Es war einmal

Es war einmal ("Once upon a time") is a fairy-tale opera in a prologue and three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Its libretto, an adaptation of Marie von Borch's German translation of the fairy-tale play "Der var engang" by the Danish author Holger Drachmann, was written by Maximilian Singer.
Performance history.
The opera was first performed on 22 January 1900 at the Vienna State Opera conducted by Gustav Mahler with Selma Kurz and Erik Schmedes in the principal roles. The successful premiere resulted in a run of twelve performances. It was revived in Mannheim in May 1912 (with Zemlinsky's former pupil Artur Bodanzky conducting), and in October 1912 at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague (conducted by the composer).
Recordings.
In 1990 the German record label Capriccio released the world premiere recording: a June 1987 recording from Danish Radio with Hans Graf conducting the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The principal roles were sung by Eva Johansson (Princess), Kurt Westi (Prince), Per-Arne Wahlgren (Kaspar) and Aage Haugland (King). This performance was the first one since the Prague staging of 1912.
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