Albert Lortzing's stage works are often categorised as belonging to the comic genre and thus supposedly lighter in tone. However, his operatic oeuvre also includes several works that can be classified as belonging to more serious traditions and address central issues of his time, such as social injustices in »Regina or the debate about the existence of the human soul in »Undine. Of course, these works also contain comic moments, while conversely, Lortzing's more light-hearted pieces such as »Zar und Zimmermann« or »Der Waffenschmied« occasionally strike a serious note.

The musicology symposium will examine various aspects of this »mixed« opera style from an interdisciplinary, comparative perspective. The aim is to explore this area of tension using various examples from the perspectives of libretto, composition and staging history. The focus will be on operas by Albert Lortzing, which will be contrasted with other pieces of German, French and Italian origin from the first half of the 19th century.