Accompanied by his horseman Kasperl Larifari, prince Roseroth (Red-rose) is desperately looking for princess Lilienweiß. The fairy Liebinniglich appears in his dream and reveals that Lilienweiß (White Lily) was turned into a flower by the magician Negromanticus: it is a way for him to take revenge on the women who turned him down. With the help of the knight Hugo von Felseck–turned into a bear by the magician–Rosenroth fights and kills the dragon that was keeping the enchanted oak: a branch of this tree will allow Rosenroth to turn the flowers and animals back into humans. They all manage to enter Negromanticus’ garden, apart from Kasperl who is turned into a donkey. Rosenroth rescues the women that were turned into flowers, as well as Hugo von Felseck and of course Kasperl. The fairy Liebinniglich defeats the wizard once and for all, as he disappears amidst the flames.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Love

Hunger

Knighthood

Idealism

Flowers

Garden

Astronomy

Animals, Mythical

Tale

Fairy play

Fantasy

Burlesque

Title page of the play in the original edition of Pocci's comedies

German

Die bezauberte Lilie

Fairy

Prince

Kasperl

Knight

Magician

Bear

Dragon

Devil

Versified passages

Dream

Apparition

Song

Animated natural element

Lazzi

Talking animal

Fight with an animal

Address to the public

Sung scenes

Deus ex machina

Metamorphosis

Prinz Rosenroth und Prinzessin Lilienweiß

Prince Red-Rose and Princess White Lily

A poet comes out of his bath to walk on a bridge and enjoy the sunset. A gardener walks past him and mentions the glorious life he gave up in order to cultivate flowers. A young man relates his day spent hunting alone. Then comes a stranger, and after him a girl who is listening to a traveling singer. Night has now fallen. A group of three people arrives on the bridge: a madman, his servant, and a doctor. The madman is a young nobleman who had a life of abundance before devoting himself to solitude and to roaming. He meditates on the illusion of all things while leaning on the bannister. He tries to throw himself in the water, but his comrades prevent him from doing so.

Not specified

Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August

Austria

Bad Fusch

Bath

Evening

Landscape

Loneliness

Glory

Misery

Hunting

River

Childhood

Night

Destiny

Melancholy

Madness

Illusion

Suicide

Lyrical

Oder die Glücklichen

Gardener

Poet

Street singer

Fool

Domestic servant

Physician

Monologue

Teichoscopy

Light effects

Off-stage voice

Das kleine Welttheater

The small theatre of the world

It’s Saint John’s Day. The God Pan announces the arrival of dawn and invokes the spirit of flowers. Every character that appears seems to be filled with an overwhelming desire to love: a seminarian and the daughter of a priest secretly kiss, a bird sings for his lover, two young farmers embrace on a cart, two children talk about stars and babies, a nun praises her creator, two cats fight passionately, a young girl longing for love falls asleep… When she wakes up, an older girl suggests that they go see a witch that can make them see the man they will love. Despite their fear and the darkness, they go to the witch whose spell makes their future husbands appear. One looks oddly like the fisherman from the beginning of the play, and the other looks like the prince who previously appeared as a fish. Still quivering and bewitched, the two girls leave and Pan ends the play by playing the flute.