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Die Gänsemagd
(The Goose Girl) (2009)Libretto by Helga Utz (G)
cS,2M,B,actor/dancer; bcl-accordion-vlc-sampler
Abbreviations (PDF)
Bote & Bock
Dschungel, Theaterhaus für junges Publikum, Wien
Jewgenij Sitochin, director
Company: Die Wiener Taschenoper
| Princess | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Her mother, the Queen / Kürdchen, The Goose Keeper | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Female Servant | Coloratura Soprano |
| King / Butcher | Bass (with large speaking part) |
| Prince / The Horse | actor or dancer |
The princess is sent to a distant kingdom in order to marry the prince. She sets out on her journey with a talisman her mother has given her and accompanied by her maid and Fallada, a talking horse. Along the way, the maid suddenly refuses to serve her lady. When the princess kneels down at a brook to drink some water, she loses her talisman, which served as her guardian angel. The maid forces her to switch their roles and commands the princess to remain silent. Fearing that Fallada might betray her, she has him killed. The princess is now a gooseherd working with Kürdchen. Whenever she passes the city gate, she speaks to the horse’s head that has been hung up there. Kürdchen, not knowing what to make of this, talks to the king about what he has seen. When the king confronts the princess, she refuses to answer since she is sworn to silence. The king suggests that she express her grief to the oven. However, he eavesdrops on her. The maid sticks by the assertion that she is the legitimate bride, whereupon the king turns her out. Now there is nothing left to spoil the happy ending: the true princess gets her prince and becomes queen.
Poetic