Genoveva

Robert Schumann 's only opera. It was performed in June 1850 at Leipzig. The story is based on Genevieve of Brabant , the wife of the Count Siegfried who goes on the Crusades against the saracens in Europe in the eighth century. The plot has some similarities with Wagner's Lohengrin days. The story opens with Hidulfus, the Bishop of Trier, who summons the Christian knights to Martel's crusade against the saracens in Europe. Count Siegfried answers the call and leaves behind Genevieve, his wife, who faces many travails during his absence and is helped by a deaf and mute boy until Siegfried returns.This performance by Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir is the definitive one. http://youtu.be/AN52IPet60Y