About the work
German-language Viennese reworking of Meyerbeer's Singspiel "Ein Feldlager in Schlesien" (Berlin, 1844): Ludwig Rellstab and Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer wrote a new libretto stripped of its Prussian references, while the music remains largely that of the original. The premiere took place on 18 February 1847 at the Theater an der Wien.
Plot
As in the original, the flute player Conrad and the gypsy Vielka shelter a fleeing ruler — for Vienna, King Frederick II became an unnamed duke, and Count Saldorf became a general. Unlike the original, the thoroughly reworked Act III, now set at Aubitz Castle, ends tragically: Vielka saves the duke from an assassination attempt and is killed by the bullet meant for him.
Cultural significance
The reworking was meant to make the Prussian-patriotic original playable for an international audience; Rellstab distanced himself from authorship because of Birch-Pfeiffer's extensive changes. Scholarship treats "Vielka" as a work in its own right with its own performance history, even though most of its music is identical to "Ein Feldlager in Schlesien."