Faust and Gretchen single work   musical theatre   opera   humour   - 4 acts
Adaptation of Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , 1790 single work drama
Issue Details: First known date: 1883... 1883 Faust and Gretchen
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Advertised as a parody on Goethe's Faust," this four act operetta was first staged in Adelaide under the auspcies of the Deutsche Maenner Gesang Verein (German Men's Choral Society) and in aid of the Rhine Inundation Fund. Presented in German, the English-only speaking members of the audience were given a translation in the program. The South Australian Register's critic records, however, that the English words "fell rather flat on paper when contrasted with the sonorous German on the stage" ('Albert Hall: Faust and Gretchen' p.7).

Set in Germany in 1850, the libretto is described as "tolerably smart," with situations somewhat funny" (ibid, p.7). The dramatic act is set up in the beginning:

Dr. Faust (whose title is due to a bogus certificate from America) ia discovered relating some particulars of his past life. His meditations are interrupted by a students' drinking song, which revives memories of the past and determines him to return to his old life. He summons his assistant, Mepheles (who has failed to take his degree and has sunk rather low in the social scale… (ibid, p.7).

The same critic goes to to suggests that the mainspring in the fun lies among the incongruities, for we which we have costumes ranging from the antique picturesque to the modern grotesque, and the mingling of these in occasional groupins has a mirth-provoking effect… Altogether Faust and Gretchen passed off remarkably well, and smoothly enough to show that it had been carefully rehearsed" (ibid, p.7).

Production Details

  • 1883: Albert Hall, Adelaide; 19 March [amateur]

    • Music Director/Conductor. Moritz Heuzenroeder; Producer Deutsche Maenner Gesang Verein.
    • Cast incl. Miss Schraeder (Margaretha).

    1883: Albert Hall, Adelaide; 12 November [amateur]

    • Music Director/Conductor. Moritz Heuzenroeder.
    • Cast incl. Miss Schraeder (Margaretha).
    • Second act only. Presented along with the second and third acts of Weber's Der Freischutz.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Albert Hall : 'Faust and Gretchen' 1883 single work review
— Appears in: The South Australian Register , 20 March vol. 48 no. 11340 1883; (p. 7)

— Review of Faust and Gretchen Richard Jaentach , 1883 single work musical theatre

Review of the 1883 Adelaide production (Albert Hall; 19 March). The review includes an extensive synopsis of the narrative.

Albert Hall : 'Faust and Gretchen' 1883 single work review
— Appears in: The South Australian Register , 20 March vol. 48 no. 11340 1883; (p. 7)

— Review of Faust and Gretchen Richard Jaentach , 1883 single work musical theatre

Review of the 1883 Adelaide production (Albert Hall; 19 March). The review includes an extensive synopsis of the narrative.

Last amended 1 Sep 2016 12:18:31
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