Vestas Feuer: Scene, Hess 115

VESTAS FEUER (THE VESTAL FLAME) for vocal quartet and orchestra is the only surviving fragment from a planned opera by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), set to a libretto by the dramatist and impresario Emanuel Schikaneder. The scene involves Volivia and her beloved Sartagones, trapped in a web of rival jealousies and political peril. Volivia implores Sartagones to plead to Porus, her father, on their behalf, but Porus angrily arrives to remind him of an ancient family quarrel that must keep the lovers apart. When Sartagones threatens to commit suicide, a change of heart compels Porus to give them his blessing and the scene concludes in a euphoric trio. Schikaneder eventually offered his libretto to composer Joseph Weigl. This setting premiered at the Theater an der Wien in August 1805. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.0.0.0: Str (4.4.3.3.3 in set): Soli SATB.