<p>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.</p>

Not specified

Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August

Austria

Bad Fusch

Printed

Bath

Evening

Landscape

Flowers

Loneliness

Glory

Misery

Hunting

Dream

River

Childhood

Night

Destiny

Melancholy

Madness

Illusion

Suicide

Lyrical

German

Oder die Glücklichen

Gardener

Poet

Street singer

Fool

Domestic servant

Physician

Monologue

Teichoscopy

Light effects

Song

Off-stage voice

Das kleine Welttheater

The small theatre of the world

<p>One after the other, an array of characters sing their thoughts about the plan to open a public beach on the shore of Lake Geneva (Genève-Plage, inaugurated in 1932 in Cologny, where Marcelle Monnier and Laure Choisy lived). While some praise the benefits of swimming, others ridicule the flaws of their fellow citizens.</p>