In 1859, the acclaimed but also criticized author and actor Johann Nestroy, a typical yet anomalous representative of the Viennese popular theatre, staged his parodic rewriting of Wagner’s «Lohengrin». Nestroy was a many-sided artist and great user of the language, whose texts often come close to, without apparently doing so, hot spots of the period. The Viennese audience, perhaps recognizing itself too much in it, did not hail the play as a great success, although it followed an analogous and much more appreciated rewriting of «Tannhäuser» (1857). The «Viennesization» of the work, due more to the use of language than to mere parody, helps to unravel the resonant original right in those parts which contain the germs of what would later flow into the cult of Germanism. The present work will contextualize Nestroy’s «Lohengrin» and analyse its main parodic features.
Lohengrin alla corte di Vienna
MAZZA, DONATELLA
2013-01-01
Abstract
In 1859, the acclaimed but also criticized author and actor Johann Nestroy, a typical yet anomalous representative of the Viennese popular theatre, staged his parodic rewriting of Wagner’s «Lohengrin». Nestroy was a many-sided artist and great user of the language, whose texts often come close to, without apparently doing so, hot spots of the period. The Viennese audience, perhaps recognizing itself too much in it, did not hail the play as a great success, although it followed an analogous and much more appreciated rewriting of «Tannhäuser» (1857). The «Viennesization» of the work, due more to the use of language than to mere parody, helps to unravel the resonant original right in those parts which contain the germs of what would later flow into the cult of Germanism. The present work will contextualize Nestroy’s «Lohengrin» and analyse its main parodic features.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
