Viennese puppet and magic opera

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A type of Singspiel that established itself in Vienna in the second half of the 18th century is called the Viennese Punch and Judy Opera or Old Viennese Magic Opera . Their role model was the French Opéra comique . The magic opera is an opera genre of the old Viennese folk theater , which is based on the late baroque court theater and at the same time distances itself from it. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute is the most famous opera today that is assigned to this genre .

Typical of the magic opera is a plot in which love triumphs over many dangers and the socially lower figures are upgraded compared to the aristocrats. Acting characters are not only real people , but also ghosts , wizards , wild animals and mythical creatures . Good and evil forces influence the course of the action. In addition, the plot is usually more comical than tragic , because the tragic was reserved for court theaters. The mythological staff of the baroque opera is mixed with the more modern fairytale characters of the time. In addition to traditional oriental exoticism, there are newer elements of the “foreign” such as Egyptian fashion, which is reflected in the Magic Flute .

These Singspiele, which were increasingly establishing themselves as “German operas”, especially under the director of the Leopoldstadt Theater Karl von Marinelli , were characterized as “ machine comedies ” primarily by their very elaborate stage technology and magnificent costumes and sets. Often musical instruments that have a positive (not demonic) magic effect play a central role: In addition to Mozart's Magic Flute , Wenzel Müller's opera Kaspar, the bassoonist, or: The Magic Zither and the pieces by Karl Friedrich Hensler are named as exemplary representatives of this genre. Later, satirically exaggerated magic operas are Johann Nestroy's parodies in the Alt-Wiener Volkstheater . Richard Wagner has further developed stylistic elements of the magic opera for his musical drama .

literature

  • Beate Heinel: The magic opera. Studies of their development history using selected examples from the beginnings to the beginning of the 19th century , Frankfurt am Main: Lang 1994. ISBN 3631463316