Lady and Tailor

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Data
Title: Lady and Tailor
Genus: Posse with singing in two acts
Original language: German
Author: Johann Nestroy
Literary source: Les Mystères de Paris by Eugène Sue
Music: Michael Hebenstreit
Publishing year: 1849
Premiere: February 6, 1849
Place of premiere: Carltheater
Place and time of the action: The action takes place partly in a provincial town and in the lady's castle
people
  • Count of Hohenstein
  • Friedrich, Paul , his sons
  • Lady Bridewell , widow
  • Lord Atworth , her uncle
  • Baroness von Kargenhausen
  • Adele , her daughter
  • Fuchs , secretair of the baroness
  • Miss Kemble , lady's maid
  • Jean , servant of Count Paul
  • Georg , servant in the count's castle
  • Restl , an old tailor
  • Linerl , his daughter
  • Hyginus Heugeign , tailor, Linerl's groom
  • Thimble , Biegelscheer , apprentice tailors
  • Ball guests, lackeys, musicians

Lady and Tailor is a farce in two acts by Johann Nestroy . The first performance took place on February 6, 1849 in the Vienna Carltheater as a benefit performance for the poet.

content

For the amateurish politicizing and thoroughly opportunistic tailor Hyginus Heugeign, politics is more important than his profession and his bride Linerl ( "Politics is also the highest" ). When, by chance, he receives the order to tailor a ball costume for Lady Bridewell, he weaves together alleged political backgrounds:

“It's too clear; people became aware of me. The aristocracy presses against me in fearful uncertainty - they did not miss a word of my speeches in Bierhaus at the court - England obviously has a hand in it, that alone is proof that something is visible. " (Second Act, 26. ste  scene)

The real reason is an intrigue of Count Paul against his older brother Friedrich. Heugeign misunderstands everything and considers himself the focus of political intrigues. Linerl is misused by Paul and Fuchs as a means to an end by persuading her that by disguising as Lady Bridewell she can save her groom from ruin. Lord Atworth, who sees through everything, takes the opportunity of a meeting of all concerned in the castle of Lady Bridewell to help his niece and expose the intriguers. Only Heugeign believes in his political task until the end:

Heugeign: "Now I have to ask in all seriousness that you explain to yourself what the certain higher purposes are for which you want to use me."
Atworth: "I don't understand you -"
Heugeign: "With the state coup and terrorism developments?"
Atworth: "My first statement is confirmed, man is a fool."
Rem: "son who speaks it out, thinking I've's silent me already long in." (First Act, 29 th and 30 th  Scene)

Only then does Heugeign come to his senses and ruefully return to Linerl and his tailor workshop.

Factory history

Nestroy's play was based on an adaptation of Eugène Sue's serial novel Les Mystères de Paris (The Secrets of Paris), which appeared in the Paris daily Le Journal des débats from 1842 to 1843 . Nestroy had used earlier Sue as the source, namely in 1846 for Zwey eternal Jews and none the stage play errant Le Juif (The Wandering Jew) and later (1852) for Kampl chapter L'Orgueil (pride) of the novel Les Sept Péchés (The seven deadly sins). However, the only note on the playlist was that the plot is partly taken from French .

In the tradition of the old Viennese folk theater , the elements of the costume balls used by Nestroy with disguises, kidnappings, crooks with daggers and passwords as well as the role of the tailor were always present, so that Ferdinand Raimund in Die heilbringende Krone has the village tailor Simplizius Zitternadel say:

"[...] now they can't do a piece where they don't have something from a tailor in there [...] (first act, ninth scene)"

Like Judith and Holofernes , Nestroy wrote this piece in the first months after the unsuccessful revolution in Vienna. Nestroy's Lady and Schneider can to a certain extent be seen as a counterpart from the reaction era to the revolutionary piece of freedom in Krähwinkel , the main character Hyginus Heugeign is the reflection of Eberhard Ultra, Lady Bridewell that of Frau von Frankenfrey.

While Ultra was still portrayed as a naive enthusiast, Heugeign is an overestimating opportunist whose entire amateur political understanding culminates in his ambition for fame:

"You need me even where at the head, sey's movement or Clubb, liberal, legitimate, conservative, radical, oligarchic or even ka narchisch, to me is all one, just great!" (First Act, 10 th  Scene)

The premiere was originally planned for February 1st, but had to be postponed for a few days because of an ailment of Wenzel Scholz .

Johann Nestroy played Hyginus Heugeign, Wenzel Scholz played tailor Restl, Alois Grois played secretary Fuchs. The piece was only performed six times (February 6-11) before it disappeared from the stage for more than 100 years and was not performed again until 1954 (in the Small Theater in the Konzerthaus in Vienna). A more recent performance took place in 2011 at the Nestroy Games in Schwechat .

A complete handwriting of Nestroy is no longer available, only a few sheets with preparatory work for couplets , scenarios, title pages with lists of persons and dialogue sketches. On one of these sheets the original title is given as The Man at the Top . The original score by Michael Hebenstreit is lost.

Contemporary reception

This piece provoked unflattering reviews in the press, because Nestroy was evidently resented for having satirically treated the recent revolutionary events.

Even if the weaknesses of the material were admitted, the criticism of February 8, 1849 (No. 33, p. 131) in the Austrian Courier (as Adolf Bäuerle's Wiener Theaterzeitung was called for some time) was the only one positive in praise for the witty dialogues and the political allusions:

"What is not by Nestroy in this piece can be seen immediately, and we regret that he applied his excellent talent to such a dull subject, but the inadequacy of the subject is not too important, almost forgetting about the dialogue the thread of the play, and has only the extraordinary wit of the author in mind, with which he again knew how to furnish his latest elaborate in abundance. "

In contrast to the Austrian Courier, who wrote of lively applause, The Free Austria, also on February 8 (No. 37, p. 132), noted the public's displeasure because of some political allusions. The lack of funny dialogues was also criticized:

“Unfortunately today we notice little successful jokes in the discussed piece, most of which are based on politics. [...] and that Mr. Nestroy will soon forget the repaired journeyman's work with a robust masterpiece. "

The humorist of Moritz Gottlieb Saphir , Nestroy's constant opponent, complained about an "equivoquen, lascive scene" - Heugeign takes Linerl's measure (2nd act, 13th scene) - especially the satirical comments in the two couplets:

“[…] Apart from that, these songs were in themselves very weak and meaningless; The author mostly abstracted the former about the turn of the times and the changing of the saddles - from himself, and the other contained nothing funny at all, because that with the flooding of the Leopoldstadt, the stairs come later, if it is still is true, really nothing foolish. "

This vicious criticism throughout the reception text challenged Nestroy to write a cautious reply, which was published on February 18, 1849 in the Austrian Courier (No. 168). The satirical answer to Saphir's accusations was also brought by Das Freie Österreich on February 22nd with a twelve-part approving comment:

"[...] 12. Who can ask such silly questions? - The files on the value and importance of Saphir's reviews have long been closed. "

In the February 8th Wanderer , apart from some criticism of the play, it was also alleged that the source was a French vaudeville entitled Barber and Minister, "whose original authors are known to us". However, the reviewer did not disclose the names of the authors and a vaudeville of this title has not yet been found (as of 2000).

Negative reviews were also in the Wiener Zeitschrift (February 8, No. 27, p. 107), in the Patrioten (February 9, No. 34, p. 270–272), in the Allgemeine Österreichische Zeitung (February 10, No. 40, p. 276) - she compared the piece with “reaction dumplings with radical sauerkraut” (quote) - and reading some other leaves.

Later interpretations

Otto Rommel suspects that the success of the piece with the audience is less due to the “dull and inadequate plot” (quote), but rather to the political allusions in the text of Hyginus Heugegn, Nestroy's role, for which the audience in 1849 had an open ear would have.

Of Helmut Ahrens is detected into perspective, the farce show eloquently that Nestroy on the one hand about the loss of was recently won freedoms unhappy - censorship was the young Emperor Franz Joseph introduced according to the pattern before 1848 again - however, on the other hand once again show his rejection of a political definition. It can be clearly seen, however, that the poet missed the lack of a new order, a new freedom and true equality as a result of the revolution, which led to a depressive mood in the couplets of his Hyginus Heugeign.

In Peter von Matt Nestroy's "wavering heroism" is provocatively addressed after the suppression of the revolution. According to Matt's argument, the author of Freiheit im Krähwinkel 1849 “has no inclination towards political martyrdom. It is very important to him for his personal well-being, even more to the uninterrupted development of his financial budget. [...] After the bloody October 1848, Nestroy is obviously anxious to secure himself publicly with some pointed reactionary statements [in Lady and Schneider] . ” (Quote). Nevertheless, according to Matt, many of Heugeign's sentences would be deliberately ambiguous, as he could rightly assume that the censors would not recognize complex relationships.

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 .
  • John RP McKenzie (Ed.): Johann Nestroy, pieces 26 / II. In: Jürgen Hein , Johann Hüttner , Walter Obermaier , W. Edgar Yates : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works, Historical-Critical Edition. Franz Deuticke Verlagsgesellschaft, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-216-30314-4 ; Pp. 1-80, 153-292.
  • Otto Rommel: Nestroys Works. Selection in two parts, Golden Classics Library, German publishing house Bong & Co., Berlin / Leipzig / Vienna / Stuttgart 1908.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heugeign = Viennese for tall, gaunt person; actually a peg with stumps for drying hay, see Heinze
  2. ^ McKenzie: Johann Nestroy, Pieces 26 / II. Pp. 37-38.
  3. ^ McKenzie: Johann Nestroy, Pieces 26 / II. Pp. 79-80.
  4. ↑ a b Facsimile of the theater slip in John RP McKenzie: Johann Nestroy, Pieces 26 / II. P. 483
  5. ^ Rudolf Fürst : Raimund's works in three parts; Third part. Golden Classics Library, German publishing house Bong & Co., Berlin / Leipzig / Vienna / Stuttgart 1909; P. 20.
  6. ↑ Play on words: even ka = Viennese for none, none of it
  7. ^ McKenzie: Johann Nestroy, Pieces 26 / II. P. 23.
  8. ↑ January 23, 2011 in the Kultur-Channel
  9. ↑ Manuscript collection in the Vienna City Hall , shelf marks IN 33.381, 33.382, 33.383, 33.384, 33.385, 33.386, 33.387, 33.388, 33.389, 35.051, 94.356, 94.374, 94.375, 94.387; Facsimiles of 33,386, 94,374 and 94,375 in McKenzie: Johann Nestroy, pieces 26 / II. Pp. 484-486.
  10. ^ McKenzie: Johann Nestroy, Pieces 26 / II. Pp. 171-194. (for the entire chapter on contemporary reception )
  11. ↑ équivoque = French for ambiguous, suggestive
  12. ↑ Couplet Heugeigns in the 1st act, 8th scene: allusion to the political "Umsatteln" of many contemporaries after the suppression of the revolution; Saphir accuses Nestroy of inferring others from himself
  13. ↑ Couplet Heugeigns in the 2nd act, 17th scene: After an ice rush flooding the Leopoldstadt in January 1849, the construction of stairs (boardwalks) for the population is said to have taken eight days
  14. ^ Otto Rommel: Nestroys works. S. LXXVIII-LXXIX.
  15. ↑ Helmut Ahrens: I am not auctioning myself off to the laurel. Pp. 314-317.
  16. ↑ Peter von Matt: Nestroys Panic. In: The fate of the imagination. Studies on German Literature. Hanser, Munich / Vienna 1994, p. 142.