Arriving in China after a failed emigration to America, Kasperl finds himself in the service of the Mandarin Quingquing, Emperor Schunschi's "Minister of Confused Affairs". While styling his master's pigtail for the audience, Kasperl gets annoyed at not understanding what Quingquing is saying in Chinese and slaps him to death. Kasperl disguises himself as a Mandarin and goes to the hearing in his place, where he argues with Schunschi. When Schunschi retires, he asks for a drink. A barrel is brought to him, but opening it is an actual Chinese puzzle. The ghost of Quingquing finally emerges. Kasperl knocks him out and then resolves to drink tea, promising himself to return to Germany without delay.

String marionette

Not specified

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Far east

Middle Empire

Pigtail

Chinese

Phantom

Despotism

Triviality

Minister

Slap

Barrel

Emigration

Journey

Farce

German

Kasperl

Emperor

Valet de chambre

Esclave

Appearance

Disguise

Monologue

Murder on stage

Macaronism

Hyperbolic action

Ridiculous fight

Dialogue of the deaf

Parody of formal language

Kasperl in China

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

Cruelty

Bear

Hunting

Marriage

Romanticism

Novel

Knighthood

Young girl

Deafness

Curiosity

Kidnapping

Women's condition

Murder

Dramatic

Comical

Parodistic

Barbe-Bleue

Knight

Ecuyer

Song

Dance

Word for another

Devil's apparition

Blaubart

Bluebeard

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

Poetry

Emotions

Forest

Bird

Animal

Nature

Incomprehension

Dialect

Cuckoo

Kaspar Hauser

Genevieve of Brabant

Leda

Faust

Lyrical

Der Dichter am Kreuzweg als Vorspiel für ein Puppentheater

Poète

Old woman

Prologue

Comic Equivocation

Address to the public

Metatheatre

Vorspiel für ein Puppentheater

Prelude for a Puppet Show

The poet meets Kasperl in the street. He proposes to him to attend his puppet theatre, leaving him alone in front of the puppet booth. The first character to emerge is Hanswurst, but he fails to amuse Kasperl, who kills him by hitting him with a stick. Next, an allegory portraying Art enters the stage and offers him fruits. Kasperl does not find them to his liking and spills the garbage can on the poor woman's head. Finally, Death comes for him, and Kasperl knocks his head off with a stick. The furious poet returns to chastise him, but Kasperl has had enough and beats him to death.