Ein Feldlager in Schlesien

Ein Feldlager in Schlesien (A Camp in Silesia) is a Singspiel in three acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer with a German-language libretto by Ludwig Rellstab after Eugène Scribe's Le camp de Silésie. It was first performed at the Hofoper, Berlin, on 7 December 1844; a version with a revised libretto by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, titled Vielka, opened in Vienna on 18 February 1847. Much material from the opera was later reused for Meyerbeer's opéra comique L'étoile du nord (1854).

Shortly after Meyerbeer arrived in Berlin in 1842 the opera house was destroyed by a fire. Meyerbeer was invited to compose a brand new work for the festive occasion of the reopening of the opera house. The reigning Prussian king at the time was Frederick William IV, of the house of Hohenzollern. What better theme for this opera than a work celebrating the king's famous ancestor, Frederick the Great? But there was one problem; members of the ruling Hohenzollern family could not be depicted on stage. Therefore, Frederick, whilst the nominal subject of the opera, remains unseen, but is, however, heard playing the flute in the background.

The selection of the librettist was a political issue. Meyerbeer wanted his trusted librettist Eugène Scribe, but the idea of a Frenchman writing the libretto for what was to be the Prussian national opera was unacceptable. The king wanted Ludwig Rellstab, a critic who was Meyerbeer's enemy, in the hopes that this would reconcile the two men. Meyerbeer, an astute diplomat, found a solution: Scribe was to provide the text, in secret, agreeing never to claim ownership, and Rellstab would translate it. Thus, the libretto was credited to the latter, and it was only recently that its true author was discovered.

There was to be one other problem. The leading soprano role, that of Vielka, was composed for the big soprano "icon" of the period: Jenny Lind, who was already on the threshold of becoming world-famous. Meyerbeer had heard her in Paris, been very favorably impressed, and decided to engage her for Berlin. But she was in during some of the rehearsals, and Leopoldine Tuczek, the company's regular coloratura, and Lind's understudy as Vielka, had been singing the part. The latter felt entitled to the role; Meyerbeer was overruled by the Intendant of the opera house, Karl Theodor von Küstner, and it was given to Tuczek. Lind accepted the situation gracefully, and, eight days later, on 15 December, made a triumphant Berlin debut. In the meantime, the lukewarm success of Feldlager was partly blamed on Tuczek, and the opera was withdrawn after five performances.

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