Reinhard Keiser - Der Carneval von Venedig (Ira Hochman)

Information

Composer: Reinhard Keiser

• Der angenehme Betrug oder der Carneval von Venedig

Hanna Zumsande; Fanie Antonelou

Anna Herbst; Geneviève Tschumi

Mirko Ludwig; Andreas Heinemeyer

Matthias Vieweg

Barockwerk Hamburg

Ira Hochman, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: CPO

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Exactly 318 years ago, Reinhard Keiser premiered his hit opera Der angenehme Betrug oder der Carneval von Venedig (The Pleasant Deception or the Carnival of Venice) at Hamburg’s Gänsemarkt opera house. The comic plot, featuring couples mismatching in love à la Così fan tutte and a noble German pair contenting themselves with friendship, delighted audiences for nearly 25 years. Equally popular were Keiser’s catchy tunes—simple verse songs, charming arias, and occasional local-dialect humor. Barockwerk Hamburg’s new production presents a musical cross-section of the opera (dialogue omitted), substantial enough to fill two CDs, capturing the charm and vivacity of this early 18th-century success.

Reinhard Keiser (1674–1739) was a leading German Baroque composer whose nearly 70 operas bridged the late 17th-century Baroque and early 18th-century galant styles. Educated at Leipzig’s Thomas School, he settled in Hamburg around 1697 and collaborated with Johann Mattheson and Telemann to develop a distinct German operatic tradition. While his early works were entirely in German, later operas incorporated Italian arias influenced by the Neapolitan school, as well as French-style ballet scenes. Notable operas include Octavia (1705), Der angenehme Betrug (1707), Croesus (c.1711), and Der lächerliche Printz Jodelet (1726). His music influenced Bach and Handel. Later, he focused on church music after the Hamburg opera closed.