What is "jessonda"

Jessonda is a grand opera (Grosse Oper) in German by Louis Spohr, written in 1822. The German libretto was written by Eduard Gehe.

Spohr, who wrote the work in 1822, had been newly appointed Hofkapellmeister in Kassel. He had reservations about Weber's recently performed Der Freischütz, and sought a subject that was poetic and uncomplicated, avoiding, in his setting, any spoken dialogue. He was opposed to the use of speech on mundane subjects in an operatic context. Ballets and spectacle were provided in set pieces that might also attract ordinary theatre-goers, in a German form of grand opera.