaped, like its predecessor „Ghismonda“ (1895), by Richard Wagner. It premiered on 11 April 1897 at the Mannheim court theatre.
Plot
By Lake Constance, before the Roman wars, the dark Suebian king Gernot has seized the throne by murdering King Wulf and has fallen in love with the beautiful Helma, who grew up in the mountains with her blind father and supposed brother Marbod. Searching for her in the forest, Gernot is waylaid by fairies who tease and befog him; their queen offers him her love in a crystal grotto, but Gernot refuses her, drawn instead by longing for an earthly woman. When he finds Helma, the two recognise each other as the one long sought, and Gernot asks for her hand.
Cultural significance
The role of Waltrudis at the premiere was sung by the young Hermine Finck, who later became one of the well-known Wagner interpreters of her generation; musically, „Gernot“ still stands clearly in the shadow of Wagner's music dramas, before d’Albert found his own voice with „Tiefland“.