About this edition
Zar und Zimmermann (Tsar and Carpenter) premiered in Leipzig in December 1837 and quickly became one of the most cherished comic operas in the German repertoire, a work that has held the stage almost continuously for nearly two centuries. Loosely inspired by the true story of Tsar Peter the Great's incognito labor as a ship's carpenter in the Dutch town of Saardam, Lortzing's opera turns history into delightful farce through a tangle of mistaken identity between the Tsar and a fellow Russian deserter who happens to share his name. Its sparkling overture remains a concert-hall favorite in its own right, and the opera as a whole represents the finest achievement of the Spieloper — the light, singspiel-descended German comic opera that Lortzing, more than any other composer, brought to full maturity.
This full score reproduces the edition issued by C.F. Peters of Leipzig, plate number 8672, published around 1900 as part of the firm's distinguished catalog of complete opera scores. The edition was prepared by conductor and editor Gustav Friedrich Kogel (1849–1921), whose long association with Peters brought careful, performance-tested editorial standards to Lortzing's score. C.F. Peters was among the foremost European music publishers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and its opera scores were the working editions of choice for conductors and musicians of the day — a legacy that makes this printing a genuinely authoritative reference for the study and performance of Lortzing's best-loved work.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a historical public domain edition
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
This score is drawn from a historical public domain edition, freely available for anyone to study, perform, and enjoy — and we're glad to bring it back into print in a clean, readable format for today's conductors, orchestras, and students.