Vielka

Ein Feldlager in Schlesien (A Camp in Silesia) is a Singspiel in three acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer with a German-language libretto by Ludwig Rellstab after Eugène Scribe's Le champ de Silésie. It was first performed at the Hofoper, Berlin, on 7 December 1844; a version with a revised libretto by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, titled Vielka, opened in Vienna on 18 February 1847. Much material from the opera was later reused for Meyerbeer's opéra comique L'étoile du nord (1854).
Shortly after Meyerbeer arrived in Berlin in 1842 the opera house was destroyed by a fire. Meyerbeer was invited to compose a brand new work for the festive occasion of the reopening of the opera house. The reigning Prussian king at the time was Frederick William IV, of the house of Hohenzollern. What better theme for this opera than a work celebrating the king's famous ancestor, Frederick the Great? But there was one problem, members of the ruling Hohenzollern family could not be depicted on stage. This was not really all that much of a problem, Frederick could still be the subject of the opera, and simply not appear on stage. He is, however, heard playing the flute in the background.