Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow (27 April 1812 - 24 January 1883) was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th.
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Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond
Librettist : Friedrich Wilhelm Riese (ca.1805-1879)
Lady Harriet Durham: Lucia Popp
Nancy: Doris Soffel
Lord Tristan Mickleford: Sigmund Nimsgern
Lyonel: Siegfried Jerusalem
Plumkett: Karl Ridderbusch
The Judge in Richmond: Peter Lika
Maid I: Irmgard Lampert
Maid II: Isolde Mitternacht
Maid III: Gudrun Greindl-Rosner
Servant of Lady Harriet I: Georg Baumgartner
Servant of Lady Harriet II: Theodor Nicolai
Servant of Lady Harriet III: Wilfried Vorwold
Tenant I: Karl Kreile
Tenant II: Paul Hansen
Description by John Palmer [-]
The libretto to Martha is by W. Friedrich, the pen name of Friedrich Wilhelm Riese (?1805-1879), a prolific German playwright. Friedrich had written a libretto on the same theme in 1845-1846 for Eduard Stiegmann's Lady Harriet. The Martha project was set in motion by a commission from the Vienna Court Opera, which prompted Flotow to expand his ballet, Lady Harriette, ou La Servante de Greenwich (1844), into an opera. Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on November 25, 1847. It is Flotow's most popular opera and remains so to this day, staged regularly in opera houses throughout the world.
The ingredients of Martha's popular success are not difficult to identify. One important element is certainly that Flotow's Martha was the first German comic opera to abandon spoken dialogue and employ continuous music. This serves to heighten the effect of the excellent libretto with its clever couplets and tightly organized tale. There are, of course, clearly defined musical numbers, which allow for audience applause after particularly stirring arias and ensembles.