Secret money, secret love
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| Title: | Secret money, secret love |
| Genus: | Posse with singing in Drey Acten |
| Original language: | German |
| Author: | Johann Nestroy |
| Literary source: | Au Jour le Jour by Frédéric Soulié |
| Music: | Carl Binder |
| Publishing year: | 1853 |
| Premiere: | March 16, 1853 |
| Place of premiere: | Carltheater |
| Place and time of the action: | (no information, according to the text a Viennese suburb is to be assumed) |
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Secret money, secret love is a farce with singing in Drey Acten by Johann Nestroy . The play was written in 1853 and had its world premiere on March 16 of this year as a benefit performance for the author. It fell through at the premiere and was removed from the program after the second performance on the following day.
content
The vengeful former grocer Dickkopf intrigues, lies and cheats in order to pull the money out of everyone's sack. He plays the sorry old man to arouse pity:
- “I let myself go in such a business; Money and revenge - which can have a good, poor old man wish for more! " (I. Act, 5 th Scene)
Broker and Flau want to marry Marie off to Flau's son, even though she is in love with Franz. Dickkopf forges letters in order to destroy Casimir's secret love affair with Leni and to couple him with the rich coppersmith Lärminger. He also assures Franz that old Lärminger cheated on him about winning a lottery before his death, which is for once true. The clever Casimir finally recognizes Dickkopf's evil game, learns about his mother's misappropriated inheritance, and thwarts all intrigues:
- “Nobody will say of you 'this is a criminal!' but 'that's a fool!' - It will say: 'the theft was too clumsy, my heavens, he's old and idiotic - what do you do with him? - sperr'n wir'n halt - '[in fools tower ] "(III Act, 22nd ste Scene)
In the end, Dickkopf has played out - he has nothing left of his secret money, he has to be satisfied with his secret love, the herbalist Körbl.
- "Of all my plans will remain nothing but a Kräutlerin." (III. Act, 28 st Scene)
Factory history
Nestroy's last piece, Kampl, was already a year ago when he performed this work. A template was not named by him, so that Nestroy's source could only be identified many years later. It was the feature novel Au Jour le Jour (From day to day) by Frédéric Soulié (1800-1847), published in 27 installments from December 28, 1843 to February 10, 1844 in the Paris daily newspaper Journal des Débats , then in book form in 1844 published. There were two translations into German from the same year; Whether Nestroy knew one of them or translated the text himself can no longer be determined. The fact is that the poet was able to translate his French models, and he was not deterred by the difficulty of dramatizing a detective novel that tells the story day after day as a farce.
Nestroy originally noted Vengeance or Avenger as the title in the first draft. The novel served him less as a template for the stage version, but more as a freely usable treasure trove of ideas. The different audiences of the feuilleton (upper middle class and lower nobility) and the suburban posse can be seen in Nestroy's change of stage personnel: the gentlemen von Makler and von Flau represent the upper class, Frau von Lärmingen, Marie, Pemperer, Franz, Casimir, Dickkopf, Körbl, Pfanzer and Leni petty bourgeoisie and craftsmen, Bittmann the lowest class. The Roman society is homogeneous without transgressions of class, that of the farce is much more complex, transgressions of class are not seen as impossible. In Nestroy's posse, the salon as the setting for the novel is also divided into anteroom, visiting room, caretaker's apartment, cabinet and poor side rooms.
Johann Nestroy played Casimir Dachl, Wenzel Scholz played Peter Dickkopf, Alois Grois played the old journeyman and Werckführer Pemperer, Elise Zöllner played his daughter Leni.
An autograph manuscript Nestroy with correction instructions is received, it lacks the couplet with the monologue from Act I., 16 th scene. This couplet, Casimir's performance song, is available in a separate manuscript in two parts that have been cut up and joined together again.
The handwritten score Carl binder is lost, there is only one copy of the foreign hand for the couplet from II. Act, 6 th scene.
Contemporary reception
The reception by the audience and critics was rather unfavorable. Reasons for this were a changed attitude towards the Volksbühne, the change in taste, the competition from other entertainment options such as the circus, and a different view of the tension between "funny" farce and "serious" folk play. This last problem was shown in the negative inclusion of the Scholz role of Peter Dickkopf, where a malicious character was to be put on stage with humor at the same time. On March 17th, the piece was removed from the repertoire after only two performances due to the negative response at the premiere.
The Wanderer wrote on March 17, 1853 (No. 124):
- "The difficulties of the modern Volksbühne never emerge more clearly than when it shows how even the most experienced poets, who have long been familiar with all the vicissitudes of dramatic life, such as Nestroy, themselves are not always able to secure the accustomed success."
The foreign paper No. 65 of the same day also reprimanded and even pronounced “the strongest condemnation” against director Carl Carl , since he was mainly to blame for the unsuccessful performance. The humorist No. 63 of Nestroy's opponent Moritz Gottlieb Saphir called the performance a "pathetic event" and wrote on March 18 (No. 64):
- “Mr. Nestroy's new piece: 'Secret money, secret love' is perhaps the weakest product that emerged from the pen of this otherwise popular and skilful author. [...] the composition of this plot is in any case deeply under criticism. "
Sharp criticism of the characters' drawings was also made clear in this article:
- “Such an incomparable figure of silly wickedness, as Mr. Scholz [Dickkopf] represents him this time, can under no circumstances be treated comically. […] In relation to his degenerate stepfather, Mr. Nestroy [Casimir] does not represent honesty or cunning, nor does he display the cheerful mood of a good conscience; he represents a thoroughly vain figure, without a core and without life [...] "
Later interpretation
In Barbara Rita Krebs you can read that Secret Money, Secret Love is one of the five worst-failed pieces by Nestroy, the other four being Der Zauberer Sulphurelectrimagneticophosphoratus (1834), An apartment is for rent in the city (1837), Just rest! (1843) and Die liebe Anverwandten (1848).
Krebs notes that Nestroy's harsh criticism of a society where everything is about money hit the audience directly. The groups of the upper bourgeoisie and the money aristocracy, who were mainly represented in the suburban theaters at that time - the “common people” could hardly afford the increased ticket prices - saw themselves as the target of this criticism, and rightly so. This feeling was also so great due to the realistic representation that "a sense of comedy virtually forbade itself" (quote). Another point that was disturbing to the audience was the cast of the play's negative main character, Peter Dickkopf, the embodiment of the amorality of this social class, played by audience favorite Wenzel Scholz, of all people. If Nestroy had already been seen in roles like this (for example Rochus Dickfell in Just Calm! ), Scholz only wanted to be seen on stage as a harmlessly entertaining comedian.
text
- Complete text (in today's spelling) at nestroy.at/nestroy-stuecke/74 (accessed on April 12, 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 , pp. 335-336.
- Fritz Brukner , Otto Rommel : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works. Historical-critical complete edition. eighth volume, published by Anton Schroll & Co., Vienna 1926, pp. 1–128, 520–555.
- Jürgen Hein (Ed.): Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. In: Jürgen Hein, Johann Hüttner , Walter Obermaier , W. Edgar Yates : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works, Historical-Critical Edition. Youth and People, Vienna / Munich 1993, ISBN 3-224-16909-5 .
- Barbara Rita Krebs: Nestroy's Failures: Aesthetic and Social Conditions. Thesis . Humanities Faculty of the University of Vienna, Vienna 1989.
Web links
- Hans-Jörg Knobloch, Helmut Koopmann: The sleepy 19th century? On German literature between classic and modern. Königshausen & Neumann, 2005, ISBN 3-8260-2897-X , pp. 65–66. (accessed on April 12, 2014)
- WE Yates: In terms of time, there are still such private relationships. III. Chapter: Recovered manuscripts on 'Secret money, secret love'. Facultas.wuv / Maudrich, 2001, ISBN 3-85114-653-0 , pp. 90-91. (accessed on April 12, 2014)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Broker = intermediary in money and trade matters; see Franz Funk: The little book about the money couplers, feeders, negotiators, G'schaftelbergern, brokers or sensals . Vienna 1848 ( full text in the Google book search).
- ↑ Speculant = someone who gets involved in insecure business for the sake of high profits
- ↑ Krämer = (food) small trader
- ↑ Kräutlerin = Viennese for greengrocer who also mediated servants in Vienna
- ^ House poor = in Vienna a poor person who does not beg in public but is supported by private individuals
- ↑ comptoir = French: office, cash desk or business room
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 11.
- ↑ Narrenthurm = the “ Narrenturm ”, a round, stand- alone tower on the grounds of the Old General Hospital Vienna , was the world's first special building for the accommodation of the mentally ill
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 95.
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 102.
- ↑ Entry in the French-language article "Journal des débats"
- ^ Table of contents of the novel in Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. pp. 114-118.
- ↑ Facsimile of the theater slip in Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. p. 270.
- ↑ Manuscript collection in the Vienna City Hall , call number IN 33.427.
- ↑ Manuscript collection of the Vienna library in the town hall, call numbers IN 213.821 and 94.314.
- ↑ Music collection of the Austrian National Library , call number sm 8485.
- ↑ a b c Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 32. pp. 178-181.
- ↑ Barbara Rita Krebs: Nestroy's Failures. Pp. 9-10.
- ↑ Barbara Rita Krebs: Nestroy's Failures. Pp. 98-99.