Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind

Josefstädter Strasse 26

1080 Wien

 

Original music by Wenzel Müller

Oh shame, I am a misanthrope and end up in a love that has no end.

“If Raimund had written three pieces about the value of the Alpine King, his name would never be forgotten in the history of German poetry,” wrote Franz Grillparzer about his fellow poet. The original magic play The Alpine King and the Misanthrope clearly shows how much Raimund was Pieces were ahead of their time in terms of philosophical and psychological depth. “With the allegory embodied in him, Rappelkopf still belongs to the baroque theater; as a mentally ill person, he already belongs to that of modern times.”
(Heinz Politzer)

In Raimund's play, which premiered in 1828, the rich landowner Rappelkopf distrusts everyone. Not even his family can get through to him. Only when the mighty Alpine king Astragalus shows him his own self is he cured of his misanthropy and comes to insight.

Raimund's magic play offers a wealth of magnificent characters - from the inhumane Rappelkopf to his wife Sophie, who is desperately fighting for her marriage, and the mysterious Alpine King to the weird characters of the play: the servant Habakkuk, who constantly claims, “I was in Paris for two years ", and the cheeky housemaid Lischen. The music, including well-known songs like “So farewell, you quiet house,” comes from Wenzel Müller. Josef E. Köpplinger, who celebrated a great success with Der Bauer als Millionär at the Theater in der Josefstadt, will continue his engagement with Ferdinand Raimund with this production.

 

(Source: josefstadt.org)