The “weibe rossl” at the bamberger theater: the pure lust for kitsch and cliche
Operetta or singspiel in the spoken theater, which often takes place by guest performance, because the own actors can sing, but are no professionals. But if you listen to such fresh singing as that of stefan herrmann, then you will be happy about the unused vocal virtues.
The wurzburger played the leading role in the production of the classic "im weiben rossl" at the bamberger e.T.A.-hoffmann theater, which had its premiere on saturday in the version by the pfister siblings and was largely ventured with the company’s own ensemble. And won!
Frivolous reinterpretations
Right at the beginning, the first yodels of the postwoman are heard, and the lascivious behavior of a parlor girl makes the hardly dead assertion "auf der alm, da gibt’s koa sund" ("on the pasture, there’s no health") to the test.
When the first song of the pay waiter leopold "but my lords" is sung the tipping refusers leave the restaurant in a hurry, we are on the subject: travel in preubian, which must mean, loosely based on tucholsky, that everything in a foreign country has to be the same as at home, but cheaper, please.
Here he comes bursting in, the grouchy berlin jersey manufacturer giesecke (stunning: bertram maxim gartner), who actually prefers the wannsee to the wolfgangsee, and starts complaining. Soon wordplay develops, sentences begun are frivolously reinterpreted, and when the hostess josepha (virtuosic as always: katharina brenner) brings in the regular guest dr. Settlers arrives, the time is ripe for the evergreen "im weiben rossl am wolfgangsee".
When the others join in, the intonation doesn’t quite fit anymore, and the luck isn’t "in front of the door" either, but the scene is refreshing. But as soon as the tricky question of the room is settled, it’s time to say: "the whole world is blue"!" A golden-bronze garden gnome comments on the umbrella-covered rain song and directs the gaze to the successful choreography (tatiana diara).
The love-struck leopold
Then it is night, and giesecke, who arrives with "powidltatschkerln" of course can’t do anything with it, desperately fishes for something to eat from the mulleimer.
The landlady dismisses leopold, who is as love-crazed as he is pompous. He comments on the ejection with "I can’t watch", watching his josepha the attorney dr. Settlers (elegant: denis grafe) ensnared. He has long had his eye on giesecke’s daughter ottilie and invites her to a waltz. The berliner, unstoppably swarming from his alternative destination ahlbeck, suddenly succumbs to the austrian pressure to adapt and appears in an alpine outfit.
"The world is already" and "in the salzkammergut, there can be good fun" the slogans are now, but when giesecke also believes he has to appear with a tuba, the harmonica motif from "spiel mir das lied vom tod" (play me the song of death) sounds threateningly.
Now the time is ripe for the "gentle sigismund", giesecke’s jersey rivals, as well as the thrifty professor hinzelmann (with ironic noblesse: stephan ullrich), who enjoys explaining the pecuniary fashions of travel to his daughter klarchen. In the second act, giesecke has to scramble to the summit and is then confronted with mail delivery problems at the alm. When josepha learns of the emperor’s unannounced visit, she approaches leopold, whom she now urgently needs.
General smooching
But he dictates rather strict conditions to her. With franz joseph II. (statuary: eckhart neuberg) the personal tableau is completed by a harmless emperor, whom even leopold’s faux pas can’t uplift.
After all kinds of word and scene jokes, ottilie (with a beautiful timbre: corinna pohlmann) and the lawyer found each other, as did sigismund and klarchen. Their deficits – a bald head and a lisp – are old gags, but when you do it as refreshingly as eric wehlan and anna doing, it remains funny. When the landlady reveals her change of heart towards leopold ("husband for life") in her work certificate, the three couples start making out in general, and even the meanwhile astonishingly good-humored berliner doesn’t care now whether the jerseys are buttoned up at the front or at the back.
For an all-around perfect performance of benatzky’s original music and the interludes, the indisputable (and also scenically present)!) bettina ostermeier with her small but exquisite ensemble.
Sibylle broll-pape’s direction guaranteed flowing scene changes in a decor designed by trixy royeck to be bold and colorful, but not too garish.
Conclusion: with this sottise bursting with wit, you can glide charmingly into the new year.
