The Devil's Papers
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| Title: | The Devil's Papers |
| Original title: | The Devil's Papers or Chance |
| Genus: | Farce with singing in three acts and a prelude |
| Original language: | German |
| Author: | Johann Nestroy |
| Literary source: | Les Mémoires du Diable by Étienne Arago and Paul Vermond |
| Music: | Adolf Müller senior |
| Publishing year: | 1842 |
| Premiere: | November 17, 1842 |
| Place of premiere: | Theater an der Wien |
| Place and time of the action: | The act of the foreplay takes place first in the Herrenhof in Hügelfeld, then in Zwickers Kantzley. The plot of the 1st act takes place in the mill at Hügelfeld, 4 months later than that of the prelude. The action of the second act 3 days later in the Stopplschen inn in the city, the action of the last act 4 days later in the Herrnhofe in Hügelfeld |
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The Devil's Papers or The Chance is a farce with singing in three acts and a prelude by Johann Nestroy . The premiere took place on November 17, 1842 in the Theater an der Wien as a benefit performance for the author.
content
The bricklayer Dominick has to wall up a box with important papers for pince-nez and stubble in the devil's room of the mansion von Hügelfeld. He has to swear not to tell about it unless someone tells him the four passwords, otherwise the devil will fetch him.
- Dominick: "A carp will against me a coffee sister being." (Prelude, 2 te Scene)
Stoppel entrusted his will to Zwicker and he had it walled up so that it could be kept in a safe place - in fact, he intends to cheat both Zwicker and the heirs and to cash in the assets himself. This does not happen, however, as Stoppel had an accident with his team of horses shortly afterwards and Zwicker was hit. The cook Eva is Stoppel's sole heir, the skipped Federl takes an envelope with papers without first suspecting that they hold the key to the secret.
The illegitimate heirs Schrollmann and Emilie drive Stoppel's widow Dorothea and his foster daughter Sophie out of the manor house, but Federl, who now knows the contents of the papers, promises help. For the time being, he gives Dorothea the important envelope to keep and asks Sophie's hand as a reward:
- " 'S child wants, the mother varies, this childlike determination and on these maternal Wickelwackl construction' I look at a tower-high observation in fairy kingdom's happiness!" (I. Act, 10 th Scene)
At a dance evening at the Schrollmann inn, Federl, disguised as a devil, plays a show-piece with a troupe of harpists in which he tells the whole story of the deception in encrypted form and completely unsettles the two Schrollmanns. He already leads her to renounce the inheritance, and a scuffle breaks out in which Federl is injured when he forces Dorothea and Sophie to flee:
- “Everyone means one another!
- A half-dozen's fall, at least from my hand! " (II. Act, 12 th Scene)
In the manor house the two women wait for the story to be clarified, but the injured Federl is late. When Dorothea opens the envelope, Schrollmann is watching her. He snatches the papers from her and throws them into the fire, so that all documents of the inheritance sneaking seem destroyed. Federl also has no more advice, but then Schrollmann exclaims in jubilation about his victory:
- "I trinck 'yet it today to honor a Jaqsonische Sileributelli and shout,' Long live Zwicker, the devil man! '" (III Act, the 13th th Scene)
But these are exactly the four passwords that free Dominick from his fear of the devil; he exposes the box in the wall and with the real will in it, the deceivers can be convicted. The Schrollmanns leave angrily, Sophie shakes hands with Federl and Dominick also wants to finally marry his long-term fiancé, Frau Körndlbach.
- All: "Chance Hurray!" (III Act, the 14th th Scene)
Factory history
The model for Nestroy's work is a Comédie-Vaudeville Les Mémoires du Diable by Étienne Arago and Paul Vermond (first performance on March 2, 1842). This play was performed in a translation by Joseph Kupelwieser under the title The Memoirs of the Devil on November 5, 1842 in the Josefstädter Theater . The reviewer of the Wiener Theaterzeitung is said to have asked Johann Nestroy on November 7th to work on this material - without realizing that the poet was already working on it, probably from October of this year. A connection with the novel of the same name by Frédéric Soulié (1800–1847) could not be established, even if the ringing for the devil also occurs there.
The template is a not very original story of intrigue about wills withheld and inheritance sneaking, a topic that was very fashionable in France at the time (from 1840). In a somewhat improbable and intricate way, the original deals with the story of a general of the French Revolutionary Wars and the attempt by relatives to take possession of the Ronquerolles Castle after his death. An initially mysterious savior of the widow and her daughter can finally prevent this and receives their hand in gratitude.
As always when working on French models, Nestroy moved the piece from the great world of the aristocracy to the bourgeois suburban milieu and the countryside. He also eradicates sentimentality and pathos and replaces this with situation comedy, so he invents the whole smear theater scene with the unmasking knight play. The late General Ronquerolles and the sleazy lawyer Marcillac do not appear personally in the original, Marcillac's counterpart Zwicker is the main character in the foreplay. The bricklayer Gauthier, a gloomy desperate man in Vaudeville, who no longer speaks and watches the eerie castle day and night, becomes the comically depressed Dominik, whose greatest suffering is the ban on drinking:
- "Half Seitel - this is too much - this is too little, I would say, at nine and a half Seitel less than I'm accustomed to eat horrible." (Prelude, 2 te Scene)
The elegant ball festival turns into a pub pleasure, Robin's pistol duel turns into a pub brawl; while Robin is the role of “First Lover”, Federl becomes a humorous and helpful figure - a realization that Nestroy, in the opinion of most contemporary critics, did not quite succeed. While Robin's incognito is preserved until the end, Federl is brought on stage in the prelude. However, there was general praise for Nestroy's idea of presenting the intricate prehistory of inheritance sneaking, in the original as flashbacks across the entire text, gathered in a prelude.
Johann Nestroy played the secretary Federl, Wenzel Scholz played the bricklayer Dominick Hauskatz, Friedrich Hopp played the innkeeper Stoppel, Alois Grois played the grocer Schrollmann, Nestroy's partner Marie Weiler played the miller Frau Körndlbach.
The original working title of the piece was given by Nestroy in drafts with Lucifer . An original manuscript with 18 sheets and a cover sheet is a first incomplete copy by Nestroy with many changes to the wording and marginal notes, without a list of persons and the Quodlibet of Act 2.
The original score by Adolf Müller has also been preserved, entitled The Devil's Papers. Poße with singing in 3 acts and a prelude by Joh. Nestroy. Music by Adolf Müller Capellmstr. 1842. First performed on November 17th: [1] 842 in the kk Priv. Theater a. d. Vienna . The Carltheater's prompt book is in the Austrian Theater Museum .
In memory remained of the little-played piece is especially the couplet of Federl with the refrain "This is' probably only chimera, but me under stand it" (I. Act, 10 th Scene). Karl Kraus often presented it in his lectures; it is printed in the collection Lyrik der Deutschen .
Contemporary reception
Because of the history of its origins (see also the chapter on Modern Interpretations ) and the logical weaknesses in the plot, the success with both the audience and the critics was low.
On November 19, 1842, the Nestroy always weighed Viennese theater newspaper by Adolf Bäuerle was the only one to have a positive review, but it could not avoid praising the poet and actor Nestroy:
- “It is hardly necessary to analyze Mr. Nestroy's play in his play. The poet wrote the role for himself and whether he reproduced the picture that he had in mind completely according to his views, who could decide that better than himself? "
The collector , also dated November 19, did not hide his disappointment with the work when the critic wrote about what in his opinion had been unsuccessful in translating the aristocratic milieu into the bourgeoisie:
- “And therein lies the cause of the evil and the unsuccessfulness of today's farce. The original, however, offers very favorable situations and characters for the happy use of an able buffoon poet. But Nestroy's parodistic-satirical talent, anxiously following the original, wanted to illuminate and scourge the same weaknesses and thereby got on astray that really did not lead to the goal. This posse is one of Nestroy's weakest products [...] "
Except for Scholz, the actors and the music by Adolf Müller received little praise either.
The Viennese magazine stated on November 21st that it had doubts in advance:
- “As soon as the rumor spread that Mr. Nestroy had also undertaken an adaptation of the 'Mémoires du Diable', all sorts of doubts arose as to whether the material was also of the kind that would allow that strange basic color to be obtained by manipulating it our author is so excited? "
As an exception, Kupelwieser's piece was placed above Nestroy's version this time.
The Wanderer , the Sunday papers and the Austrian morning paper (from November 19 and 20) gave a similar verdict .
As almost always when it came to Nestroy, Moritz Gottlieb Saphir's Der Humorist of November 19 was particularly sharp in his criticism, especially of the fact that Nestroy had once again used a French model:
- “The invention is namely the Achilles tendon [sic!] Of Nestroy's muse, and the fact that he is vulnerable here, that's what the theater bill tells you. We would have come to an understanding about what Herr Nestroy did. It should not be so easy to come to an understanding about how he did it! "
Saphir also rated Kupelwieser's piece as the better and also mentioned in a note from November 24th that it had already been chosen for charity performances four times.
Later interpretation
Otto Rommel reminds us that the material of criminal legacy sneaking, which was already very hackneyed in French dramas of that time, would have been made more palatable through the connection with the belief in the devil, popular at the time. In fact there have been a great number of pieces that have made use of it; In addition to Kupelwieser's memoirs of the devil , Rommel mentions the magic pantomime The Little Devil (in the Leopoldstädter Theater ), The Devil's Part (in the Josefstädter Theater , based on a vaudeville by Eugène Scribe ) and others from the years 1842/43 alone. Nestroy clarified the improbability of the original by a cleverly invented exposition and also defused it with the addition or The Chance .
Helmut Ahrens notes that Nestroy had no choice but to finish his work on the Devil's Papers despite the Kupelwieser play just listed , because the time to write another work would simply have been too short, props and stage design were all already in progress, text passages already rehearsed by the actors. That is why the reaction of the audience fell short of expectations, on the one hand because the piece tasted too much like plagiarism, on the other hand because many could not have recognized the caricaturing typification of the main characters Federl and Dominik if their actors had also been cheered.
In Peter Haida we can read that Nestroy mentioned the devil and hell four times in his titles, namely in Robert the Teuxel (1831), in the papers of the devil described here , in Höllenangst (1849) and in The good-natured devil (1851) . The theme appears as a motif in other works, however, when looking for an attractive stage play, for example, the theater group rummages in Die Fahrt mit dem Dampfwagen (1834) under titles such as "Teufelsstein", "Teufelsmühl '", "Teufelsbanner" and "Teufelsberg" (Quote: "There is the whole devil together" ). However, no serious discussion of the “evil” is sought, but rather, as is customary in the Old Viennese Volkstheater , it is shown stripped of its original meaning as a “parody of the metaphysical world”.
text
- Full text on wordpress (accessed on July 4, 2014)
literature
- Helmut Ahrens: I'm not auctioning myself off to the laurel. Johann Nestroy, his life. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-7973-0389-0 .
- Fritz Brukner, Otto Rommel: Johann Nestroy, Complete Works. Historical-critical complete edition. Eleventh volume, published by Anton Schroll & Co., Vienna 1928.
- Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. In: Jürgen Hein , Johann Hüttner , Walter Obermaier , W. Edgar Yates : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works, Historical-Critical Edition. Deuticke, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-216-30255-5 , pp. 1-99, 107-280.
- Otto Rommel: Nestroys Works. (= Golden Classics Library). Choice in two parts. German publishing house Bong & Co., Berlin / Leipzig / Vienna / Stuttgart 1908.
Web links
- Factory data on nestroy.at/nestroy-stuecke/46 papiere / 48tit (accessed on July 4, 2014)
- Table of contents on nestroy.at/nestroy-stuecke/46 papiere / 48inh (accessed on July 4, 2014)
- Federl's performance song (text and sheet music) in Urs Helmensdorfer: The song is a Proteus. LIT Verlag, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-8258-0742-9 , p. 48 ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zwicker = reference to tweak (pick [from] pick), because of the predatory intentions; A connection with the game of risk is also possible
- ↑ Stoppel = Austrian German for stoppers
- ↑ Körndlbach = reference to grain grinding with water power
- ↑ Nestroy also considered a surname for her, namely Krautmann or Brennholz
- ↑ Schroll = Austrian German for coarse Klotz, Grobian
- ↑ coffee sister = talkative woman at the coffee party
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 12.
- ↑ Wickelwack [e] l, Wigel-Wagel , in the dialect Wigl-WOGL = Viennese for Swaying, uncertainty
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 48.
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 79.
- ↑ Jaqsonische Sileributelli = Jacqueson , a popular champagne brand at the time; Sillery , a place in the Marne department , the name of which was often used as a generic name for champagne
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 97.
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 99.
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↑ Facsimile of the print in the Théâtral magazine , Paris 1842, in Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. Pp. 299-334.
Synopsis in Brukner / Rommel: Johann Nestroy, Complete Works. Pp. 583-587. - ^ Text book in the manuscript collection of the Austrian National Library
- ↑ Seitel, Seidl = measure of capacity for beer or wine (just under ⅓ liters)
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 13.
- ↑ Facsimile of the theater slip in Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 292.
- ↑ Manuscript collection of the Vienna library in the town hall , call number IN 94.280.
- ↑ Manuscript collection of the Vienna library in the town hall, call number IN 33.339; Title page ibid
- ↑ Manuscript and music collection in the Vienna Library in the City Hall, call number MH 798
- ^ Austrian Theater Museum, signature lion 24.
- ↑ Christian Wagenknecht : Lyrik der Deutschen, selected for his lectures by Karl Kraus. edition text + kritik, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-88377-379-4 , p. 102.
- ^ Brukner / Rommel: Johann Nestroy, Complete Works. P. 588-. (for the entire chapter on contemporary reception )
- ^ Otto Rommel: Nestroys works. S. LVII.
- ↑ Helmut Ahrens: I am not auctioning myself off to the laurel. Pp. 249-250.
- ^ Peter Haida: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 18 / II. P. 170.