Opera in German such as opera seria. Some Baroque composers, such as Reinhard Keiser, did try to challenge Italian dominance, and the theatre principal Abel Seyler became an eager promoter of German opera in the 1770s, but it was only with the appearance of Mozart that a lasting tradition of serious German-language opera was established. Mozart took the simple, popular genre of "Singspiel" and turned it into something far more sophisticated. Beethoven followed his example with the idealistic "Fidelio"; and with "Der Freischütz" of 1821, Weber established a uniquely German form of opera under the influence of Romanticism. Weber's innovations were eclipsed by
Guntram (opera) Guntram (opera) Guntram (Op. 25) is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a German libretto written by the composer. The second act of the opera was composed in Ramacca, Sicily. It was Strauss' first opera and shows a strong Wagnerian influence. The music of Guntram is quoted in Strauss's tone-poem "Ein Heldenleben". The composer revised the score in 1940. The opera was not very successful, and was only staged a few times during Strauss' lifetime: The first performance took place on 10 May 1894 at the Grossherzogliches Hoftheater in Weimar. The soprano role of Freihild was sung