''Old Heidelberg'' () is a German romantic play by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster first performed in 1901. While studying at the

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

, Prince Karl from

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

falls in love with Käthie, an

innkeeper Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

's daughter, but has to give her up when his father dies, and he is called to return to his homeland and rule as King. The play was based on Meyer-Förster's own 1898 novel '' Karl Heinrich''. The play's title alludes to a poem by

Joseph Victor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. His novel '' Ekkehard'' (1855) became one of the most popular German novels in the 19th century. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a reti ...

. The work was a major international success and became one of the most performed plays in Germany during the first half of the 20th century.

Adaptations

Film

Owing to the story's popularity it has been turned into films on numerous occasions, including the American silent film '' Old Heidelberg'' (1915), the German silent film '' Old Heidelberg'' (1923),

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

's '' The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'' (1926), and

Ernst Marischka Ernst Marischka (2 January 1893 – 12 May 1963) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 90 films between 1913 and 1962. He also directed 29 films between 1915 and 1962. He wrote and directed the Sissi trilogy ...

's '' Old Heidelberg'' (1959).

Operetta

In 1924 the play provided the basis for the 1924

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play ''Old Heidelberg (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...

'' composed by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Dorothy Donnelly Dorothy Agnes Donnelly (January 28, 1876 - January 3, 1928) was an actress, playwright, librettist, producer, and director. After a decade-long acting career that included several notable roles on Broadway, she turned to writing plays, musicals ...

. The operetta was the basis for the 1954 film ''

''.

Opera

In 1908, the play was the basis for a libretto by Alberto Colantuoni, titled '' Eidelberga Mia'', with music by Ubaldo Pacchierotti; it was later translated into German by Ottoman Piltz in 1909 under the original German title.

Bibliography

* Zacharasiewicz, Waldemar. ''Images of Germany in American Literature''. University of Iowa Press, 2007. *Everett, William A. & Block, Geoffrey Holden. ''Sigmund Romberg''. Yale University Press, 2007.

External links

English translation of the novelReview of a 1910 New York revival of the play
in ''The New York Times''

on Projekt Gutenberg-DE

References

1901 plays Plays by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster Plays based on novels Plays set in Germany German plays adapted into films {{1900s-play-stub