The White Horse Inn

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Singspiel by Ralph Benatzky

In German language with English surtitles

With this new production of the operetta classic The White Horse Inn, director Jan Philipp Gloger sets out in search of the contemporary aspects of the piece, which he recognizes above all in the theme of tourism. Come with us to the region of the Salzkammergut and take a look behind the façade of the traditional eponymous hotel!

 

Synopsis

It is summertime at the Wolfgangsee. Josepha Vogelhuber, the young, attractive but resolute owner of the White Horse Inn, has been courted for some time by her head waiter, Leopold Brandmeyer. While appreciating his aptness for the job, she mistrusts all men as potential gold-diggers, rejects Leopold's advances and longingly waits for the arrival of Dr Siedler, a lawyer who has been one of her regular guests for many years. This year, Josepha hopes, Siedler might eventually propose to her.

When Siedler arrives, he finds himself in the very same place as Wilhelm Giesecke, his client Sülzheimer's business rival, and immediately falls in love with Giesecke's beautiful daughter Ottilie. As it happens, Sülzheimer's son Sigismund, a would-be beau, also arrives at the White Horse Inn. Angry at first about Siedler's presence at the same inn, Giesecke soon has the idea of marrying off his daughter to Sigismund Sülzheimer, thus turning a pending lawsuit into an advantageous business merger. However, Siedler's love is reciprocated by Ottilie, who adamantly refuses to marry Sigismund, while Sigismund himself has fallen for Klärchen Hinzelmann, a naive beauty who accompanies her professorial father on a tour through the Salzkammergut.

Seeing all this, Leopold Brandmeyer decides that he has had enough and quits his job. Josepha has also done a lot of thinking in the meantime, reconsiders her head waiter's proposal of marriage, and can persuade him to stay—not just as an employee but also as proprietor. Love gets its way with the other two couples as well, and the play ends with the prospect of a triple marriage.

Program and cast

Conductor: Michael Brandstätter
Director: Jan Philipp Gloger
Set design: Christof Hetzer
Costumes: Justina Klimczyk
Choreography: Florian Hurler
Lighting: Alex Brok
Sound design: Martin Lukesch
Josepha Vogelhuber, landlady: Annette Dasch
Leopold Brandmeyer, head waiter: Jakob Semotan
Wilhelm Giesecke, Berlin manufacturer: Götz Schubert
Dr. Otto Siedler, lawyer: David Kerber
Sigismund Sülzheimer, son of Giesecke's competitor: Oliver Liebl
Prof. Dr. Hinzelmann, vacationer: Harald Schmidt
The Emperor: Robert Palfrader
The Piccolo: Christoph Stocker

Volksoper Vienna

Public transport:

Underground line U6
Trams 40, 41, 42
Bus 40A
Stop "Währinger Straße / Volksoper"

A taxi stand is located at Währinger Gürtel.
Parking garages in WIFI and AKH

 

The Volksoper is Vienna’s main stage for operetta, opera, musicals and ballet, offering sophisticated musical entertainment. Colourful, eclectic and full of vitality, it is the only theatre dedicated to the genre of operetta.

Operetta belongs to Vienna and Vienna installed it at the home of operetta, Volksopera Vienna, which thereupon became the leading operetta house in the world. First class singers, actors and dancers together with a versatile orchestra cunjure up a musical firework display every evening.

Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán wrote their world famous beloved melodies for operettas such as “The Fledermaus”, “The Merry Widow” and “The Csárdás Princess”. A visit to at least one of these operettas at the Volksopera Vienna is a must for every visitor to Vienna!

Also performed are operas from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as classic musicals and ballet. In addition, the Volksoper has a fifth longstanding and proven speciality: it stages soirées, cabaret and burlesque performances under the name of “Volksoper Spezial”.

In the repertory theatre, which seats 1,337 persons, some 300 performances of around 35 different productions are staged every year between September and June.

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By Bwag - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34011212
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