Aschenbroedel
Encyclopedia
Aschenbrödel is a ballet
written by Johann Strauss II
. He had written all the principal parts of the ballet, and was intending to fill in the orchestration as time permitted. However, Strauss died in 1899, and it was finished by composer Josef Bayer
in 1900.
The idea for Strauss to write a ballet came from Rudolf Lothar, editor of the influential magazine Die Waage (The Weighing Scales). This occurred after the music and dance critic Eduard Hanslick
, having been encouraged by Strauss' impressive Act 3 ballet score in his only opera Ritter Pásmán
, suggested that Strauss should write a full-score ballet. On 5 March 1898, a contest was organised in order to decide a proper scenario for Strauss' new ballet. The panel of judges consists of Hanslick; Gustav Mahler
, the controversial conductor and composer who at the time also directed the Vienna Court Opera (including its ballet company); maecenas Nikolaus Dumba; Strauss himself, and Rudolf Lothar.
Finally, it was decided (after receiving over 700 entries) that the winner was a certain A. Kollmann from Salzburg
. The prize money was even effected through a lawyer representative and there were even rumors circulated that Kollmann was a pseudonym
and that he may even be a member of the royalty in Emperor Franz Josef
's court.
Strauss was not particularly impressed with the scenario set in a modern department store, although he set to work almost immediately. He worked at his pace and refused to be rushed, and by the winter of 1898, he had completed the Act 1 and was able to perform small parts of the orchestral version on the piano. By the time Strauss died in Vienna
on 3 June 1899, the work lay unfinished, although sketches of the entire work were already done.
Josef Bayer
duly completed the work in 1900 and presented the score to Gustav Mahler
for future production at the Vienna Court Opera. Mahler refused to appraise the score, doubting the originality of the work, as Bayer himself was also a ballet composer, and when shown the original score in Strauss' writing, he claimed that he could not care for the music. Many persistent rumors suggested that he was not interested in ballet at all and only concentrated on full-scale opera
works. This has been disputed by the fact that Mahler himself was eager to obtain the rights to stage Tchaikovsky
's The Sleeping Beauty ballet and that due to the lack of budget, he was not able to stage Cinderella
as envisioned in the scenario.
In 1901, Berlin
's Royal Opera took interest in the score, with its directors captivated by the music, although they disapproved of the scenario. Their choreographer, Emil Graeb, suggested a change to the scenario and the task fell to Austria
n writer Henrich Regel. The work's premiere on 2 May 1901 was a success, although reservations were made by Strauss' biographer, Ignatz Schnitzer, who commented that Bayer's orchestration fell short of Vienna's light-heartedness and the now-revised scenario was too 'puritanical'.
Mahler left the Vienna Court Opera at the end of the 1907 season. The new director, Felix Weingartner
, who was impressed with the score, eagerly sought it out and conducted the orchestra himself at the premiere in Vienna
on 4 October 1908. The ballet was regularly performed for seven years, achieving forty-six performances until the outbreak of World War I
. Ironically, Mahler proved to be more accurate in his judgment as to the cost of the production, as the Viennese performances were expensive, and was neglected until 1975 when the ballet was resurrected.
Typically, the printed program for Cinderella lists all the dances. From this inventory one gets an inkling how Viennese ballets at the time differed from those of St. Petersburg, which we know at least a little. There are four dances in Act 1. The first, called Franz’s Self-portrait, introduces the ballet’s junior male lead (probably demicaractere) to the female cast of characters and to the audience. In this solo, Franz (Ferdinand Rathner) proclaims who he is and what he does. One of the things he masters is driving an automobile—dancemiming this topic seems very Leonide Massine. The stepsisters (danced by real sisters, Lydia and Olga Berger) have a Promenade Adventure and Piccolo (Luise Wopalenski) does a Love Letter Delivery to Grete (Marie Kohler) who, with her trained birds, dances the Waltz of the Doves.
Apparently there are no ensemble dances in Act 1, though there are several in Act 2, at the party thrown by Gustav. First comes the Marveilleusen Quadrille for Franz and the female corps. A pas de trois, Masked Game, is for the stepsisters and Gustav (Karl Godlewski, one of Hassreiter’s deputy choreographers). Grete dances a solo named the Blue Domino after the costume she wears (probably as covering as she arrives at the party). The Confections Waltz (which may have something to do with the refreshments being served) features nine female soloists and the female corps; this is followed by a Salon Quadrille for four couples, a mazurka for the stepsisters, and Grete’s big solo: the Cinderella Waltz. The ballerina (Cäcilie Cerri, Vienna’s last Italian prima, was "Flora") enters in a Welcome with Flowers, which leads into the biggest dance number, the Flowertorch Polonaise with "Flora," Grete, thirteen female soloists, Gustav, four male soloists, the adult female corps and the group of female students.
An Amoretten polka is the first dance in Act 3, followed by the Bridal-Treasure Waltz for Grete, a female soloist, Piccolo, Gustav, and the female students. The next dance, Old Vienna Porcelain, for Piccolo plus four solo women and four solo men, may represent a wedding present, and the final Jewels Waltz for Piccolo, nine female soloists and the female corps, is perhaps, the setting for the bridegroom’s gift to his bride.
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
written by Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
. He had written all the principal parts of the ballet, and was intending to fill in the orchestration as time permitted. However, Strauss died in 1899, and it was finished by composer Josef Bayer
Josef Bayer
Josef Bayer was an Austrian composer and the director of the Austrian Court Ballet from 1883 until his death. He was born and died in Vienna...
in 1900.
The idea for Strauss to write a ballet came from Rudolf Lothar, editor of the influential magazine Die Waage (The Weighing Scales). This occurred after the music and dance critic Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick was a Bohemian-Austrian music critic.-Biography:Hanslick was born in Prague, the son of Joseph Adolph Hanslick, a bibliographer and music teacher from a German-speaking family, and one of his piano pupils, the daughter of a Jewish merchant from Vienna...
, having been encouraged by Strauss' impressive Act 3 ballet score in his only opera Ritter Pásmán
Ritter Pásmán
Ritter Pázmán is the name of a three-act opera composed by Johann Strauss II, with the libretto by Ludwig Dóczi. It first premiered at the Hofoper in Vienna on New Year's Day in 1892...
, suggested that Strauss should write a full-score ballet. On 5 March 1898, a contest was organised in order to decide a proper scenario for Strauss' new ballet. The panel of judges consists of Hanslick; Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, the controversial conductor and composer who at the time also directed the Vienna Court Opera (including its ballet company); maecenas Nikolaus Dumba; Strauss himself, and Rudolf Lothar.
Finally, it was decided (after receiving over 700 entries) that the winner was a certain A. Kollmann from Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. The prize money was even effected through a lawyer representative and there were even rumors circulated that Kollmann was a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
and that he may even be a member of the royalty in Emperor Franz Josef
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
's court.
Strauss was not particularly impressed with the scenario set in a modern department store, although he set to work almost immediately. He worked at his pace and refused to be rushed, and by the winter of 1898, he had completed the Act 1 and was able to perform small parts of the orchestral version on the piano. By the time Strauss died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 3 June 1899, the work lay unfinished, although sketches of the entire work were already done.
Josef Bayer
Josef Bayer
Josef Bayer was an Austrian composer and the director of the Austrian Court Ballet from 1883 until his death. He was born and died in Vienna...
duly completed the work in 1900 and presented the score to Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
for future production at the Vienna Court Opera. Mahler refused to appraise the score, doubting the originality of the work, as Bayer himself was also a ballet composer, and when shown the original score in Strauss' writing, he claimed that he could not care for the music. Many persistent rumors suggested that he was not interested in ballet at all and only concentrated on full-scale opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
works. This has been disputed by the fact that Mahler himself was eager to obtain the rights to stage Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's The Sleeping Beauty ballet and that due to the lack of budget, he was not able to stage Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
as envisioned in the scenario.
In 1901, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's Royal Opera took interest in the score, with its directors captivated by the music, although they disapproved of the scenario. Their choreographer, Emil Graeb, suggested a change to the scenario and the task fell to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n writer Henrich Regel. The work's premiere on 2 May 1901 was a success, although reservations were made by Strauss' biographer, Ignatz Schnitzer, who commented that Bayer's orchestration fell short of Vienna's light-heartedness and the now-revised scenario was too 'puritanical'.
Mahler left the Vienna Court Opera at the end of the 1907 season. The new director, Felix Weingartner
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, who was impressed with the score, eagerly sought it out and conducted the orchestra himself at the premiere in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 4 October 1908. The ballet was regularly performed for seven years, achieving forty-six performances until the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Ironically, Mahler proved to be more accurate in his judgment as to the cost of the production, as the Viennese performances were expensive, and was neglected until 1975 when the ballet was resurrected.
Summary of plot
The action takes place in a department store, The Four Seasons. The leading characters are Gustav, owner of the store, and Franz, his younger brother and rival for the love of Grete (Cinderella), who works in the women’s fashions department. Grete’s stepmother, Mme. Leontine, is the department’s supervisor. She has, of course, two daughters who lord it over Grete and don’t seem to work though they are often in the store. Another key character, Piccolo, Gustav’s valet, is a travesty role. As mentioned, the ballerina (the part is referred to as "Floral") appears only in the ballroom (Act 2) for the floral divertissement.Typically, the printed program for Cinderella lists all the dances. From this inventory one gets an inkling how Viennese ballets at the time differed from those of St. Petersburg, which we know at least a little. There are four dances in Act 1. The first, called Franz’s Self-portrait, introduces the ballet’s junior male lead (probably demicaractere) to the female cast of characters and to the audience. In this solo, Franz (Ferdinand Rathner) proclaims who he is and what he does. One of the things he masters is driving an automobile—dancemiming this topic seems very Leonide Massine. The stepsisters (danced by real sisters, Lydia and Olga Berger) have a Promenade Adventure and Piccolo (Luise Wopalenski) does a Love Letter Delivery to Grete (Marie Kohler) who, with her trained birds, dances the Waltz of the Doves.
Apparently there are no ensemble dances in Act 1, though there are several in Act 2, at the party thrown by Gustav. First comes the Marveilleusen Quadrille for Franz and the female corps. A pas de trois, Masked Game, is for the stepsisters and Gustav (Karl Godlewski, one of Hassreiter’s deputy choreographers). Grete dances a solo named the Blue Domino after the costume she wears (probably as covering as she arrives at the party). The Confections Waltz (which may have something to do with the refreshments being served) features nine female soloists and the female corps; this is followed by a Salon Quadrille for four couples, a mazurka for the stepsisters, and Grete’s big solo: the Cinderella Waltz. The ballerina (Cäcilie Cerri, Vienna’s last Italian prima, was "Flora") enters in a Welcome with Flowers, which leads into the biggest dance number, the Flowertorch Polonaise with "Flora," Grete, thirteen female soloists, Gustav, four male soloists, the adult female corps and the group of female students.
An Amoretten polka is the first dance in Act 3, followed by the Bridal-Treasure Waltz for Grete, a female soloist, Piccolo, Gustav, and the female students. The next dance, Old Vienna Porcelain, for Piccolo plus four solo women and four solo men, may represent a wedding present, and the final Jewels Waltz for Piccolo, nine female soloists and the female corps, is perhaps, the setting for the bridegroom’s gift to his bride.