Meine Schwester und ich
| Meine Schwester und ich | |
|---|---|
| Musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky | |
| Translation | My Sister and I |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | German |
| Premiere | 29 March 1930 Komödie, Berlin |
Meine Schwester und ich (My Sister and I) is a musical comedy in two acts with prelude and postlude. Ralph Benatzky composed the music and also wrote the libretto together with Robert Blum. Benatzky based the work on a contemporary comedy by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil. The work was premiered on 29 March 1930 in Berlin, Germany, at the Theater am Gendarmenmarkt, also known as Komödie.
The cast need not be made up by operatic voices; performers can be singing actors.
The music is scored for an orchestra of flute, two saxophones, two clarinets, bassoon, two French horns, two trumpets, oboe, harp, celeste, banjo, percussion and strings. The stage music requires a violin and a piano. Compared to the revues Benatzky had been known for in the 1920s, Meine Schwester und ich is one of the pieces Benatzky wrote in a "new vein" of "smaller scale, more intellectual, more cabaret-style forms of operetta".
The work is set in Paris and Nancy about 1930.
Setting: Courtroom
The next case is summoned. Married couple Dolly and Dr. Roger Fleuriot appear before the judge. They want their marriage dissolved on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. The judge finds this odd, as both give the appearance of still being in love with each other. He therefore asks that they explain to him how they came to know each other and how their marriage has developed. Dr. Fleuriot complies immediately.
Setting: Library in Chateau Saint-Labiche in Paris
Princess Dolly has inherited the chateau Saint-Labiche. The rich young lady can afford to engage her own librarian, and music scientist Roger Fleuriot has been appointed to the post. He has a secret admiration for his employer, but is far too shy to show his feelings. He comes from a poor background and regards her riches as a barrier to any relationship beyond their professional one.
Dolly would welcome an approach from her librarian. Her delicate attempts to pry him out of his shell have been unsuccessful. She has a betrothed, the rich Count Lacy, but she feels nothing more than friendship for him. She tells Lacy quite openly that she is unluckily in love with someone, but not with whom.
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