Der Schatzgräber

Der Schatzgräber (The Treasure Hunter) is an opera in four acts, with a prologue and an epilogue, by Franz Schreker, libretto by the composer.

Schreker composed the opera between 1915 and 1918. He dated the completed manuscript full score 12 November 1918. The score is published by Universal Edition Vienna.

The opera was first performed on 21 January 1920 at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, conducted by Ludwig Rottenberg. It was Schreker's most (but also his last) successful opera. It received 354 performances in over fifty cities between 1920 and 1924/1925, but after the change in the cultural and political climate in Germany, only a further 31 performances took place until 1932, by which time Schreker's music had been banned due to his Jewish ancestry.

The first performance at the Vienna State Opera took place on 18 October 1922, conducted by Franz Schalk, with a cast including Nikolaus Zek, Fritz Krenn, Karl Norbert, Richard Schubert, Richard Tauber and Gertrud Kappel.

In 1922, Schreker prepared a Symphonic Interlude for concert performance, mainly drawn from the orchestral interlude from act 3. This was premiered by the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg in October 1923.

The opera was revived in a concert performance in Vienna in 1985, followed by a fully staged production at the Hamburg State Opera in 1989.

The Netherlands Opera, Amsterdam staged a completely new Pierre Audi production, under Marc Albrecht in late 2012.

The queen has lost her jewels, and with them her beauty and fertility. The king seeks the advice of his fool who knows about Elis, a wandering minstrel whose magic lute has the ability to hunt down hidden treasure. The king promises the fool that he will be allowed to have a wife of his choice as a reward, if Elis can find the jewels.

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