The daughter of the emperor Otto bemoans her life as a nun in a convent. In contrast with her, the king of Bohemia, Eginhard, would like to live a secluded life in the forest but the private tutor Dietwaldus manages to arouse his desire for Otto’s beautiful daughter; he also offers to help her escape. A series of metamorphoses blurs the characters’ identities; the nun and Dietwaldus go back between their original form and that of diabolical beings. In the convent, the nun yields to the request of Dietwaldus, who has transformed into a nun himself: she agrees to flee. In his room, the emperor Otto curses his daughter. A magical mirror shows her wedding at the court of Bohemia. The emperor’s death threats reach Eginhard; he regrets having followed Dietwaldus’s advice. The advisor stabs himself with his sword; a devil appears and carries his corpse. The king Eginhard and his wife now live hidden in the Bohemian Forest. The emperor has sent his army to look for them, destroying every neighbouring village. All his men are dead, save for a squire with whom he travels through the woods; they narrowly escape the wolves. They reach the castle in which Eginhard’s court has taken refuge, and go to sleep in a room quickly prepared for them before they arrived. Everyone spies on them through a magical mirror which has been transformed into a window. The king Eginhard and his wife hear the emperor expressing regret. They then walk into the room and ask to be whipped to be forgiven. Moved, the emperor calls for the peace and unity of the kingdom. The heads of the people gathered transform into the heads of animals as well as of poets and philosophers known for their antagonisms and bad blood…

Shadow theatre

Not specified

Kerner Justinus

Germany

Printed

Middle Ages

Forest

Magic object

Forgiveness

Deal with the Devil

Burlesque

Fantasy

Pathetic

Flyleaf of the original edition of Reiseschatten

German

Dwarf

Emperor

Preceptor

Table

Devil

Bohemian woman

Fairy

Horseman

Teacher

Mouse

Poodle

Metamorphosis

Running gag

Accumulation of events

Monologue

Mise-en-abyme

Dinner scene

Hidden character

Spying scene

Night scene

Barker

Characters merging with one another

König Eginhard

King Eginhard

The Plumcake family arrives in Biskra. The wedding of their daughter, Miss Maud, will happen in the Sahara; however, their arrival in the oasis of merrymaking is delayed: they cross paths with a lion and get lost; a caravan comes by and saves the lost family. The spectacular ceremony can finally take place: the procession and dances begin.

Switzerland

Geneva

Printed summary

Orientalism

Sahara

Caravan (travellers)

Algerian infantry

Algeria

Party

Ouled Naïl (Algerian nomadic tribe)

Desert

Wedding

Comical

Dramatic

Maurice Potter, engraving advertising the Théâtre du Sapajou, 1896.

French

English man

Wife

Lion

Goat

Arab

Berber

Husband

Algerian

Soldier

Colonial troop

Horserider

Dancer

Parade

Song

Dance

Le Mariage au désert

The Wedding in the desert

A teacher recounts the feats of the Swiss army to his students. He begins with the Helvetians’ victory against the Romans, then mentions Guillaume Tell’s feats. The students are thrilled. He relates the battle of Sempach, Morat, and Marignano, then the Napoleonic occupation. The teacher ends his class by praising the generals Dufour and Herzog’s key role in the confederal construction of modern Switzerland.

All audiences

Printed outline

Iconic battles

People and history

Capitulation

History lesson

Nationalism

Epic

Didactic

Shadow figure by Louis Dunki for L‘Armée suisse à travers les âges, published in Le Sapajou.

Pupil

Leader

Roman

Guillaume Tell

Hermann Gessler

Swiss

Charles the Bold

Napoleon

General

Classroom scene

Battlefield scene

L'Armée suisse à travers les âges

The Swiss army through the ages

In the Valais canton, the sun rises over a pathway and a small wooden house. The mountains appear in the background. It is spring; the goatherd’s horn can be heard in the valley and the goats come running. The village of Savièze comes to life: the girls riding on mules’ backs go to work in the vineyard, two women are chatting, the pigs try to run away from the farmers,… A family of English tourists goes on a walk guided by Lord Quick, who is leading his daughters as a shepherd guides his flock… A storm breaks out in the valley, forcing the tourists, the shepherds and the animals to seek shelter. After the storm, the hikers finish climbing the high mountain and a chamois hunt resumes. Bells and prayers can be heard as a procession slowly walks towards the old chapel of Savièze: the women, the penitents, the priests, the altar children and the elderly are all part of it. The village finally celebrates Christmas before falling asleep under the snow.

Mountain

Seasons

Storm

Bucolic

Christmas

Alps

Tourism

Nature

Realist

Lyrical

Outline of Henri van Muyden's Goatherd for En Valais, copied in Le Sapajou.

Shepherd

Tourist

Painter

Bull

Porcher

Hunter

Chamois

Daughter

Penitent

Choirboy

Old man

Priest

Procession

Apotheosis

Comical foreign accent

En Valais

As planet Earth is covered by oceans, molten matter is cooling down. Dinosaurs are cooing among the ferns, and the first rocks are starting to form. A naked man from the Stone Age is proudly mounting a horse he has recently tamed. Jules César (Julius Caesar), also on horseback, is posing. Then come the crusades, and Godefroid de Bouillon is proclaimed King of Jerusalem. Centuries later, his equestrian statue is erected on the Royal Square. The horse is replaced by a boat. The city and its port reach the highest point of their history.

Belgium

Brussels

Statue équestre

Géologie

Paléontologie

Darwinism

Essor économique

Illustration by Léon Dardenne from a programme of the Théâtre du Diable au Corps, December 1896.

König Eginhard

Le Mariage au désert

L'Armée suisse à travers les âges

En Valais

Godefroid de Bouillon à travers les âges

Fantaisie lyrique en sept tableaux