Der grüne Kakadu

Der grüne Kakadu is a one act grotesque by Arthur Schnitzler. It was written in 1898 and premiered on 1 March 1899, together with his plays Paracelsus and Die Gefährtin, at the Vienna Burgtheater.[1] The play thematises the indistinguishability of truth and lies, of appearance and reality.[2]

Title page of the first edition
Josef Kainz in the role of Henri (1900)
Scene from Der grüne Kakadu at the Renaissance-Theater Berlin, 1945

Content

Paris 1789: Prospère, a former theatre director, runs a dive called "The Green Cockatoo". Many unsuccessful actors, Prospère's former employees, are regulars. But the tavern is also frequented by aristocrats. They hope to get the pleasant thrill of being among real street hustlers and other riffraff. So the actors play criminals. They brag to each other about their violent deeds. On 14 July, the day the French Revolution broke out, the real turmoil of the street now enters the scene. Reality and play intermingle, and for the noble spectators as well as for the actors it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish roles from real people and play from truth.[3]

Adaptation as an opera

The composer Richard Mohaupt adapted Schnitzler's play and created the one-act opera Der grüne Kakadu in 1954-1956, the premiere of which took place at the Hamburg State Opera on 16 September 1958 (conductor: Albert Bittner, director: Ulrich Erfurth, choir: Günter Hertel, Ausstattung: Helmut Koniarsky).[4]

A film by Austrian director Michael Kehlmann was made in 1963[5] from Schnitzler's play.

Parts
  • Emile Duke of Cadignan.
  • François Viscount de Nogeant
  • Albin Chevalier de la Tremouille
  • "The Marquis of Lansac
  • Séverine, his wife
  • Rollin, poet
  • Prospère, host, former theatre director
  • His troupe: Henri, Balthasar, Guillaume, Scaevola, Jules, Etienne, Maurice, Georgette, Michette, Flipotte
  • Léocadie, actress, Henri's wife
  • Grasset, philosopher
  • Lebrêt, tailor
  • Grain, a thug
  • The Commissary
  • Noblemen, actors, actresses
  • Burghers and burgesses

References
  1. "Theaterzettel der Uraufführung" (in German). 1899-03-01. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. The Green Cockatoo: Historical-critical Edition on De Gruyter
  3. Der grüne Kakadu on .projekt-gutenberg.
  4. "Kakadu" wies Mohaupt als echte Opernbegabung aus. In Hamburger Abendblatt, 17 September 1958
  5. Der grüne Kakadu on IMDb

Editions

First edition
  • Arthur Schnitzler: Der grüne Kakadu. Paracelsus. Die Gefährtin. Drei Einakter. Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag 1899. online

Other editions
  • Arthur Schnitzler: Anatol. Anatols Größenwahn. Der grüne Kakadu. Mit einem Nachwort von Gerhard Baumann. Stuttgart: Reclam.
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