The little Niederdorf Opera

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The small Niederdorfoper is a Swiss-German musical with music by Paul Burkhard and the authors Walter Lesch , Werner Wollenberger and Max Rüeger . The musical premiered on New Year's Eve 1951 in the Schauspielhaus Zurich . Ruedi Walter , Margrit Rainer , Anne-Marie Blanc , Sigfrit Steiner , Heinrich Gretler and Walter Roderer played in the first performances .

Performances

The Little Villabassa Opera was performed in 1968, 1978, 1986, 1988 and 1989 in the Corso-Theater Zurich and became a real Swiss classic. The 1978 production was recorded for television and is also available on DVD.

In November 2009, after a twenty year break, the small Niederdorf Opera was staged again for the first time by director Max Sieber and producers Erich Vock and Hubert Spiess in the Bernhard Theater in Zurich . Erich Vock (farmer Heiri), Sven Epiney (Gauner Bunker-Willy), Maja Brunner (serving daughter Irma), Viola Tami (Ruth Baumann), Ueli Beck (Albert Hagenbuch), Elisabeth Schnell (Heilsarmistin Frau Wipf), Fabienne played among others Louves (Light Lady Lolotte), Myrto Joannidis (Light Lady Bianca) and Philippe Roussel (Chansonnier André). At the 36th award of the Prix ​​Walo , this new production won an award in the “Theater and musical productions” category.

The same core team brought the play back to the Bernhard Theater stage from November 2019 to March 2020. Viola Tami (Olly Moreen), Daniel Bill (Bunker-Willi), Bella Neri (Heilsarmistin Wipf), Tiziana Gulino (Light Lady Bianca), Vincenzo Biagi (Mr. Hagenbuch), Fabienne Louves (Light Lady Milly), Hubert Spiess (Schaggi Baumann ), Maja Brunner (serving daughter Irma).

action

The Niederdorf Opera tells the story of the farmer Heiri from Hausen , who sold a calf and is now going to Zurich in the Niederdorf to squander his money with light girls and alcohol. He is involved in a love and crime story.

At the beginning of the main plot, the story of the Baumann family is told in fragments. The daughter Ruthli wants to become engaged to the police officer Bruno. Father Schaaggi, a trumpet dealer, sells an erotic magazine to a young man and gets a cheap necklace with fake pearls. This is followed by a scene with Mrs. Strobel, the landlady of the «Lämmli» bar, who is expecting an internationally known singer duo. Baumann's daughter Ruth fell in love with the singer André at an earlier concert.

The scene changes to the three thieves Tongues-Miggel, Räuber-Seppli and Bunker-Willy, who recently stole a pearl necklace from a jeweler. In order not to be discovered with the chain, they give it to André, who is supposed to hide it for a while. André owed the crooks a favor.

At the rehearsal for the performance of the artist duo in «Lämmli», the singer Olly Moreen can steal the chain from her colleague André. After Ruth André confesses the planned engagement to the police officer Bruno, although she is still very much in love with André, Olly throws the necklace at André's feet out of jealousy. André saves himself in astonishment by giving Ruthli the pearl necklace and persuading her that the necklace was actually originally intended for her.

In the evening performance, all actors (artists, authorities, citizens of the city, light ladies, young people, people who have traveled from the provinces and the crooks) meet each other, which leads the action to a climax. Mother Baumann Margrit asks her daughter about the origin of the necklace and Ruth lies that it was a gift from her fiancé. Shortly afterwards, however, he enters the restaurant and is on the lookout for the stolen chain for work. Ruth evades the embarrassing scene and hides. A short time later, André also fled to a hiding place because he was suspected of being the thief of this chain. The situation clears up over time, as the jeweler confesses that he has exchanged the real pearl necklace for a cheap imitation and that the thieves stole the worthless necklace. The young man who bought the erotic magazine from Baumann's father for a supposedly fake pearl necklace is the jeweler’s grandson. It is now clear that the father had the real pearl necklace and Ruth had the fake pearl necklace.

After this clarification, Ruth and André come out of their hiding places. André confesses to Ruthli that he no longer feels love for her. Ruthli is relieved that she wants to bond with the police officer Bruno. So at the end of the story, all confusion disappears.

With Heiri standing alone, loud dominance is followed by deep grief. Although he has paid several rounds, he has to accept that three scantily clad women no longer want to hear from him and continue their pub crawl. When he calls, they respond with roaring laughter. With the song “I don't like nobody öppis gune” (nobody wants to treat me to anything) he complains that he was never lucky with women. If he had a girlfriend, she was taken out of his mind after a short time. He also seems to have a lot of bad luck professionally. Laughter can be heard again in the background during the singing.

Music numbers

  • Overture
  • E woman, en Maa
  • De Heiri had sold it to Chalb
  • Up morale
  • So if there’s a git, mis Chind
  • Mer know her
  • Quand on n'a pas ce qu'on aime
  • Grüezi, grüezi, grüezi mitenand
  • We were in ancient Babylon
  • Quite a little girl
  • give me money
  • Jubilation, excitement, serenity
  • Yessodu
  • Brussels sprouts
  • body and soul
  • Never lose them de Chopf
  • I just don't like öppis gune

Sound carrier

  • The little Niederdorf Opera. Musical comedy in three acts by Walter Lesch, new version by Max Rüeger and Werner Wollenberger, music by Paul Burkhard. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2011, ISBN 978-3-85616-446-1

Rhygass Opera

The Rhygass Opera is a Basel version of the Niederdorf Opera . It was first performed on October 29, 1952 at the Comedy in Basel. Helmut Förnbacher's theater company had staged the play in 1992, 1995 and 2007. It is set on Rheingasse in Kleinbasel ; the main character is Heiri from Reigoldswil .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DVD
  2. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger, Georg Gindely: "Kleine Niederdorfoper" returns with a lot of celebrities , 25 August 2009
  3. ↑ Website Kleine Niederdorfoper, Ensemble [1]
  4. ↑ http://www.lalala.ch/res/files/Jo_Kritik_Reimann_Giselle_Die_glaini_Rhygass-Opere.pdf Critique from 2007
  5. ↑ Rhygass Opera Förnbacher on the website of Helmut Theater Company ( Memento of 6 April 2005 at the Internet Archive )

Web links