Venus asks her son Cupid to make Adonis fall in love with her. Punch is furious and curses the gods, love and poetry. Cupid hears him. He strikes him with an arrow and condemns him to love Proserpina. When she appears, Punch sings his love to her. She dies and Punch is driven to despair. Venus and Adonis are in love. Venus asks Adonis not to go hunting because it would be too dangerous. Adonis ignores her plea and goes anyway. He is wounded and dies. Venus wants to catch his soul and join him. She is mourning his death with Pallas. Jupiter visits Proserpina in the Underworld to convince her to love Punch, who has been changed into Mars by Jupiter. The two lovers kiss and go back to the surface. All the characters ascend.
In her epilogue, Iris declares that love has prevailed.

Rod and string marionette

Not specified

Great Britain

London

Printed

Love

Death

Hunting

Latin Mythology

Metamorphosis

Comical

Burlesque

Parodistic

Martin Powell, Venus and Adonis, 1713. (Title page).

English

Adonis

Eros

Jupiter (Jove)

Punch

Mars

Venus

Athena

Proserpina

Iris

Satyre

Nymph

Sung play

Hunting scene

Ascent to heaven

Set that comes to life

Magic spell

Venus and Adonis; or, the Triumphs of Love.

Truitonne quarrels with her sister Florine – she is unhappy with her own name and reproaches her for being loved by everyone while she is despised. She would like to inflict pain on others and to be loved anyway. Their godfather Enchanteur Rotomago (Sorcerer Rotomago) announces that he would like them to marry: Truitonne with Prince Charmant (Prince Charming) and Florine with himself. Gilles, Prince Charmant’s servant , comes in and announces Prince Charmant’s arrival, but at first the characters mistake him for his master. When Charmant arrives, he immediately notices Florine, while Rotomago tries to draw attention to Truitonne. A Fée (fairy) steps in to warn him that Florine is the woman he must love. Rotomago bribes Gilles so that he helps him set up a trap. He will have Charmant believe that Florine has asked to see him. But taking advantage of the dark, they will make Truitonne come to the rendezvous instead. Thus, Truitonne poses as Florine and Charmant gives her a ring as a token of his love. As he believes that he is speaking to Florine, Charmant wishes out loud that a devil would carry her sister away, and his wish is fulfilled – a devil carries Florine away, but Charmant launches himself after her. Once at the cemetery, Charmant and Gilles meet an apparition of her that tells them that Florine is still alive. Rotomago asks Charmant to marry Truitonne, and when he refuses, he punishes him by changing him into a bird for seven years. Florine is made captive in a tower under the supervision of Gilles, who has them believe that Charmant died of sorrow and of an indigestion of rum babas. A blue bird (Oiseau bleu) enters her room, and Florine understands him to be Prince Charmant. He takes hold of a cane and hits Gilles. Rotomago, Truitonne and Gilles go after Oiseau bleu. The latter comes back to Florine and receives a letter brought by a Bourdon (bumblebee), in which he is told about an attack on his kingdom. Gilles glimpses Oiseau, shoots him with a gun then puts him in a magical coach that takes him to his own castle. There, he convinces the Seigneurs (lords) of his court to let him lead an army to battle. Rotomago appears and offers to give him back his human form on condition that he marries Truitonne. Charmant agrees in order to protect his subjects. As Charmant and Truitonne’s marriage is about to be celebrated, a Génie (Genie) appears with Florine. He transforms the Enchanteur into a turkey and convinces Gilles and Truitonne to marry, while Charmant will marry Florine.

String marionette

France

Paris

Manuscript

Magic

Enchantment

Jealousy

Treason

Wedding

Fantasy

L'Oiseau bleu, first page of the manuscript.

French

Princess

Magician

Servant

Gille

Prince

Fairy

Genie

Devil

Lord

Misunderstanding

Song

Disguise

Situation comedy

Off-stage voice

Graveyard scene

Dance

Flying machine

Talking animal

Entering with vehicle

Letter

Blow-with-a-stick

Gunshot

Apparition of a genius

Final song

L'Oiseau bleu

The blue Bird

On the advice of his companion Bluteck, the cruel knight Barbe-Bleue (Blaubart) decides to remarry for the seventh time and kidnaps Bertha, the eldest daughter of the rich Geldsack. The next day, Barbe-Bleue leaves the castle and gives Bertha all the keys, including the one to the secret cabinet, which he nevertheless forbids her to enter. But Bertha disobeys him and discovers the decapitated bodies of his previous wives. To punish her for her curiosity, Barbe-Bleue sentences her to death. She is saved by her former suitor Hugo von Hohenfels, who, with the help of the servant Kasperl, enters the castle and kills Barbe-Bleue.

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Cruelty

Bear

Romanticism

Knighthood

Young girl

Deafness

Curiosity

Kidnapping

Women's condition

Murder

Dramatic

German

Barbe-Bleue

Kasperl

Knight

Ecuyer

Monologue

Word for another

Dialogue of the deaf

Parody of formal language

Apparition of the Devil

Blaubart

Bluebeard

Kasperl is buried in debt and runs away from the city. He believes that there is no other solution but to kill himself. But when the Devil arrives and drives him to hang himself, Kasperl realises that his time has not come yet. At this exact moment, gunshots are heard. The hunter, Hasenmajer, thinking that he was shooting a billy goat, almost killed Kasperl. In order to be forgiven, he invites his “victim” to the inn to get a drink. Spitzer, the school teacher, arrives at the inn with terrible news: a Turko has escaped from the convoy of prisoners. The innkeeper Krüglhuber refuses to believe it, but the waitress, Kathi, confirms that the Turko has been seen devouring a little child. Krüglhuber is terrified and demands that all doors be closed. The huntsman comes in and announces that he has captured the Turko and wants his reward, 400 gulden. The innkeeper accepts, but wants to see the prisoner first. Hasenmajer shows him Kasperl disguised as a Turko, locked in a cage. Krüglhuber is happy: he can announce that there is a new attraction in his inn. But Kasperl gets out of the cage and locks the innkeeper inside. The latter realises that the “Turko” is none other than his debtor. Kasperl offers him a deal: either the innkeeper agrees to forget about his debts in exchange for his freedom, or he will have to replace the “Turko”. Krüglhuber has no other choice but to accept Kasperl’s offer.

Debt

Cage

Savage

Algerian infantry

Racism

Grotesque

Franz von Pocci, Neues Kasperl-Theater, 1873.

oder Ein Kasperlstreich aus dem Jahre 1870

Hunter

Innkeeper

Waitress

Schoolteacher

Disguised character (false identity)

Plot twist

Spectacular turn of events

Der gefangene Turko

The Turko prisoner

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.

Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August

Austria

Bad Fusch

Bath

Evening

Landscape

Flowers

Loneliness

Glory

Misery

Dream

River

Childhood

Night

Destiny

Melancholy

Madness

Illusion

Suicide

Lyrical

Oder die Glücklichen

Gardener

Poet

Street singer

Fool

Domestic servant

Physician

Teichoscopy

Light effects

Das kleine Welttheater

The small theatre of the world

A Unicorn crosses the stage with a forest in the background, saying “Honni soit qui mal y pense." Three men are looking at it and discussing the best way to catch it. One of them brought a sixty-year-old Virgin woman who wears a veil, as the Unicorn is attracted by purity. The Unicorn feels the presence of the Virgin, draws near her, and puts its head on her lap. The Virgin signals to the men to catch the animal, unveils, and uncovers her true identity - she is Britannia. The Unicorn feels betrayed and dies of sorrow. The Royal Coat of Arms is lowered, and the Unicorn is placed opposite to the roaring Lion. A butcher’s shop appears under the coat of arms, and the butcher can be seen chopping meat. A child rings at the shop, and the butcher’s son's voice can be heard alerting his mother.

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Marina di Pisa

Purity

Virginity

Royals

Monarchy

Patriotism

Coat of arms

Satirical

Fowler

Virgin

Unicorn

Butcher

Child

Trap

Allegory

The Rape of the Unicorn

Le Viol de la licorne

Plum Plum is taking a walk. He runs into Plouf the dog but does not recognise him because the dog has caught a cold and is wearing a scarf. Plum Plum’s Maman (Mom) is looking for him because he left with a gun to go hunting. She finds him, but he shoots twice with the gun, out of fright. Plum Plum brings the gun back home and then continues hunting with a butterfly net. He catches Plouf. A princess is taking a walk in the forest. Zouzou the dragon appears, but he has the hiccups. He decides to kidnap the Princess. The Roi (king) calls for help and Plum Plum volunteers to go fight the dragon. He catches Zouzou in his net and the latter explains that he kidnapped the Princess so that someone would scare the hiccups out of him. Plum Plum threatens to cut his moustache off and to tie a saucepan to his tail. Zouzou is terrified and the hiccups go away. Plum Plum brings Zouzou to the king so that he can be taken to the zoo. The King and the Princess thank Plum Plum.