Leander is in love with Leontine, the daughter of the rich Gebhard. Leander’s footman, Hanswurst, is in love with the maid, Katharinchen. Old Gebhard spends his time reading two books from the "Das Reich der Todten" (The Empire of the Dead) series, which collects imaginary conversations between dead people. He is against his daughter’s wedding. Leander only has a chance at marrying her if he learns the books by heart. The lovers decide to give a sleeping pill to Gebhard, to take him to the garden, and to make him believe that he died. They dress up to stage the chaos happening in The Empire of the Dead. Leontine, Leander, Katharinchen, and Hanswurst go to meet the old man one by one. They explain to him that they too died and that it was his fault. Gebhard thus ends up giving his consent for the wedding. Ernst, a cereal merchant from whom Leander sought advice, enters the stage to expose the trickery to Gebhard, who learns that none of them is dead.

String marionette

Not specified

Hofmann Anton

Germany

Augsburg

Manuscript

Hell

Death

Reading

Illusion

Deception

Wedding prevented

Father

Dialogue of the dead

Comical

Farcical

Poster from Joseph Peter Seelig, Augsburg, circa 1820 (Stephan Oettermann: Ankündigungs-Zettel von Kunstreitern, Akrobaten, Tänzern, Taschenspielern, Feuerwerkern, Luftballons und dergleichen, Wiesbaden 1993, no. 1683)

German

Die bestrafte Einbildung, oder: Das Reich der Todten mitten im Reich, der Lebendigen

Rentier

Fiancée

Chambermaid

Merchant (man)

Fiancé

Léandre

Hanswurst

Servant

Disguise

Illusory world

Final wedding

Monologue

Cross-dressing

Das Reich der Todten

The Empire of the Dead

A poor old man dreams of marrying Mademoiselle de Bilaingre, while lamenting his age, which prevents him from doing so. Satan appears and offers to grant him all his wishes: to replace his old shack with a castle, to marry the young girl, and to live in the ‘brilliant costume of Count Maurice de Maltinguène’, who died in a duel a year earlier. However, there is one condition: every year, the old man must marry a new young girl, stab her the day after the wedding, drink her blood, and send her body to Satan. After a moment's hesitation, the old man gives in and signs the pact. Jules, the nephew of the Count of Bilaingre, returns from his studies to claim his cousin's promised hand in marriage. But he discovers that she has now been promised to another. Jules asks for the name of his rival and learns that it is Count Maurice de Maltinguène, which he knows to be impossible: he himself witnessed the duel in which the count was killed. The Count of Bilaingre then suggests that he stay to meet this rival. At the chapel, Julia refuses the marriage proposal in front of everyone. Later, Jules and Guignol hide there. When Count Maurice de Maltinguène draws his sword to kill Julia, Jules and Guignol rush in to save her. While Guignol accompanies Julia, Jules challenges the count to a duel and kills him. However, the count is resurrected, but in order to survive, he must kill the young girl before two o'clock in the morning. Two devils bring Julia before the count, but he perishes, having exceeded the time allotted to him. The Count of Bilaingre thanks Jules and promises him his daughter's hand in marriage.

Glove-puppet

France

Tuchan

Old age

Love

Devil

Eternal youth

Cemetery

Phantom

Curse

Blackmail

Vampire

Prophetic dream

Promise

Revenge

Duel

Fantastic

Dramatic

French

Count

Undead

Satan

Cousin

Old man

Guignol

Daughter

Young woman

Domestic servant

Angel

Ghost

Spectre

Demon

Apparition of the Devil

Pact with the devil

Aside

Music

Change of age

Change of social status

Disguised character (false identity)

Avista

Apparition of a ghost

Apparition of an angel

Comedy of language

Chorus

Song

Hidden character

Death on stage

Le Vampire ou le buveur de sang

The Vampire or the Blood Drinker

After singing and dancing, Pulcinella goes under Teresina’s balcony and calls to her. The building’s watchman arrives and asks Pulcinella what he is doing. The watchman, who is Teresina’s father, demands that Pulcinella speak with her. Teresina arrives and Pulcinella tells her that he wants to marry her. She agrees, on condition that he gets permission from her brother Nicola, who is very suspicious and jealous. Nicola rejects Pulcinella’s request as he doesn’t want his sister to marry such an ugly, unpleasant and weird man. The pair fight with sticks and Pulcinella kills Nicola. The story continues like any classic guarattelle show with other scenes where Pulcinella faces Death or is arrested and sentenced to hang.

Marotte

All audiences

Zampella Nunzio

Italy

Naples

Printed summary

Jealous brother

Engagement

Nunzio Zampella's puppet booth with his Pulcinella and his Teresina

Neapolitan

Pulcinella

Guardian

Teresina

Brother

Thug

Dance

Swazzle

Blow-with-a-stick

Syntactic parallelism

National language as a social marker

Il fidanzamento di Pulcinella

Pulcinella's Engagement

Pulcinella calls Teresina, his fiancée. He has already talked with her father and brother, and now wants to plan their wedding, but Teresina admits that they need to solve one last problem. Before falling in love with Pulcinella, Teresina was engaged to Vincenzo Carnevale, who does not know that their love story has ended. Pulcinella agrees to talk to him. First, Pulcinella and Carnevale argue, and fight for Teresina’s love. Then, Pucinella explains to Carnevale that Teresina does not want to marry him anymore. Carnevale pretends to accept this, but decides to sabotage Pulcinella’s wedding. He dresses up as a woman and seduces Pulcinella. As a woman, Carnevale is very attractive and also charms a guappo, Gennarino Cataclisma. When Gennarino realises that Carnevale is a man, he kills him before being murdered by Pulcinella. Pulcinella, Teresina, and the other puppets grieve Carnevale and sing the traditional dirges (nenie) that are dedicated to him in Naples. In Hell, Carnevale meets Gennarino and the pair goes to honour their love. But first, Carnevale asks the devil Farfariello to sabotage Pulcinella and Teresina’s wedding. Farfariello asks his friend the rooster for help: he sends off his fiancée, the hen Cicerenella, to seduce Pulcinella. Pulcinella murders Cicerenella and makes a roast chicken out of her. The rooster seeks revenge. Farfariello curses Pulcinella: when he eats the chicken, he suffers from terrible abdominal pain. A doctor comes to help, misdiagnoses Pulcinella, and calls a midwife. Pulcinella gives birth to a large egg. As he is about to make an omelette with it, a little Pulcinella comes out of the egg, followed by four other Pulcinellini. Teresina, realising that Pulcinella birthed five children on his own, is overjoyed: she will not have to suffer. She is still determined to marry him. They both dance a final tarantella.

Leone Bruno

Printed

Gender

Burial

Birth

Seduction

Unfaithfulness

Il parto di Pulcinella

Carnival

Old woman

Sculptor monk

Cock, cockerel

Doctor

Midwife

Pulcinellino

Nursery rhyme

Misunderstanding

Enchantment

Childbirth on stage

Multiplied characters

Egg eclosion

Storia di Carnevale

Story of Carnival, Pulcinella giving birth

Before beginning the show, the puppeteer asks the audience to remain silent, “to listen, to understand, to whistle, to make pernacchi” (mocking sounds made with the mouth which Pulcinella will accept as though they were applauses). Pulcinella arrives on stage and dances with his fiancée Teresina. Then he goes under her balcony to sing a serenade. Teresina’s father arrives and asks Pulcinella for explanations. When he learns that Teresina is Pulcinella’s fiancée, the father goes fetch his daughter so that Pulcinella can speak to her. Pulcinella tells Teresina that he wants to marry her. She agrees on condition that he asks for her brother’s approval to marry her. Nicola – her brother – is very suspicious and jealous. Nicola refuses, as he does not wish for her sister to marry such an ugly, unpleasant and odd man. They both fight by striking each other with a stick and Pulcinella kills Nicola. He takes the dead man to the cemetery, into a coffin. Here, Death plays tricks on him. Then, He (Death) strikes Pulcinella with a stick and they both fight. But in the middle of the fight, a guappo (gangster) comes on, replaces Death and receives a stroke of Pulcinella’s cane. They begin to fight each other and Pulcinella kills him. He carries the dead on his shoulders and shouts like a ragman: “o sapunaar! Rat’m’ e vestit’ san’, v’ ronc’ e piatt’ scassat’!” (ragman! Give me all your nice clothes and I’ll give you broken dishes”). Pulcinella, now free, goes prepare the papers for his marriage and dances with Teresina.