''Das Feuerwerk'' (''The Firework'') is a musical comedy in three acts by

Paul Burkhard Paul Burkhard (21 December 1911, Zürich – 6 September 1977, Zell) was a Swiss composer. He primarily wrote oratorios, musicals and operettas. The contemporaneous and similarly named Swiss composer Willy Burkhard was no relation to him. Probab ...

. It is a

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...

version of the theatre piece '' Der schwarze Hecht'', performed in

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

, which premiered in 1939 at

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich ( en, Zürich playhouse) is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three st ...

, and originally draws inspiration from the comedy ''De sächzigscht Giburtstag'' by Emil Sautter. The libretto was written by

Erik Charell Erik Charell (April 8, 1894 – July 15, 1974), born as Erich Karl Löwenberg, was a German theatre and film director, dancer and actor. He is best known as the creator of musical revues and operettas, such as '' The White Horse Inn'' (''Im wei� ...

, Jürg Amstein and Robert Gilbert. ''Das Feuerwerk'' premiered on 16 May 1950 at

Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (''State Theatre at Gärtnerplatz''), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Orchestra and vocal roles

The orchestra comprises a flute, an oboe, two clarinets, a bassoon, two French horns, two trumpets, a trombone, a harp, a piano and strings. To perform in a smaller theatre, the composer also gave the option for two pianos and percussion, and even the latter can be left out. The work is set for singing actors rather than speaking actors. The roles are as follows: * Albert Oberholzer, factory owner * Karline Oberholzer, his wife * Anna, their daughter * Kati, the Oberholzers' cook * Josef, household help * Fritz Oberholzer, farmer * Berta, his wife * Gustav Oberholzer, councillor * Paula, his wife * Heinrich Oberholzer, professor * Klara, his wife * Alexander Oberholzer, alias circus director Obolski * Iduna, his wife * Herbert Klusmann, ship owner * Lisa, his wife * Robert, the Oberholzers' gardener (in love with Anna) * A groom * circus audience, including children In the abbreviated version, the roles of Heinrich, Klara, Herbert and Lisa are combined into two people, whereby Heinrich's wife is called Lisa.

Plot

The musical comedy is set in the villa and garden of factory owner Albert Oberholzer, at the start of the twentieth century. Oberholzer is celebrating his 60th birthday with his family (NB in some settings it is his 50th birthday being celebrated). Preparations are well under way. Anna, Oberholzer's daughter, is rehearsing a song written especially for the occasion with Kati, the household cook. Aunt Berta and her husband Fritz arrive first. Anna and Kati have scarcely restarted their rehearsal when the arrival of Aunt Paula with Uncle Gustav and Aunt Lisa with Uncle Heinrich disturbs them again. After the greetings, Anna and Kati want to perform their song, but another arrival interrupts them, that of Oberholzer's brother Alexander, the black sheep of the family, with his wife Iduna. Alexander has become the director of a travelling circus and calls himself Obolski; he has much with which to regale. His wife Iduna tells of her father's talents as a clown. In a dream scene, Anna's aunts appear as the circus's big cats in an arena. The uncles, acting as clowns, make the audience laugh. Iduna rides a horse and Anna swings on a trapeze. Anna decides to run away with the circus. Robert cannot understand the actions of his beloved, but this does not change her mind. The men of the party dance around Iduna and shower her with compliments. Iduna confides in Anna that behind the glamour of the circus there is also a darker side, and that she craves a more permanent existence. Anna recognises that she is perhaps not made for the travelling life. Her father is so delighted with her change of mind that he finally gives his approval for her engagement to Robert.

Musical highlights

''Das Feuerwerk'' was Paul Burkhard's most successful work. The song ''

O mein Papa "" is a nostalgic German song, originally as related by a young woman remembering her beloved, once-famous clown father. It was written by Swiss composer Paul Burkhard in 1939 for the musical ' (''The Black Pike''), reproduced in 1950 as '' Das Feue ...

'' (''Oh my father'') became particularly famous; an English-language version by

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, ''The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress Eli ...

''"Oh! My Pa-Pa"'' made it to Number One in the US in 1954. Further well-known songs were *''"Ich hab‘ ein kleines süsses Pony"'' (''"I have a sweet little pony"'') *''"Ich sag‘ es gern durch die Blume"'' (''"I'm happy to say it among the flowers"'') *''"Ein Leben lang verliebt"'' (''"A lifetime in love"'') *''"Die Welt ist gross und weit"'' (''"The world is great and wide"'') The work, which was published under the genre of musical comedy, is reminiscent both in music and subject of American musicals and therefore marks a departure from the traditional

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

in German theatre entertainment of the 1950s.

Film adaptations

Director

Kurt Hoffmann Kurt Hoffmann (12 November 1910 – 25 June 2001) was a German film director, the son of Carl Hoffmann. He directed 48 films between 1938 and 1971. He ran a production company Independent Film along with Heinz Angermeyer. His 1958 film ''W ...

filmed the musical comedy in 1954 with

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...

Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...

Karl Schönböck Karl Schönböck (4 February 1909 in Vienna – 24 March 2001 in Munich) was an Austrian actor.Claus Biederstaedt Claus Biederstaedt (28 June 1928 – 18 June 2020) was a German actor. He studied in Hamburg and began his career working with Joseph Offenbach. Among the actors for whom he dubbed were Yves Montand, Peter Falk, Marlon Brando, Vittorio Gassman, a ...

in the main roles.

External links

''Das Feuerwerk''
www.felix-bloch-erben.de (Verlag für Bühne, Film und Funk) {{DEFAULTSORT:Feuerwerk, Das 1950 musicals German musicals