The sisters or Casanova in Spa

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The sisters or Casanova in Spa is a comedy in verse in one act by Arthur Schnitzler . The first performance took place on March 26, 1920 in the Burgtheater in Vienna .

action

At an inn in Spa one morning after guests had played card games the night before. Casanova paid a substantial sum to the senior officer . D. Gudar and then spent the rest of the night with Anina, Andrea Bassi's fiancé.

I.

Anina writes a letter to Casanova in her room, in which she tells him to leave Spa immediately when Gudar enters, talks to her and gives a bad, but in his eyes correct picture of Casanova. After Gudar leaves, she has the waiter Tito bring the letter to the inn where Casanova lives. She is then visited by Baronin Santis, who in conversation with Anina paints a different, but equally bad picture of Casanova. She suggests to Anina to go as a soldier of fortune with her and Baron Santis, which Anina refuses. Baron Santis arrives and invites them both to a feast that he has prepared. When Andrea Bassi appears, a dispute between the fiancé is emerging. The Santis leave them alone. Anina confesses to Andrea the night of love with Casanova, the two separate.

II.

Casanova goes to Andrea and asks him for a loan in order to win back his lost fortune from Gudar on a joint trip. In the course of the negotiations, it turns out that Casanova believes she spent the night with Baronin Santis. Casanova receives the loan and leaves without having been told about the mix-up by Andrea. Anina comes to pick up her luggage. Andrea explains what happened and wants to forgive her, Anina refuses. Baronin Santis arrives, and the women fight. When Baron Santis comes to fetch everyone for dinner, Andrea explains the dispute with an argument about a "love-philosophical" problem, tells the events of the last night under cover and asks Baron Santis which of the women are "entitled" to a longer one has an ongoing affair with the lost lover. Santis would rather leave this decision to Casanova, who will surprisingly return to the feast for everyone.

III.

While Casanova makes his judgment about the story that the whole adventure is void, since everyone involved has been cheated of their actual dream partner, Santis understands the real facts and begins a fencing match with Casanova. Gudar Teresa leads in, a dancer who has been abandoned by Casanova, who has followed him and wants to travel with him to Vienna for her next engagement. The two make up. Two of Teresa's former lovers also arrive at the inn to see her. Casanova invites both of them to the feast. Teresa achieved the reconciliation between the Santis', Casanova finally that between Anina and Andrea.

History of origin, form, premiere, relationship to the original

For the comedy, Schnitzler was inspired by an episode from 1767 in Giacomo Casanova 's memoir . None of the people and events mentioned there can be found in the comedy. Schnitzler moved the story to 1757 and only used the basic constellation of Casanova's stay in Spa (stay in an inn and games of chance). The comedy is Schnitzler's first use of a Casanova fabric. Completed in 1917, it first appeared in October 1919 in the " Deutsche Rundschau " and in the same year in the S. Fischer Verlag . Schnitzler gave the comedy the large form of three acts (designated as I, II and III) in one. In 1918 he presented a further treatment of the subject with the novella " Casanovas Heimfahrt ". In 1918, the Burgtheater under Hermann Bahr and Leopold Andrian refused the premiere, and other stages also waived. It was not until 1920 that the Burgtheater accepted the play for its world premiere. The first series of performances ended in May 1920. That month the play was also performed in the Schönbrunn Palace Theater .

Reviews

The reviews received the piece badly. The thin plot , which is insufficient for the length of three acts, was criticized for the lack of entertainment value for a comedy and the difficult to understand quintessence of the play (loyalty is proven by returning to the partner after an affair). The performance of the actors was also viewed ambiguously.

Contemporary premieres of adaptations of the Casanova material

During the first performance series, a “Scherzo” by Ferdinand Bonn entitled “Casanova” premiered at the Kammerspiele , and the silent film “Das Herz des Casanova” by Bruno Kastner (screenplay) and Erik Lund (director) was shown in the cinemas .

literature

  • Arthur Schnitzler: The dramatic work . In: Collected Works in Individual Editions , Volume 7, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 1979. ISBN 3-596-21973-6

Web links