Strauss, Johann
Waldmeister (1895)
Operetta in two acts
Libretto after Gustav Davis; new version and musical arrangement by Ralph Benatzky (G)
Scoring
4S,2T,4Bar; chorus; ballet;
2(II=picc).2.2.2-4.2.3.0-timp.perc-harp-strings.
Abbreviations (PDF).
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.
World Premiere
12/4/1895
Theater an der Wien, Vienna
Company: Unknown
Roles
| CHRISTOF HEFELE, head of the council | Baritone |
| MALVINE, his wife | Soprano |
| FREDA, their daughter | Soprano |
| TYMOLEON VON GERIUS, chief forest superintendent and director of the forest academy | Baritone |
| BOTHO WENDT, a young elegant nobleman | Tenor |
| ERICH, a journeyman forester | Tenor |
| PAULINE GARLANDT, a singer | Soprano |
| REGINA, their friend | non-singing role |
| ERASMUS FRIEDRICH MÜLLER, professor of botany | non-singing role |
| JEANNE, Pauline’s chambermaid | Soprano |
| SEBASTIAN, Hefele's servant | non-singing role |
| THERESE, Hefele's maid | non-singing role |
| DANNER, Hefele's assistant | non-singing role |
| MARTIN, foreman of the labourers in the forest mill | non-singing role |
| LORENZ and PETER, mill labourers | non-singing roles |
| Notables, Foresters, Millers, Servants, Hunting party, Journeyman foresters, Pauline's friends |
Time and Place
Small forest town in central Germany, towards the end of the 19th century
Synopsis
A merry motley hunting party, consisting of journeyman foresters, the beautiful opera singer Pauline and her friend Botho von Wendt, is caught in a storm and finds shelter in the forest mill. There they change their soaked hunting dresses for dry miller's clothing, which provides camouflage when, shortly afterwards, chief forest superintendent Tymoleon von Gerius bursts in. He is ordered by Hefele, head of the council, to teach the young people manners. Botho learns that Tymoleon is devoted to the beautiful 'forest fairy' Freda, Hefele's charming daughter, who he just met in the forest und who he instantly fell in love with. They all know that Tymoleon, a notorious womanizer, is not the right one for Freda and that he has to be taught a lesson. Pauline takes the necessary steps. After a turbulent engagement ceremony (at which a self-made lime-blossom tea has a surprising effect), nothing remains as it used to be: Botho gets Freda, Tymoleon receives gratuitous compensation, and the mystery of the ‘black woodruff’ is unexpectedly disclosed.
Moods
Comic
Subjects
Relationships
