Damira, sentenced to drown by her husband Creonte, king of Egypt, was saved by the fisher Silo, who took her in with his wife Lerinda to raise her as their daughter, changing her name to Fidalba. During a royal hunting game, Silo gives Creonte water from the Nile. To thank him, Creonte invites him to Court with his family. Fillide, the king’s favourite, has two lovers – Nigrane and Breno – but she hopes to marry Creonte. However, when the king promises that he will marry her, a painting of Damira falls to the ground: Creonte has an unfavourable premonition. Breno and Nigrane, pining for love together, realise that they love the same woman. Creonte discovers them and condemns them to exile. Damira comes back to Court, disguised as Fidalba, with Silo and Lerinda; Nerillo organises a dance of Armenians for them. Fillide says goodbye to her two lovers. In the palace, Nerillo shows Fidalba a painting recounting Damira’s story, and he announces the wedding of Creonte and Fillide. The king welcomes Silo and Lerinda, and thinks he recognises their daughter as his ex-wife. Fillide tries to bring the wedding forward, but Fidalba interrupts her and announces that the king’s wife is still alive. While the young woman is thought to be mad, Creonte is plagued by remorse. Fillide overhears the end of his monologue and believes that she will be killed like Damira: she asks Breno to kill Creonte. Damira, hopeful, pretends to be mad. The act ends with a dance of madmen. Breno tries to kill Creonte, who is sleeping by the Nile; Nigrane prevents him from doing so, but he is wrongly accused of trying to kill the king, and he is poisoned. To save him, Fillide gives him her clothes and has him leave with Nerillo. She gave Silo a golden chain to thank him for his good offices. Out of jealousy, Lerinda tries to take revenge on her rival and reports that she fled with Nerillo; Damira, wanting to take revenge, hits Nigrane, dressed as Fillide. Excused because Lerinda thinks she is mad, Damira reveals her identity and asks Creonte to pierce her breast: he is moved and decides to take his wife back. Creonte uncovers the veiled figure, Nigrane, and everyone reconciles – accusing Cupid, the blind god.

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

Acciaiuoli Filippo (aka Gran Burattinajo)

Aureli Aurelio

Italy

Venice

Printed

Love

Murder

favorite

Shepherdess

Egypt

Lyrical

Italian

Wife

King

Favorite

Knight

Captain

Eunuch

Peasant (man)

Peasant (female)

Music

Love duet

Play in verse

Interlude

Dancing entertainment

Disguised character (false identity)

Love story

Love rivalry

Seduction scene

Hunting scene

Sleeping character

Attempted assassination

Sword thrust

Cross-dressing

Scene of recognition

Damira placata

Damira pacified

While fishing in a lake despite the prohibition, Casperl catches a crawfish, which tells him its story: it is actually called Zimbimbimperl and was transformed into a crawfish by her father, the magician Crocodilus, after a violent argument with her mother, the Egyptian fairy Persea. Persea travels the world to find her daughter, when she meets Casperl who informs her of Zimbimbimperl's fate. The gods of Egypt return her daughter to her, but demand that she sacrifices Casperl to them in return. In the meantime, Crocodilus has been captured and sold in a menagerie. But he manages to escape and takes refuge in the lake, surprising the reunion of mother and daughter. He wants to devour them, but Casperl intervenes and knocks him out. Crocodilus is calmed by the blow to the head. He has barely reconciled with his family when the owner of the Löwenmajer menagerie comes to claim him for his circus. Casperl kills him and declares the sacrifice to the gods complete. The play ends with a grand finale and an apotheosis of 'Casperl the Wise'.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Rail transport

Inflation

Fishing

Waste

Scatology

Lost child

Menagerie

Magic

Forgiveness

Freemasonry

Oriental wisdom

Fantasy

Farcical

Parodistic

Satirical

German

Oder der Verzauberte Krebs

Fairy

Magician

Kasperl

Madame Kasperl

Miller

Tamer

Fish

Monologue

Talking animal

Brawl

Parody of formal language

Instrumental tune

Address to the public

Chorus

Metatheatre

Off-stage voice

Thunderbolt

Metamorphosis

Board

Transforming scenery

Crocodilus und Persea

Crocodilus and Persea

Following a brawl in the tavern, Kasperl tells his wife that he is becoming a misanthrope and is withdrawing from the world. He also leaves the role of the police commissioner. His misfortunes lead him to the European residence of the Egyptian prince Tamino and his wife Pamina, which is also the retreat of the aging magician Sarastro. The Moor in the service of the Queen of the Night, Monostatist (the Monostatos of The Magic Flute), helps Kasperl, who presents himself as a learned traveller, to break into the palace: he hopes that he will stir up trouble. The hungry Kasperl proves to be an extremely rude host, and the frequent visits of the Queen of the Night, which plunge the scene into darkness each time, add to the confusion. Sarastro is nevertheless prepared to initiate the so-called scholar into the mysteries of Freemasonry, but Kasperl mainly amuses himself by banging the gong and then stamping his foot on the lodge master's table: Sarastro forbids him to do so, they quarrel and Kasperl knocks him out, then runs away with the protection of the Queen of the Night. Pursued by Tamino's lion, he is narrowly saved by the hunter Thomerl, who shoots the lion. They then return home with their trophy, much to the amazement of the police. The Queen of the Night appears to wish the audience good night.

Opera

Mother-in-law

Orientalism

Beer

Tavern

Breakfast

Black

Slave

Lion

Bureaucracy

Misanthropy

Classical music

Hermeticism

Esotericism

Queen of the Night

Lady-in-waiting

Monostatos

Police Superintendant

Thomerl

Police officer

Allegory

Word for another

Song

Light effects

Casperl in der Zauberflöte

Kasperl in the Magic Flute

To laud the Sphinx of Egypt, the narrator dedicates his entire song to him and mentions a legend (which is in fact used as a pretext to go far back in time). According to this legend, the Sphinx sees every people in the history of the Levant pass before him every night. From tableau to tableau, the narrator describes these nightly apparitions, thus crossing centuries, from the days of the Pharaohs to Napoleon’s empire, showing the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs Christians, etc. The legend is followed by regrets. The narrator mourns these great and epic peoples, then ventures into eschatological considerations, predicting that the Sphinx will survive the Apocalypse…

Shadow theatre

France

Paris

Monument

Ancient history

End of the world

Civilization

Epic

Amédée Vignola, Le Sphinx, second tableau (Le Pharaon [The Pharaoh]), etching.