Carl A. Nielsen

Maskarade, F. 39/ CNW 2: Overture

Carl Nielsen's (1865-1931) three-act opera buffa MASKARADE (MASQUERADE) was written between 1904 and 1906, though Nielsen had first begun to consider an opera based on Ludvig Holberg's play of the same name several years earlier. Having enlisted the help of his friend Vilhelm Andersen to write the libretto, Nielsen started composing, and the Royal Theatre expressed their enthusiasm by scheduling the opera before it was finished. When it premiered on November 11, 1906, the opera was a great success, and it has since been deemed Denmark's national opera. The overture is evidence of the rushed nature of some of the composition, with Nielsen completing it on November 3, only a week before the opera premiered. Instrumentation: 3(3rd dPicc).2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(1): Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).