Railway marriages

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Data
Title: Railway marriages or Vienna, Neustadt, Brno
Original title: The marriage candidates on the railroad or Vienna, Neustadt, Brno
Genus: Posse with singing in Drey Acten
Original language: German
Author: Johann Nestroy
Literary source: Paris, Orléans et Rouen by Jean-François Bayard and Charles Varin
Music: Andreas Scutta
Publishing year: 1843
Premiere: November 17, 1843
Place of premiere: Theater an der Wien
Place and time of the action: The first act takes place in Vienna, the second in Neustadt, the third in Brno
people
  • Ignaz sound post , guitar and violin maker in Vienna
  • Peter sound post , wind instrument maker in Krems
  • Edmund , first worker at Ignaz's sound post
  • Patzmann , portrait and carpenter painter
  • Zopak , master baker in Brno
  • Babett , his daughter
  • Nanny , his ward
  • Kipfl , master baker in Neustadt
  • Theres his daughter
  • Brandenburger , first companion at Kipfl
  • Mrs. Zaschelhuberinn , trader in Neustadt
  • Jacob , pack porter at Neustädter Bahnhof
  • a porter at the Brno train station
  • a journeyman baker at Zopak

Eisenbahnheirathen or Wien, Neustadt, Brünn is a farce with singing in Drey Acten by Johann Nestroy . The play was written in 1843 and had its world premiere on January 3, 1844 as a “benefit performance” for the poet.

content

The cousins ​​Peter and Ignaz want to marry two girls they don't even know: Peter the Babett Zopak in Brno, Ignaz with the help of the matchmaker, Mrs. Zaschelhuberin, the Theres Kipfl in Neustadt. The painter Patzmann loves Zopak's ward Nanny, whom he kidnaps to Vienna, Ignaz's foreman Edmund is fond of Babett. Patzmann takes advantage of Peter's ignorance while traveling by train and brings him to Neustadt instead of Brno. Zopak, who is following Nanny's trail, also makes his way to Neustadt, as does Ignaz and Zaschelhuberin, who praises him for traveling by train:

“The sixteen stations to Neustadt take three quarters of an hour; All in all, it takes a maximum of an hour and a half to stop - ah, such a rice is really a pleasure. " (Act I, Scene 2)

The unsuspecting master baker Kipfl caused further misunderstandings between all those involved. Theres and the journeyman Brandenburger are in love with each other, and Kipfl is so angry that he wants to cast Theres out. When Ignaz heard of Theres' love affair, he immediately left offended and the others went to Brno on Patzmann's advice:

“To err is human, mistakes can be quickly repaired by rail; Come on, I'll lead you - " (II. Act, 15th Scene)

Patzmann is asked for help from all sides in Brno. In the end, those involved meet at the Brno train station, and Patzmann tries to act as a matchmaker before the train leaves for Vienna. So he brings Babett and Edmund, Theres and Brandenburger together - Ignaz and the Zaschelhuberin want to think about it until the Lundenburg station. Patzmann himself has a nanny as his wife, only Peter is left alone:

"In Vienna and Neustadt they thought I was a fool and in Brno it also seems to me - [...] The devil should hollow the railway." (III. Act, 16th scene)

Background: the railroad

Nestroy's contemporaries saw the railroad as a new means of transport that was able to evoke a completely different space-time feeling. The ability to overcome distances in times that had previously been thought impossible made this invention so attractive. This found artistic expression in many works, such as in the steam waltz by Joseph Lanner , in the railway pleasure waltz by Johann Strauss (son) , in the poem Poetry of Steam by Anastasius Grün . The Quodlibet The Journey with the Steam Car (1834) also comes from Nestroy . Alois Grois , who played Zopak in the railway marriages, wrote the play Die Fahrt auf der Eisenbahn nach Wagram, or: The Bridegroom of Oedenburg , which premiered on March 2, 1838 in the Theater an der Wien and in which Nestroy had a hairdresser. Traveling by train became such a popular pleasure, especially in the summer months, that it even had a negative impact on theater attendance; train tickets rivaled theater tickets .

For the present piece it is important that the Emperor Ferdinand's Northern Railway mentioned here and the Southern Railway , also known as the Gloggnitz Railway, were systematically expanded. Between 1837 and 1841, around 350 km were already operational. In 1838 the bridge was built over the Danube, so that this gap on the northern route between Floridsdorf and Wagram was closed. The travel time from Vienna to Brno was only four hours, the travel time from Vienna to Wiener Neustadt two hours. The so-called “ Busserltunnel ” mentioned in the text is an original structure on the southern railway , which is rather unnecessary and in a very short length (165 m) penetrates a branch of the vineyards near Gumpoldskirchen .

Zaschelhuberinn (to Peter): "Once you have passed the gruesome tunnel at Gumpoldskirchen." (Act I, Scene 3)

The enthusiasm and at the same time the ignorance about the new travel option lets Nestroy express the master baker Kipfl:

"I don't skip a train once, I care because I understand it, I know a machinist who explained everything to me, I know what the steam is, I know what the coal is, I know every component, only the only one, how the machine is getting the horse's power, I don't understand that yet, I have to talk to a horse dealer about it. " (Act II, Scene 2)

Factory history

After the failure of Just rest! Johann Nestroy wanted to deliver a pleasing farce to the audience. The model was a vaudeville , namely Paris, Orléans et Rouen. Comédie Vaudeville en trois actes by Jean-François Bayard (1796–1853) and Charles Varin (1798–1869). Both at the premiere of the French original at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on September 1, 1843 and at Nestroy's version in Vienna, the game about the innovation of the railway and steam locomotive caused a sensation and brought success. If in France it was the motif of the high-speed railway line Paris, Orléans, Rouen, in Vienna it became the new north and south railway, on which lovers, fathers-in-law, helpers and troublemakers come together. Nestroy also illustrated this in the change from the original title The Marriage Candidates on the Railroad to the more compact railroad marriages .

From the original, Nestroy not only took over the plot almost unchanged, but also entire dialogues that he only adapts locally with Austrian accents, such as bohemian tradespeople and the Viennese language. His affection for the guest city of Brno, which he often visited on tours in the summer, was shown by the mention in the title and by the third act, which takes place in the passenger room at Brno train station and other places in this city.

An adaptation into German under the title Dresden, Leipzig and Magdeburg , performed in Leipzig without great success, is probably not known to Nestroy; he relied on the (undated) translation of the first two acts by Gustav Zerffi, which he commissioned. He probably translated the 3rd act himself and edited it heavily, as this is where the greatest differences to the original can be identified. He doubled the number of people involved by creating two fathers from the confectionery trade, two suitors from the music trade who are also two cousins, two daughters and also two “true” lovers. He put a cousin on one side and a matchmaker on the other. A single person (Patzmann) is in control of the situation and pushes all the figures on the plot to where they should be. The railway line is also the place and time of action, given by the timetables. The downhill bell signal heralds the end of the act. What was originally the sleepy stagecoach town of Senlis , at Nestroy, becomes Krems on the Danube , which at that time was also not yet accessible by rail .

Johann Nestroy played the painter Patzmann, Wenzel Scholz the Peter sound post , the composer Andreas Scutta the Ignaz sound post, Ignaz Stahl the master baker Kipfl, Alois Grois the master baker Zopak (called Procpak on the theater bill).

During a tour in Germany in 1851, the title of the play was changed for the Munich theater in the Isarvorstadt to: The railway marriages by the railway from Munich, Kaufbeuren and Donauwörth .

Nestroy's original manuscript still bears the title The Marriage Candidates on the Railway or Vienna, Neustadt, Brno and refers to the French original. A copy of the score and a booklet Dampffahrt von Wien to Brünn, for Ignatz , which contains three couplets that were not included in railway marriages, are also preserved.

Contemporary reception

After the slashing of his last piece Just rest! Nestroy's new work was well received by audiences and critics. In Wanderer of January 5, 1844 (p. 19 f.) One could read:

"Nestroy understands the art like no one else before and next to him, to transplant products of foreign soil in such a way that they seem to be native plants."

The Wiener Theater Zeitung of Adolf Bäuerle was as usual full of praise (5-6 January, p. 19.):

“It is with great, heartfelt joy that we can report that this latest product by the author, who has been known as a highly gifted poet for so long a number of years, has received extremely full, even stormy applause, indeed that this applause from act to act, from scene to scene increased, and its creator, who is the true darling of all friends of the cheerful local music, celebrated a complete victory. "

The Wiener Morgenblatt judged much more critically on January 5th (p. 10 f.), In that the “lean subject” and the “fat nature” of the work were criticized (January 5, p. 10 f.), Whereby the role was also criticized of the audience got off badly. This criticism and the contradicting one of the theater newspaper can also be seen in view of the quarrel between vaudevillists and local antics lovers that was smoldering at the time. Moritz Gottlieb Saphir , who is otherwise very critical of Nestroy, praised the performance in his magazine Der Humorist , called the audience's applause justified and emphasized that the author had abstained from all meanness and ambiguity. In the collector of January 6th (p. 14 f.) It was claimed that Nestroy's actual ability was that of "replicating, re-shaping, executing something that was already given" , which would greatly enrich the antics repertoire of local suburban theaters.

Later interpretations

Otto Rommel classifies this piece among the "real antics, which are not falsified by moralizing or teaching" (quote), composed between 1835 and 1845, together with Eulenspiegel (1835), The Monkey and the Bridegroom (1836), Das Haus der Temperamente ( 1837), He wants to make a joke (1842) and love stories and marriage matters (1843). All of these are based on the old main motif of the harlequinade , namely the reluctant father or guardian who has already chosen a bridegroom, the loving couple and the skilful intriguer who brings about the wedding. In railway marriages, the new means of transport ensures that the intrigue is not spun from room to room, but from city to city, with a station waiting room probably being brought onto the stage for the first time.

Helmut Ahrens states that “the game of technology, gentle eroticism and love affair” (quote) brought the audience pleasure and entertainment. It is noteworthy that Nestroy paid his respects to the guest city of Brno, which he liked, by naming it not only in the title, but also in the design of a scene in the third act, the location of which is the passenger room in Brno train station - the waiting room - is. But this piece, like Hinüber - Herüber (1844), would have been merely a playful pause in front of a mature work depicting “a great moment in Austrian theater” (quote): Der Zerrissene (also 1844).

text

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. twelfth volume, published by Anton Schroll & Co., Vienna 1929, pp. 109–204, 567–598.
  • Jürgen Hein (Ed.): Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. In: Jürgen Hein, Johann Hüttner , Walter Obermaier , W. Edgar Yates : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works, Historical-Critical Edition. Jugend und Volk, Vienna / Munich 1993, ISBN 3-224-16909-5 , pp. 87–160, 243–347.
  • Otto Rommel: Nestroys Works. (= Golden Classics Library). Choice in two parts. German publishing house Bong & Co., Berlin / Leipzig / Vienna / Stuttgart 1908.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Neustadt : Wiener Neustadt on the Gloggnitzer Bahn
  2. ^ Brno : on the Kaiser-Ferdinands-Nordbahn (today Brno / Czech Republic )
  3. ^ Sound post : in string instruments, sticks between top and bottom
  4. ↑ patzen : Viennese , here for (with color) blotch
  5. ↑ named Procpak on the playlist ; Word game - pronounced Bohemian it sounds similar to "bread back '"
  6. ↑ Kipfl : Viennese croissants , crescent-shaped pastry; also fool
  7. ↑ Trader : Bavarian-Austrian: small trader with junk
  8. ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. pp. 94-95.
  9. ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 140.
  10. ^ Lundenburg : on the Kaiser-Ferdinand-Nordbahn (today Břeclav / Czech Republic)
  11. ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 160.
  12. ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. pp. 247-248.
  13. ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 96.
  14. ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 120.
  15. ^ French original text and translation by Gustav Zerffi in Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. pp. 365-429.
  16. ↑ Andrea Lösel: Exploring a historical mixed language: Bamberg linguists are researching Bohmakeln. University of Bamberg, 2014.
  17. ↑ Helmut Ahrens: I am not auctioning myself off to the laurel. Pp. 255-256.
  18. ↑ Facsimile of the theater slip in Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 361.
  19. ↑ Die Volksbötin, 1851, p. 910.
  20. ↑ Manuscript collection of the Vienna library in the town hall , call number IN 33.343.
  21. ↑ Music collection of the Austrian National Library , call number sm 25.320.
  22. ↑ Music collection of the Vienna library in the town hall , call number MH 9059 / c.
  23. ↑ a b c Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. pp. 264-274.
  24. ^ Otto Rommel: Nestroys works. S. XLIX-LI.
  25. ↑ Helmut Ahrens: I am not auctioning myself off to the laurel. P. 256.