11. Reigen
box 19/4
Gal. 73—P M L. A—1108—p. 288—10-12-31E—B-E— HL
Reigen ist technisch eine der verblüffendsten Leistungen, die sich mit ähn¬
lichen Virtuosenstücken in den fremden Literaturen messen kann, während
Schnitzler in der wundervoll kühlen, jede Spur von schmutziger Lust oder Lüs¬
#ternheit ausschließender Behandlungsart dieses menschlich-allzumenschlichen
Themas meines Wissens keinen Rivalen hat.
The first, somewhat misguided attempt to produce Reigen was made
by the Akademisch-Dramatischer Verein of Munich. This society of
students, founded in 1892, performed the same functions for Munich as
the" Freie Bühne'’ did for Berlin. It had to its credit a long series of im¬
portant original productions, among others Ibsen’s Ghosts and The Wüld
Duck, Hauptmann’s Die Mieber and Einsame Meuschen, Sudermann’s
Sodoms Ende, Wilde’s Salome, rialbe's Jugend, and other works by
Hartleben, Wedekind, Maeterlinck, D’Annunzio, etc. Many of these
plays soon became part of the regular repertoire of the other Munich
stages. Despite Schnitzler’s dissuasion, who, however, saw no reason for
a direct prohibition, the society presented as its twenty-eighth offering
the fourth, fifth, and sixth dialogs from Reigen, together with a one-act
play, Die Tragödie des Triumphes,“ by Karl Goldmann, on Thursday,
June 25, 1903 in the Kaim-Saal in Munich. The two male actors were
members ofthe Court Theatre who hid their identity behind their Chris¬
tian names. The actresses were unequal to the task, according to Mr.
Gumppenberg, the critic of the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten (June 26,
1903), who also found fault with the"fragmentarische Vorführung, die
ihren ideellen Zusammenhang gar nicht ahnen läßt, in einer Anstands¬
verstümmelung, die ihre Natürlichkeit bis an die Grenze des Lächerlichen
einschränkt. This fragmentary production, according to another review¬
er, was due to the sittenbeschützende Fürsorge der königlich bayrischen
Moralbehörde.? Even the three dialogs presented, it seems, were con¬
siderably toned down by the censor. The notorious dashes which in
later performances were indicated by a lowering of the curtain or the
darkening of thestage, were here entirely disregarded. The performance
was attended by the most élite society of Munich. There was no sign
of any moral indignation on the part of the audience, in fact there was
lively applause.
Most of the critics in reviewing the Reigen scenes considered a public
presentation a hazardous undertaking and disapproved of it. The Al¬
gemeine Zeitung of Munich, however, lauched forth into a violent dia¬
tribe:
Da tritt Schnitzler herein in den großen und reinen Menschheitstempel der
Liebe und zeigt höhnend, daß auch Romeo und Julie im Grunde nur ein lüsterner
Bube und eine dumme Dirne waren! Es ist wie wenn er ein Hundepaar vor einer
Aphroditestatue sich paaren ließe!.. Die Aufführung war unkünstlerisch, kul¬
turfeindlich, vom Standpunkt jeder Sittlichkeit aus unsittlich ... Die Gedan¬
kenstriche sind bei diesen kleinen Sauspielen die Hauptsache: der Aktus ist der
Held dieser Akte.
This review was destinedto have consequences more far-reaching than
was apparent at the moment. In the course of the summer several writ¬
ers for clerical papers took up the huc and cry against Reigen, notably a
Dr. Kausen in Die Mahrheit and a Dr. Sigl in the Bayrisches Vaterland.
On October 20, 1903, Deputy Dr. Schädler violently attacked the Aka¬
demisch-Dramatischer Verein in the Bavarian Diet. None of these men
had witnessed the performance or even read the book. Dr. Kausen later
box 19/4
Gal. 73—P M L. A—1108—p. 288—10-12-31E—B-E— HL
Reigen ist technisch eine der verblüffendsten Leistungen, die sich mit ähn¬
lichen Virtuosenstücken in den fremden Literaturen messen kann, während
Schnitzler in der wundervoll kühlen, jede Spur von schmutziger Lust oder Lüs¬
#ternheit ausschließender Behandlungsart dieses menschlich-allzumenschlichen
Themas meines Wissens keinen Rivalen hat.
The first, somewhat misguided attempt to produce Reigen was made
by the Akademisch-Dramatischer Verein of Munich. This society of
students, founded in 1892, performed the same functions for Munich as
the" Freie Bühne'’ did for Berlin. It had to its credit a long series of im¬
portant original productions, among others Ibsen’s Ghosts and The Wüld
Duck, Hauptmann’s Die Mieber and Einsame Meuschen, Sudermann’s
Sodoms Ende, Wilde’s Salome, rialbe's Jugend, and other works by
Hartleben, Wedekind, Maeterlinck, D’Annunzio, etc. Many of these
plays soon became part of the regular repertoire of the other Munich
stages. Despite Schnitzler’s dissuasion, who, however, saw no reason for
a direct prohibition, the society presented as its twenty-eighth offering
the fourth, fifth, and sixth dialogs from Reigen, together with a one-act
play, Die Tragödie des Triumphes,“ by Karl Goldmann, on Thursday,
June 25, 1903 in the Kaim-Saal in Munich. The two male actors were
members ofthe Court Theatre who hid their identity behind their Chris¬
tian names. The actresses were unequal to the task, according to Mr.
Gumppenberg, the critic of the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten (June 26,
1903), who also found fault with the"fragmentarische Vorführung, die
ihren ideellen Zusammenhang gar nicht ahnen läßt, in einer Anstands¬
verstümmelung, die ihre Natürlichkeit bis an die Grenze des Lächerlichen
einschränkt. This fragmentary production, according to another review¬
er, was due to the sittenbeschützende Fürsorge der königlich bayrischen
Moralbehörde.? Even the three dialogs presented, it seems, were con¬
siderably toned down by the censor. The notorious dashes which in
later performances were indicated by a lowering of the curtain or the
darkening of thestage, were here entirely disregarded. The performance
was attended by the most élite society of Munich. There was no sign
of any moral indignation on the part of the audience, in fact there was
lively applause.
Most of the critics in reviewing the Reigen scenes considered a public
presentation a hazardous undertaking and disapproved of it. The Al¬
gemeine Zeitung of Munich, however, lauched forth into a violent dia¬
tribe:
Da tritt Schnitzler herein in den großen und reinen Menschheitstempel der
Liebe und zeigt höhnend, daß auch Romeo und Julie im Grunde nur ein lüsterner
Bube und eine dumme Dirne waren! Es ist wie wenn er ein Hundepaar vor einer
Aphroditestatue sich paaren ließe!.. Die Aufführung war unkünstlerisch, kul¬
turfeindlich, vom Standpunkt jeder Sittlichkeit aus unsittlich ... Die Gedan¬
kenstriche sind bei diesen kleinen Sauspielen die Hauptsache: der Aktus ist der
Held dieser Akte.
This review was destinedto have consequences more far-reaching than
was apparent at the moment. In the course of the summer several writ¬
ers for clerical papers took up the huc and cry against Reigen, notably a
Dr. Kausen in Die Mahrheit and a Dr. Sigl in the Bayrisches Vaterland.
On October 20, 1903, Deputy Dr. Schädler violently attacked the Aka¬
demisch-Dramatischer Verein in the Bavarian Diet. None of these men
had witnessed the performance or even read the book. Dr. Kausen later