Assues, Fitne and Sumurud
Assues, Fitne and Sumurud, A Tragedy is a literary work by the neo-romantic writer, car and airplane designer and cosmopolitan Karl Gustav Vollmoeller . The book was published in 1904 by S. Fischer-Verlag. The world premiere took place on October 28, 1922 under the direction of Artistic Director Ernst Hardt in Weimar.
About the creation of the work
Vollmoeller took the inspiration for the plot, as he stated in an open letter to the editor of the magazine Das Literäre Echo in 1909 , partly from reading Thousand and One Nights , Arabic Tales. However, in the first complete collection used by Vollmoeller, there is no narrative that exactly provides the material for his "Assues". In “Assues, Fitne und Sumurud” Vollmoeller works on his relationship with his favorite sister Mathilde Vollmoeller-Purrmann , as well as with his father Robert Vollmöller . It is, after the mourning for his mother, who died in 1894, and the replacement from her, that he addressed through his play Catherina - Countess von Armagnac ; the search for his mission, his task, with which he dealt with his cycle of poems Parcival - The early gardens , his second separation from the family; this time about the person of his sister, confidante, 'surrogate mother' and 'ideal' lover. Interestingly, the process of development and detachment lasts over five years (1898–1903) - and only when this is complete and Vollmoeller is internally free can he turn to another woman: his personified 'Madonna'; his divinely loved and revered wife Norina Gilli = Maria Carmi .
Originally, Vollmoeller wanted to take up and work on motifs from the 'Arabian Nights' with his “Assues” out of a predominantly literary interest, but changed his plans during the five years of work on the work.
During a stay in Paris, on January 21, 1898, a premiere at the Théâtre de la Renaissance (founded in 1838 by Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas ) with Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role had thrilled him and cast a spell over him: "La Citta Morta" ( The Dead City) by Gabriele D'Annunzio in the French translation by Georges Herelle. Less than eight weeks after attending the premiere of the piece, Vollmoeller, meanwhile traveling with Max Dauthendey in Greece, began working on Assues, Fitne and Sumurud. At the beginning of his work, from 1898 onwards, Vollmoeller had a different concept for his drama, both in terms of content and language, than the one in the finished piece. This is due to the fact that over the years in which Vollmoeller worked on the play (until the end of 1903) - his focus shifted away from a constructed plot with fictional characters, as would have been binding for symbolism in the sense of the related language , to a plot mixed with autobiographical elements with a dramatic staff, whose three protagonists (Assues, Fitne, Sumurud) bear the clear characteristics and traits of Karl and Mathilde Vollmoeller and Norina Gilli. This is confirmed by a comparison of the final printed version from 1904 with the partial excerpts previously published in the Blätter für die Kunst , such as the poems “Lied des Fischers” (1899) and “Summurrud” (1899). The pre-published texts no longer appear in the final book and theater version.
Factory reception
The contemporary theater critics and the theater audience clung to the somewhat confused acting plot, which was due to Vollmoeller's efforts to disguise the autobiographical references as well as possible. After all, he could not and did not want to expose his own sister or his fiancée, who shortly afterwards became his wife.
"The tragedy 'Assüs Fitne und Sumurud' is often deeper and more beautiful than the first in its intoxication and magic of the moods, but in the processes it is so dark and confused that you can only find your way through the events by guessing and feeling and yourself in the end I don't know whether this path was the right one. Vollmoeller's leitmotif: the true lovers die of love, also dominates this drama, ... the characters fluctuate between dream and reality. Yes, sometimes you don't know whether you are dealing with a human or a ghost. ... Assüs grew up as a fitness brother, but he is not her brother, but a foundling from royal blood. And Fitne does not love him like a sister, but like a bride the groom and the two of them are supposed to ... be engaged on the day that Assüs is informed about his origin by his foster father, the merchant Tighmus. On the same day, however, Assüs falls in love with a fairytale singer Sumurud, who lives in the royal palace and for her sake the robber Karkar besieges the city. In silence with wonderful devotion, Fitne renounces her love and helps Assüs in his daring endeavor to approach Sumurud. "
“His more recent work, 'Assüs, Fitne and Sumurrud' (S. Fischer, Verlag) has parts of great momentum and rare beauty, touching scenes and poignant passages, is more mature in every respect than 'Katharina von Armagnac' ... With this poet The great passion has its say again, but not that passion from which tragedy is born, but that ability to suffer of strongly feeling people who are guided by their feelings as in dreams, who do not act, but to whom something happens, whose passion is fatalistic , d. H. so not dramatic, d. H. looks downright undramatic. 'Assüs, Fitne and Sumurrud' is taken from its subject after the fairy tale of 'A Thousand and One Nights'. ... At last in 'Assüs' ... plot and character are lost in arbitrariness, the works sink into deep powerlessness despite all their brilliance and pass us by like a mirage. We were blinded for a moment, then my eyes rub. What was it? "
“'Assüs Fitne and Sumurud, a tragedy' came out in 1904. The title and content of the latter piece are equally strange, far-fetched, exotic. The action takes place in a city in the Orient. The language is full of pomp, the scenes are full of bright colors, and there is an anxious, sultry mood over the whole, which in many ways reminds of Maeterlinck, in others again of d'Annunzio. It is mature art that Vollmöller offers us, it is almost too ripe ... This art is more play than life ... That justifies the conviction that the poet has the ability ... to shape what deeply presses us people of today and tomorrow torments, blessed and happy. "
“How fascinating he appears to contemporaries is most clearly demonstrated by the personality and work of Swabian Karl Gustav Vollmoeller (1878–1948), who closely follows Hofmannsthal in all literary traditions, in the choice of materials, in the orgiastic orgiastic style and at the same time impossible to be mere Imitators can be seen ... The figure of the poet himself also seems so vaguely attractive for the time being; it stands out enigmatically and impressively from contemporary literature, like the silhouette of his mighty Karkar from the dawn that dawns over the burning city of caliphs. "
“That he has depths. You can see them in his childlike, beautiful poem by Assus, Fitne and Smaragd; there Vollmoeller's grace wafts like something mournfully simple and silent; when Fitne, the sister, only says: 'My name is Jasmin;' when she dies; if she is embraced by Assus beforehand ... whoever wrote all this is already a poet. "
literature
- Karl Vollmoeller: Assues, Fitne and Sumurud. S. Fischer, Berlin 1904.
- Rudolf Lothar : The German Drama of the Present. Leipzig / Munich 1905.
- Leo Berg: The literary echo. Vol. 10, 1908.
- Theodor Klaiber: Swabia in contemporary literature. Stuttgart 1905.
- Robert Franz Arnold: The modern drama. Strasbourg 1908.
- Alfred Kerr : Collected writings 3. Berlin 1917.
- Frederik D. Tunnat: Karl Vollmoeller: poet and cultural manager. a biography. tredition, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-86850-000-4 .
- Frederik D. Tunnat: Karl Vollmoeller: A cosmopolitan life under the sign of the miracle. tredition, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-86850-235-0 .
- Ines R. Braver: Karl Gustav Vollmoeller. (Diss.) New York University, 1961.
- Klaus Günther Just: History of German Literature since 1871 - From the Founding Period to the Present. Francke, Bern / Munich 1973, ISBN 3-7720-1056-3 .
- Klaus Günther Just: Transitions, Problems and Forms of Literature. Francke, Bern / Munich 1966.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Birgit Bernard, "Making people more and more people", p. 176
- ↑ A thousand and one nights . Arabic stories for the first time faithfully translated from the original Arabic text by Dr. Gustav Weil. 4 volumes. Verlag der Classiker, Stuttgart / Pforzheim 1839–1841.
- ^ Rudolf Lothar : The German Drama of the Present . Leipzig / Munich 1905
- ↑ Leo Berg: The literary echo . Volume 10, 1908
- ^ Theodor Klaiber: Swabia in contemporary literature . Stuttgart 1905
- ^ Robert Franz Arnold: The modern drama . Strasbourg 1908
- ^ Alfred Kerr : Gesammelte Schriften 3. Berlin 1917