About the work
Romantic opera in a prologue and three acts by Heinrich Marschner to a libretto by Eduard Devrient, who also sang the title role at the premiere on 24 May 1833 at the Royal Court Opera in Berlin under Marschner's own direction. Marschner composed the work in 1831/32, during his first years as royal Kapellmeister in Hanover.
Plot
The earth-spirit prince Hans Heiling leaves his underground realm to marry the mortal Anna, but she falls in love with the huntsman Konrad instead. Driven by jealousy, Heiling threatens the couple, until his mother, the queen of the earth spirits, persuades him toward reconciliation. In the end he renounces Anna and returns for good to his underground kingdom.
Cultural significance
With its unusual structure — a prologue set in the spirit realm precedes the actual overture — and its close interweaving of the supernatural with human drama, Hans Heiling is regarded as Marschner's most significant work and one of the high points of German Romantic opera between Weber and Wagner.