The legend of poor Heinrich

The legend of poor Heinrich is a drama by Tankred Dorst based loosely on Hartmann von Aues “ The poor Heinrich ”. The play was premiered on February 16, 1997 under the direction of Jens-Daniel Herzog in the Münchner Kammerspiele .

The knight Heinrich, who was beaten by God with leprosy , and the very young, healthy peasant girl Elsa become a couple “by God's grace ”.

content

The nine-year-old Elsa risks a look through a peephole into the self-chosen dungeon of the knight Heinrich, who was disfigured by the above-mentioned illness, and runs away from sheer shock.

Ritter Heinrich - spoiled by happiness before the outbreak of the illness - had tried out all possible medical treatments. All he has left is Elsa. A Saracen surgeon practices in Salerno . If he cuts out the heart of a virgin who voluntarily sacrifices herself, the sick knight can heal with her heart's blood. Elsa wants to give up her life. When Elsa's parents hear about it, they beat up their daughter. Elsa flees to Heinrich. The knight scolds them a "stupid animal". Elsa prevails. When the two set off for southern Italy in snowy Germany, all parental anger is gone. Father and mother kneel down in front of the preparations for the journey. On the way Elsa steps barefoot through the snow for the patient. The sick can follow the healthy only with difficulty. In Italy the path leads southwards under flowering cherry trees. In the moated castle Beauséjour the two foot travelers are received by the beautiful Orgelouse - that is Heinrich's former lover. How good - thinks the noblewoman - a pious peasant girl sacrifices herself. Orgelouse wants a healthy lover back soon. The curious lady asks Heinrich about his relationship with Elsa. The knight replied that it was a one-sided affection; he doesn't love the peasant girl. Elsa comes to an admirer. The young man's name is Fizzifagozzi. This is the young jester of the beautiful Orgelouse.

Henry leaves the Minne lady Orgelouse our left and persuaded Elsa to continue walking to Salerno. The unequal couple speaks to each other's consciences. That means Elsa wonders why she should die. Heinrich reminds her of her wish; he should live. Elsa foresees a remorse for the knight as soon as he owes his life to her death. Heinrich pushes such constructs aside. Because with her sacrificial death Elsa will ennoble her life, which is in itself insignificant. In Tuscany , Heinrich admires the towers of San Gimignano . Elsa is silent about the chatter and pretends to Heinrich that she is pregnant. For the moment the knight falls for it; Fizzafagozzi scolds a scoundrel.

In vain does the Saracen try to talk the young girl out of sacrifice. Then the surgeon turns to the knight. Heinrich should put a stop. Elsa is getting impatient. First Heinrich escapes, but returns and the miracle happens. Tied to the sacrificial stone, Elsa awaits the knife of the Saracen surgeon. Then she is freed by the hand of Heinrich, who is already quite rotten. The couple hugs and Heinrich gets well - as if by magic. From then on Elsa and Heinrich lived together blissfully for a long time, it is said.

shape

Middle High German , Franconian , Early New English love songs and High German change in a colorful sequence in front of the amazed viewer. Elsa's linguistic development must be mentioned. Apparently under the influence of Heinrich, the girl changes over time from the bumpy dialect of the peasant parents to the standard language of her aristocratic companion.

The piece, due to its construction, offers itself as a libretto template. For example, the choir acts as a questioner when there is currently no dialogue partner. The choir is very special in the piece. He not only pushes the action, but also finds explanations - for example for Heinrich's reprehensible acceptance of human sacrifice. The choir explains:

Nobody is angry

in the beginning. Bright

is the beginning, yes

the path of life draws you

down where in the end

is no light.

Productions

• December 2001, Wiesbaden State Theater , Kleines Haus, chamber opera by Ernst August Klötzke . Libretto: Tankred Dorst.
• May 4th 2010, Comedia Theater Cologne. Director: Julia Waldorf.

reception

• True love in mull. In: Der Spiegel . March 3, 1997.
• Kässens forces the description of the Salerno trip into two short sentences. It would look as if Heinrich were traveling to life and Elsa to death, but both were traveling into the light. Kässens not only calls the miracle at the end of the piece deus ex machina , but also aptly the miracle of love.

literature

Text output

• Tankred Dorst: The legend of poor Heinrich. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-518-40795-3 .

• The legend of poor Heinrich. In: Tankred Dorst: The joy of life and other pieces. (= Work edition. Volume 7). 1st edition. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2002, ISBN 3-518-41331-7 , pp. 7-58. (Edition used).

Secondary literature

• Helmut de Boor : The courtly literature. Preparation, flowering, conclusion. 1170-1250. Eleventh edition edited by Ursula Hennig. (= History of German Literature. Volume 2). CH Beck, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-406-35132-8 .
• Heinz Ludwig Arnold (ed.): Tankred Dorst (= text + criticism . Issue 145). Richard Boorberg Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-88377-626-2 .
• Gero von Wilpert : Lexicon of world literature . German Authors A-Z . Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-520-83704-8 , p. 126.

Web links

• theater.de
• 2009: Adéla Rossípalová: Poor Heinrich at Hartmann von Aue and Tankred Dorst: A comparison (PDF; 200 kB)

Remarks

1. ↑ Kässens (epilogue in the used edition, p 380, 3rd ACR) called Hartmann's work a " medieval redemption spoem".
2. ↑ According to de Boor (p. 75, 22. Zvo), pure children's blood was a magical remedy for leprosy in the Middle Ages.
3. ↑ Hartmann's father is a Meier (de Boor, p. 75, 17th Zvu). So Elsa is socially far below the knight Heinrich, who is inspired by “courtly humanity” (de Boor, p. 75, 4. Zvo).
4. ↑ At Hartmann's, the knight receives the "niuwe güete" ( Hartmann for example in the University of Trier database under "Heinrich") at the last minute when Elsa wants to sacrifice herself for him. When Heinrich - seized by Elsa's inner nobility (de Boor, p. 76, 6. Zvu) - loosens the girl's bonds, he bows to God's will and experiences grace as a divine reaction (de Boor, p. 76, 20. Zvo ).
5. ↑ At Hartmann's, Ritter Heinrich marries the Meier's daughter, who is ready to make sacrifices (de Boor, p. 74, 16.
6. ↑ Problems that arise on the horizon are occasionally resolved by the choir - even before they become too prominent. For example, the choir of Heinrichs rivals Fizzifagozzi from the backdrop (edition used, p. 40, 13. Zvo).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Erken bei Arnold, p. 88, left column, second entry
2. ↑ de Boor, p. 74, 17th Zvu
3. ↑ de Boor, p. 75, 4. Zvo
4. ↑ Edition used, p. 18, 9. Zvu
5. ↑ de Boor, p. 75, 11. Zvu
6. ↑ Edition used, p. 57, 19. Zvu
7. ^ "In darkness let me dwell": Edition used, pp. 13, 12. Zvu, "Tell me, true love": pp. 26, 10. Zvu, "Though Amarillis daunce in green": pp. 35, 3. Zvo and “Love ye who list, I force him not”: p. 36, 9. Zvu (see also Kässens in the afterword of the edition used, p. 382, ​​18. Zvu).
8. ↑ Edition used, p. 13 middle
9. ↑ Edition used, p. 50, 8th Zvu
10. ↑ Shirin Sojitrawalla in the time of December 27, 2001: World of miracles
11. ↑ Cologne 2010 ( Memento of the original from September 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ Kässens in the afterword of the edition used, p. 380, 5th Zvu - p. 382, ​​6th Zvu