大象传媒

Donald Macleod looks at Weber鈥檚 love life, scarcely less scandal-ridden than his other affairs. He was an incorrigible ladies鈥� man, desperate to assuage his profound loneliness.

Weber鈥檚 relationship with European cities mirrored his life and work, from the restless wandering of his earlier years, to the way his life changed after the success of his opera Der Freisch眉tz. And in his final months he travelled to London to compose and produce another major opera, Oberon, but would die after giving its first performances.

Weber had an unerring ability to cause offence. He got involved in multiple love affairs that caused him problems. He was also very good at racking up debts. These traits unfold as we follow Weber鈥檚 picaresque journeys around Europe, flitting from city to city: sometimes chasing opportunities, sometimes in disgrace, at other times escorted away under armed guard.

In this episode, Donald Macleod looks at Weber鈥檚 love life. By 1814, after his years of restless wandering, Weber felt the need to settle down and put down roots. He took a job heading up the opera house in Prague.

But it wasn鈥檛 straightforward. Weber鈥檚 love life was scarcely less complicated or scandal-ridden than his other affairs. He was an incorrigible ladies鈥� man, yearning for company to assuage his profound loneliness.

In Prague he inadvertently got into a M茅nage 脿 trois - the affair rumbled on even as Weber鈥檚 future wife arrived on the scene. This tug of war caused Weber鈥檚 always fragile health to give way. When another of his gaffes caused embarrassment to his fianc茅e, Weber resorted to type, and left town.

Abu Hassan, J106: Overture
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Jean-Jacques Kantorow, conductor

Piano Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 32, J155
II. Adagio
III. Rondo: Presto
Marek Drewnowski, piano
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit, conductor

Unbefangenheit, Op. 30 no. 3, J157
Andrea Chudak, soprano
Lidiya Naumova, guitar

Horn Concertino in E minor, Op. 45, J188
Hermann Baumann, horn
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Kurt Masur, conductor

9 Variations on a Russian Theme "Sch枚ne Minka", Op. 40, J179
Daniela Ballek, piano

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Iain Chambers