Most people,
when requested to recall a stage work by Schubert,
will fail,
or
may manage to mention just Rosamunde .
It comes as a suprise to many to think of him as an opera composer,
but he spent considerable time and effort over many years in an unsuccesful attempt to establish himself in this genre.
It was after all the most likely means for him to establish his name and earn an income in the absense of a patron, and his unsuitability for a Kappelmeister post.
Indeed, on his death bed, he was still discussing opera librettos with his friends.
→ LIST of SCHUBERT's STAGE WORKS ←
With a little more luck with theatre management,
some better librettos,
and the chance to hone his skills with the revision of works during rehearsals,
he would perhaps have produced works which would have remained in the repertoire.
As it is,
we are left with several abandoned works,
5 complete singspiele,
3 others which have been wholly or partly lost,
a melodrama,
the incidental music to Rosamunde
and
2 complete operas. (All together around 20 Stage Works)
Schubert's completed stage works are very variable, but there is some of his most magnificent music in them.
At the time of his death at age 31, it is believed that Schubert stood poised on the threshold of becoming a recognized composer of opera.
FIERRABRAS *First Complete Record in History*