The woman master

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Work data
Title: The woman master
Shape: operetta
Original language: German
Music: Franz von Suppè
Libretto : Karl Costa
Premiere: on January 20, 1868
Place of premiere: Carl Theater, Vienna

Frau Meisterin is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppè . The libretto is by Karl Costa . The work was premiered on January 20, 1868 in the Carltheater in Vienna . Thus, this is Suppé's first full-length operetta and not, as is usually published, Fatinitza (1876) , which premiered eight years later . The librettist Costa transferred the material, which he took from an English ballad opera and which Christoph Willibald Gluck had already set to music, into the tradition of the improvisation of the old Viennese magical comedy, which actually meant a step backwards for the young operetta genre.

action

first act

Pierre, a begging Savoyard boy, comes to a village in the low mountain range and meets his wife Columba in front of the master binder's house, Veit. He sings a song from his homeland, whereupon Master's wife gives him an alms. Pierre praises her for her kindness and asks how she can love a man who spends most of the time in the tavern and drinks, who is a gambler and gourmet and who runs after many a young girl. Columba takes protection of her husband; yes he drinks, but he's just so thirsty, yes he hits, but the movement would do him good and he would play because he wanted to win. In response to curious questions from Columba, Pierre reveals himself to her as a magician. He inherited a magic horn from his father, with the help of which he now intends to bring a dutiful man to his wife.

The master binder Veit, who, according to his own estimation, thrashes everyone who contradicts him when the wine goes to his head, but is otherwise a good man, meets Pierre and insults him as a beggar. When Pierre reproaches him for his behavior, Veit wants to beat him up. Pierre blows his horn and lets Veit sink into the ground up to his head and threatens him with further measures if he does not improve.

Baron Lemberg arrives with a retinue of servants who bring a cask wreathed with foliage on a stretcher and congratulates the mistress on her name day. Since his wife has gone out hunting with the Amazons, he wants to comfort himself a little at the sight of a satisfied couple and has brought the best barrel from his cellar with him for this purpose. Together with the master binder's assistants and himself, there is now a big celebration that Veit uses to drink up “house and yard”. On his initiative everyone joins a drinking song. The sound of horns can be heard in the distance. "A wild entourage is heading for the castle." It is Leontine, the quarrelsome wife of Baron Lemberg, and her Amazons who come by singing their wild hunting song. The celebrants feel disturbed by their arrival. “Oh what a shame, Satan is approaching.” Leontine lives up to her reputation by reproaching her husband for having amused himself with the mob. When Leontine notices Pierre, who is just staring at her contemptuously, she walks up to him, snatches the lyre out of his hand, breaks it and throws it at his feet. Then Pierre utters a magic formula that is supposed to free Leontine from her stubbornness. But she laughs at it and says goodbye, not without mocking her husband.

Second act

When Veit wants to sleep off his intoxication, he is woken up by Pierre, who teaches him a lesson with all sorts of magic tricks. He already announces to Veit that his wife has changed, that she is now speaking to him in a different tone and that until he changes.

Veit now feels glow in his body, which in his opinion comes from the wine and he would like to “ask his wonderful wife”. But when he enters her room, he immediately receives a slap in the face and is chased out of the room by Leontine in the shape of Columba.  

Leontine is amazed where she is and is informed by Pierre, who suddenly appears, that he has transformed her into the master binder's wife Columba. After initial horror, Leontine decides that, if she is already Vitus's wife, she wants to drive him out of his bad habits.

Veit does not yet know that he met Leontine in the form of his wife instead of his much too good-natured Columba, and when he tries to order his supposed wife around in the traditional way, Leontine does not put up with it and so both get into her Hair. The fight with full physical effort is commented on by the watching journeymen, who are thievingly happy that their alleged master wins the fight and puts Veit to flight.

Leontine remembers beautiful days at her castle, the wild hunt, how she then hurries away from her husband, who wants to greet her lovingly, in order to indulge in the next pleasure, drinking, and then at six o'clock, the only one Hour when she wanted to see it, brought her child to her. Suddenly she feels a longing and demands her child from her nanny Petronella. But this, assuming the Master's wife asks for this, declares her to be crazy. Leontine swears revenge on all those who stole her child. Only when Pierre comes with the child in his arms does Leontine calm down and sing the child a slumber song.

Third act

In the castle, after a long sleep, Columba wakes up and is amazed at the fine surroundings she is in, and when it gradually dawns on her that she has been transformed into the baroness, she joins the game. When the baron enters and asks his alleged wife that he has heard that she is very pleased today, Columba replies, yes, until she has seen him. Petronella tells the "Baroness" that her child is crying. Columba is astonished that as a baroness she is supposed to have a child and Petronella says it is no wonder that the baroness has forgotten this, she never looked after the little one. Columba looks forward to being able to take a child in his arms, even if it is a strange one. The baron is pleased that his "wife" wants to take care of her child again and considers her cured. However, Columba refuses to try to get closer to her. On the other hand, however, she tries to hug her own husband, who has come to the castle and he thinks that the baroness is trying to seduce him. Ecstatic by her beauty, he almost lets it go, but shrinks from it at the last second.

Leontine comes to the castle looking for her child and when she finds it in the arms of a stranger, she snatches it from her. When Veit tries to flee from the angry woman he takes to be his, Pierre stops him and asks him if he wants his wife back as she was. And it happens. Veit and Columba (now again in their own form) fall into each other's arms. Columba shyly makes it clear to Veit that she has dreamed of a child and that he promises that he will come home every evening before 10 a.m. in the future.

The picture turns into an imposing allegory with a magical king enthroned in a shining glory and Pierre kneeling in front of it. Everyone praises the beauty and magic of Sayovarda, which passion can conquer. The final moral is that you don't need goods and money, just a heart that beats faithfully and brightly.

(Columba and Leontine are designed as a double role in this play. This gave the notorious folk actress Josefine Gallmeyer the opportunity to triumph with her performing arts at the premiere.)

music

Today only the overture is known of the music . The reviews from the time it was made are ambivalent. It is praised that this time Suppé did not fall into the great operatic style. It highlights humorous numbers such as a quarrel duet, a love song, a ballad in the bailiff style , a duet “Nur Nobel”, a song “The wine goes into the blood” and the couplet “I don't trust me”. It is noted that the melodies adapted the polka style and could therefore be used as dance rhythms. However, dance rhythms in operettas were nothing new at that time. Suppé biographer Roser said: “The turn to the large three-act form with 18 musical numbers has brought Suppé back more to opera, which he knows how to combine with a new kind of harmony that has been copied from the sound of contemporary music. This gives the music of the 'Frau Meister' its special quality ... "

The other contradictions include, on the one hand, the statement that Suppé is said to have made himself once and according to which the "Meisterin" was his weakest score , on the other hand, he himself is said to have reworked the work shortly before his death under the title "Die Pariserin" (UA 1898). In his time, “The Master's Woman” was considered a failure, which is said to have caused Johann Strauss (son) to refrain from his own operetta plans for the time being.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Lady Master. Libretto. German . In: The Library of Congress . ( loc.gov [accessed April 16, 2018]).
  2. ^ Hans-Dieter Roser Franz von Suppé pp. 131/132
  3. ↑ Hans-Dieter Roser Franz von Suppé p. 228
  4. ^ Hans-Dieter Roser Franz von Suppé p. 258
  5. ↑ Hans-Dieter Roser Franz von Suppé p. 133

literature