The fisherman's daughter Lisi and the young bird-catcher Wastl live by a lake in Germany. They offer hospitality to the painter Wilhelm, who has just returned from Italy. The short play ends with a song to nature and joy.

Not specified

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Manuscript

Fishing

Bird

Nature

Painting

Artist

Picturesque

Countryside

Birdcatcher

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Bucolic

Forest

Wood

Happiness

Painter

Music

Italy

Journey

Hospitality

Childhood

Lyrical

German

Allegory

Monologue

Metatheatre

Song

Final song

Am See

By the lake

An effusive poet looking for meaning in his life, goes into the forest. He has contradictory feelings and awaits a sign from a superior force. All of a sudden, an old woman apprears. She is almost deaf and their communication hilariously fails. The old woman leaves and the poet, still looking for a sign, announces several adventures often staged by the puppet theatre, such as Faust or Genoveva.

Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August

Austria

Vienna

Printed

Poetry

Emotions

Animal

Deafness

Incomprehension

Dialect

Cuckoo

Kaspar Hauser

Genevieve of Brabant

Leda

Faust

Comical

Der Dichter am Kreuzweg als Vorspiel für ein Puppentheater

Poet

Old woman

Prologue

Dialogue of the deaf

Comic Equivocation

Address to the public

Vorspiel für ein Puppentheater

Prelude for a Puppet Show

The work tells the legendary story of the city of Elx (Elche), which is surrounded by palm forests, and of an angry dragon who sees his natural kingdom threatened by the development of the city beyond its walls. To prevent this, the dragon kidnaps the girls of the town and, by means of a spell, turns them into slender palm trees. An improvised hero puts an end to this curse: with the help of a fairy, he reaches an agreement between the dragon and the inhabitants, so that they preserve the palm grove forever.