Nessler, Victor E(rnst)

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Nessler, Victor E(rnst)

Nessler, Victor E(rnst), Alsatian composer; b. Baldenheim, Jan. 28, 1841; d. Strasbourg, May 28, 1890. He studied in Strasbourg, where he produced his first opera, Fleurette (1864); then continued his studies in Leipzig with M. Hauptmann, being made chorusmaster at the Stadttheater (1870) and later at the Carola- Theater. He established his reputation as a composer for the theater with his opera Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (Leipzig, March 19, 1879). An even greater success was achieved by his opera Der Trompeter von Säkkingen (Leipzig, May 4, 1884), which entered the repertoire of many European opera houses. In both operas Nessler adroitly appealed to the Romantic tastes of the German audiences, even though from a purely musical standpoint these productions offered little originality. His other operas premiered in Leipzig were Dornröschens Brautfahrt (1867), Irmingard (1876), Der wilde Jäger (1881), and Otto der Schütz (1886); his last opera was Die Rose von Strassburg (Munich, 1890). He also wrote the operettas Die Hochzeitsreise (1867), Nachtwächter und Student (1868), and Am Alexandertag (1869).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire