The golden master
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The golden master |
| Shape: | operetta |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Edmund Eysler |
| Libretto : | Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald |
| Premiere: | September 13, 1927 |
| Place of premiere: | Vienna |
| Place and time of the action: | Vienna around 1560 |
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Die golden'ne Meisterin is an operetta in three acts by Edmund Eysler . The libretto is by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald . It premiered on September 13, 1927 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
orchestra
Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, three trombones, large percussion and strings
action
The operetta is set in Vienna in the 60s of the 16th century.
first act
Image: goldsmith's shop
For a few weeks Christian has been a journeyman in Margarete's goldsmith's shop, which is well known far beyond Vienna, who became a widow at a young age and inherited the business from her husband. Everyone who knows the beautiful woman only speaks about her from the “golden master”. Although she has a keen sense for the practical and has both feet firmly on the ground, she has one small flaw: Her great love belongs to everything that has to do with the nobility. Some time ago she was a secret guest at the annual masked ball of the Viennese nobility. There she made the acquaintance of a charming dancer who always called her “princess”. She still lives on this happy experience today.
One day the Italian Contessa enters Giulietta Margarete's shop and gives the order to make an extremely ornate gold plate for a family celebration. When Margarete calls her journeyman to ask him if he could do such a job, the Contessa cannot believe her eyes. She knows the young man from Rome, where he worked as a sculptor. But when business no longer went so well, he left the Eternal City and returned to his beloved Vienna. Margarete values her companion very much, and he is also impressed by his master, yes, even more, he loves her. But he has not dared to confess his love to her either.
In conversation between Christian and Giulietta, Margarete learns that her journeyman was the dancer who pretended to think she was a princess, and that this fun amused him. Master becomes angry at this. She would like to quit her journeyman, but then she would also have to return the job to the Contessa. So she keeps it, gritting her teeth.
Second act
Image: courtyard
Margarete has invited to a house ball. The knight Fridolin von Gumpendorf and his speci Graf Jaromir auf Greifenstein are also part of the party. The two are looking for a rich woman because their wallets have long been low. They hope to be able to clean up their finances through a suitable marriage. Jaromir ensnared Margarete and showered her with compliments in such a way that the beautiful woman felt very dim before her eyes. A man with such a sonorous title of nobility! Oh, that would be too nice!
Christian pulls his boss aside and explains to her that he knows the Count from Nuremberg. There he was decried as a hallodri . Incidentally, the count is also engaged. Margarete, however, indulges in happiness so much that she ignores all warnings from her companion. The plan is already ripening in Christian to write to the bride's grandfather, who is well known to him, to come to Vienna to read the riot act to his future grandson-in-law. But by the time the message arrives in Nuremberg by post, everything will probably be too late anyway. Action must be taken immediately! Christian leaves the ball and after a short time returns disguised as an old man. He loudly announces that Count Jaromir left his bride with four illegitimate children. He cannot bear the shame and secretly sneaks away. When Christian now reveals himself, the master feels tricked by him for the second time. No sooner has she screamed angrily at him than she immediately regrets what she has done. However, Christian is not ready to be reconciled with the woman he loves so much. Grouchy, he leaves the ball.
Third act
Image: Garden of the Stiftskeller in Klosterneuburg
The Augustinian Ignatius from the nearby Klosterneuburg Abbey enjoys a wide reputation for helping young people with lovesickness. Today he is visited by four people: Count Jaromir auf Greifenstein, the knight Fridolin von Gumpendorf, the goldsmith journeyman Christian and his master ask Brother Ignatius' advice. Everyone has to take a seat one after the other on the magical "Boniface chair"; because whoever sits on it cannot avoid the truth in his utterances. Knight Fridolin confesses that he promised Margarete's housekeeper Portschunkula to show her to the altar. However, he was no longer completely sober when he did this. But when he learns that Portschunkula has accumulated a small fortune in the course of her life, he quickly declares himself ready to keep his promise. Count Jaromir assures that he will marry his Nuremberg fiancée, especially since the news has meanwhile been brought to him that she has made a rich inheritance.
And what about the apprentice goldsmith and his master? Needless to say, “he” promises to love “her” and vice versa. The wedding can already be planned!
music
"Die golden'ne Meisterin" is a typical Viennese operetta with a lot of waltz bliss. It brought the composer the greatest success of his life. The fact that the work is still able to cast a spell over many music lovers was demonstrated by the performances at the Sursee City Theater in 2005, which were enthusiastically received by the public and the press. The most famous songs from it are:
- You dear golden master
- O Jaromir
- Be a countess
- You said, darling, be mine
- G'sellen life is funny
- But you, you my heart, what do you say
- This is only how you dance in Vienna
history
This operetta was actually Adolf Hitler's favorite piece . After the annexation of Austria , the Nazis then found that many musicians (including Johann Strauss, for example ) did not meet the ideas of the new rulers and therefore forged documents and biographies.