Knickerbocker Holiday
| Musical dates | |
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| Title: | Knickerbocker Holiday |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Kurt Weill |
| Book: | Maxwell Anderson |
| Lyrics: | Maxwell Anderson |
| Literary source: | "A History of New York" by Washington Irving |
| Premiere: | October 19, 1938 |
| Place of premiere: | new York |
| Place and time of the action: | New York 1809 and 1647 |
| Roles / people | |
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Knickerbocker Holiday is a musical in two acts with prelude and epilogue. The music comes from Kurt Weill . The libretto and the lyrics were written by Maxwell Anderson . The piece is based on the satire "A History of New York" by Washington Irving , which Irving had published under the pseudonym "Diedrich Knickerbocker". It premiered on October 19, 1938 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York . After 168 performances the piece went on a 9-week tour. Translated by Katharina Heinsius and Johannes Stephan, the German-language premiere took place on November 25, 1948 in Essen. Another German-language performance took place on September 25, 1976 at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg , Ute and Volker Canaris had made a new translation for it.
In 1944 the musical film of the same name was released.
action
foreplay
The poet Washington Irving regrets that he has so far only written literature for the general public. So he decided to finally write a truly literary work, a romantic comedy about the early days of New York, which was then still called New Amsterdam and was a Dutch colony.
first act
The New Amsterdam Council is preparing for the arrival of the new Governor, Pieter Stuyvesant . In his honor one of the prisoners is to be publicly executed, even if he has not yet been tried. Only Roosevelt, the youngest member of the board, is reluctant. As the dispute threatens to escalate, news arrives that all prisoners have managed to escape.
Brom Broeck and his friend Tenpin had left New Amsterdam some time ago to seek their fortune abroad. Now they are returning to their hometown. Brom longs to marry his childhood sweetheart Tina, but this does not fit her father Tienhoven, the current chairman of the council, into the concept. He thinks his daughter's fiancé is a good-for-nothing. He would love to see him dangling from the gallows. When Brom then dares to accuse the city council of bribery and other offenses, Tienhoven's collar bursts. He has the young man arrested and led to the scaffold. To avoid death, Brom falls into a ruse. He is able to convince the council to use a type of hanging that has recently been practiced in Europe, in which the rope is not placed around the neck but around the waist. And so it happens.
When Stuyvesant arrives, he pardons Brom, dissolves the council and decrees that firearms may no longer be sold to the Indians. Because he has had an eye on Tienhoven's daughter, he appoints her as his special envoy, who inconsistently is allowed to conduct arms deals with the redskins on behalf of the government. Soon after, Tienhoven had a herald announce that his daughter was destined to become the governor's wife. Tina doesn't want to believe that she should marry a man who could be her grandfather by age. Stuyvesant insists on getting married as soon as possible, especially since he is no longer the youngest. Meanwhile, Brom rebels against the governor and publicly describes him as a dictator because he does not allow the people to have a say. Stuyvesant then has the rebel arrested without further ado.
Second act
General Poffenburgh selects suitable men among the citizens of New Amsterdam to form a powerful force with whom he can defend the homeland. Meanwhile, a couple of girls come to Tina as bridesmaids and ask her to come to the wedding ceremony. Before the contract can be signed, however, the celebration is suddenly interrupted by gunfire and wild cries of battle in the street. Brom, who has meanwhile managed to flee, and Tenpin rush in and report that New Amsterdam is being attacked by a bunch of Indians. Stuyvesant calls his army to attack. Tenpin is fatally injured in the battle. Brom declares the governor guilty. Had he not hired Tienhoven to sell weapons to the Indians, his friend would still be alive. He calls on the people to drive the dictator out of office.
Now events precipitate: Stuyvesant orders the rioter to be shot dead. But this succeeds in pulling the people on his side. Stuyvesant sees his last political chance of survival in bloodily suppressing the uprising with his army. The fact that it does not come to that, however, is due to the poet Washington Irving, who is now intervening again in the event. He draws a vision: Stuyvesant certainly wants to go down in history as the glorious patron of New Amsterdam. But with this goal it is not compatible if he now behaves as a bloodthirsty monster. The poet's words fall on fertile ground. The governor promises to change for the better. He also no longer insists on taking Tina as his wife. Thus, nothing stands in the way of a marriage between Brom and the girl.
Aftermath
In a short epilogue, Stuyvesant philosophizes about the importance of chance.
Musical numbers
- Introduction and Washington Irving's Song - Introduction and Washington Irving's Song
- Clickety-Clack - Klapperdiklapp (Young Girls Choir)
- Entrance Of The Council
- Hush, Hush - Are you a greenhorn on the council (Roosevelt with the council)
- There's Nowhere To Go But Up - Yes, then things can only go up (Brom and Tenpin)
- It Never Was You - But I never found you (Brom)
- How Can You Tell An American - What is the man from America like? (Irving and Brom)
- Will You Remember Me - My dear, do you still think of me? (Brom, Tina and Ensemble)
- Stuyvesant's Entrance - Stuyvesant's performance (orchestra)
- One Touch of Alchemy - A Touch of Demony (Stuyvesant and Ensemble)
- Exit of The Council - Excerpt from the Council (orchestra)
- The One Indispensable Man - A very indispensable man (Stuyvesant and Tienhoven)
- Young People Think about Love - But those who are young only need love (Tina with ensemble)
- September Song (Stuyvesant - The song became a huge hit in America)
- All Hail, The Political Honeymoon - Heil, Heil dempolitischen Wonnemond (Ensemble)
- Ballad Of The Robbers (Irving)
- Sitting in Jail - As long as you are a guest in jail (Stuyvesant)
- We Are Cut in Twain - In Lieb und Leben (Tina and Brom)
- The Army of New Amsterdam (Orchestra)
- To War! - On, on to the fight (choir of the army)
- Our Ancient Liberties - Where Has Golden Freedom Goed (Councilors)
- May and January - O see the difference in the years (Ensemble)
- The Scars - When a Brave Soldier (Stuyvesant)
- The Algonquins from Harlem - Die Algonquins von Harlem (Orchestra)
- Dirge for a Soldier - lament for a soldier (ensemble)
- No, We Wouldn't Gon to Do It - No, We Won't Do It (Ensemble)
- How Can You Tell an American - How is the man from America (ensemble, recapitulation and finale of the second act)
literature
- Siegfried Schmidt-Joos : "The Musical", Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv) Munich (1965)
- Elmar Juchem: “Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson. New ways to an American music theater ", JB Metzler, Stuttgart (2000)
- Charles B. Axton and Otto Zehnder: " Reclams Musical Guide ", 10th edition 2009, ISBN 978-3-15-010697-6
Individual evidence
- ^ John F. Wharton, Life among the Playwrights: Being Mostly the Story of the Playwrights Producing Company (New York: Quadrangle, 1974), 279.