Lectures & Discussions
Friedrich von Flotow and his opera Johann Albrecht, Duke of Mecklenburg
Friday, 27/02/2026 / 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM / Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin
Lecture event of the Verein für mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde e.V. with Dr. Miriam Roner (Schwerin) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Kabisch (Berlin)
On Friday, 27.02.2026, the Verein für mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde e.V. invites you to a lecture by Dr. Miriam Roner (Schwerin) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Kabisch (Berlin) in the hall of the Landesarchiv MV from 6 pm. The focus will be on Friedrich von Flotow's opera "Johann Albrecht" from the historically valuable manuscript collection of the MV State Library.
In May 1857, the new Schwerin Castle was inaugurated. The opera "Johann Albrecht", which Friedrich von Flotow, then director of the court theater, had composed especially for the occasion, premiered on 27 and 29 May. The opera brings a piece of 16th century history to the stage. In addition to the princely hero Johann Albrecht I, who enforced the Lutheran faith in Mecklenburg, the student and later advisor to the Duke, Andreas Mylius, plays an important role. The theme of the opera is the Reformation as an event in the history of education. Through this historical perspective, Flotow and his librettist Eduard Hobein succeed in reconciling nationalism, confessional differences and praise of the ruler - just a few years after the revolution of 1848.
The lecture deals with the event of the premiere and the echo it found in contemporary sources, secondly with Flotow as a composer who, in terms of music history, operates "between the stools" and is successful in such different places as Paris, Hamburg, Vienna and Schwerin, and finally with the scenic-musical organization of the work itself.
When: Friday, February 27, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Where: Hall of the Landesarchiv MV, Graf-Schack-Allee 2, 19053 Schwerin
The speakers:
Thomas Kabisch is a retired professor of musicology. He has focused on the music of the 18th to 20th centuries and has published works on Franz Liszt, French music (Fauré, Debussy, Ravel) and the history and theory of virtuosity. The most recent book publication was "Chopin's Piano Music" and was published by Beck-Verlag Munich in 2021. Since 2025, he has held a teaching position at the Rostock University of Music and Drama.
Miriam Roner has been curator of the music collection at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Library since 2024. She studied music and musicology and received her doctorate from the University of Bern (Switzerland) in 2016 with a dissertation on Hans Georg Nägeli (Autonome Kunst als gesellschaftliche Praxis: Hans Georg Nägelis Theorie der Musik, Stuttgart 2020). She worked as a music librarian at the SLUB Dresden, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. For the International Source Dictionary of Music (RISM), she has catalogued holdings from the Rostock University Library, among others. She works and publishes on 19th century music history, the history of music criticism and musical newspapers as well as on source-related topics.
All statements without guarantee.
