The Assumption of Hannele

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The Ascension of Little Hannele
Written byGerhart Hauptmann
Date premiered14 December 1893 (1893-12-14)
Original languageGerman
GenreSymbolism

The Ascension of Little Hannele (German: Hanneles Himmelfahrt), also known simply as Hannele, is an 1893 play by the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann.[1] In contrast to Hauptmann's naturalistic dramas, The Assumption of Hannele adopts a more symbolist dramaturgy and includes a dream sequence.[2] The play is the first in recorded world literature with a child as its heroine.[3] The play tells the story of a neglected and abused peasant child, who, on her deathbed, experiences a vision of divine powers welcoming her into the afterlife. It was first published in 1894. Hauptmann was awarded the Grillparzer Prize in 1896 for the play.

Production history[]

The play received its première under the title Hannele at the Königliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin, opening on 14 December 1893. The production was directed by , with music by . The cast included .

The play was directed by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski with his Society of Art and Literature in Moscow, in a production that opened on 14 April [O.S. 2 April] 1896.[4] At the request of Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, who considered Hauptmann to be a playwright superior to Henrik Ibsen, the play was to be included in the repertoire of the first season of their world-famous Moscow Art Theatre.[5] At the play's first read-though, it reduced the entire company, with the exception of Vsevolod Meyerhold (who had been cast as the Angel of Death), to tears.[6] On 8 November [O.S. 27 October] 1898, however, the production was banned, following protests made by the Russian Orthodox Church, despite having been passed by the censor.[7]

Productions in the United States include one in New York at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, which opened on 1 May 1894, a second at the Lyceum Theatre, which opened on 11 April 1910 and which featured Minnie Fiske, and a third at the Cort Theatre, which opened on 15 February 1924, and included both Eva LeGallienne and Basil Rathbone in the cast.[8] British productions include one in Liverpool in 1913 in which both Gertrude Lawrence and Noël Coward were involved and another in London in 1924.[9]

Adaptations[]

In 1922 the Danish film director Urban Gad directed a cinematic adaptation of the play with German titles.[10] Thea von Harbou adapted the play for another German cinematic version, also titled Hanneles Himmelfahrt, which she directed in 1934.[11] The play also formed the basis for Paul Graener and 's opera , which was first performed on 17 February 1927. An opera titled Hannele was also written by Italian composer Antonio Guarnieri and recorded by RAI in 1971.

References[]

  1. ^ Hartnoll (1983, 377).
  2. ^ Bédé and Edgerton (1980, 349), Brockett and Hildy (2003, 396), and Hartnoll (1983, 377).
  3. ^ Bédé and Edgerton (1980, 349).
  4. ^ Benedetti (1999, 385) and Worrall (1996, 30).
  5. ^ Benedetti (1999, 65, 67) and Worrall (1996, 30).
  6. ^ Benedetti (1999, 72) and Worrall (1996, 30).
  7. ^ Benedetti (1999, 84) and Worrall (1996, 30, 56).
  8. ^ Hartnoll (1893, 377), Hannele at the Internet Broadway Database, and The Assumption of Hannele at the Internet Broadway Database.
  9. ^ Day (2007, 34), Hartnoll (1983, 377), and Morley (1981, 9–12).
  10. ^ Hanneles Himmelfahrt at IMDb.
  11. ^ Hanneles Himmelfahrt at IMDb.

Sources[]

  • Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-43437-8.
  • Bédé, Jean-Albert, and William B. Edgerton, eds. 1980. Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Columbia UP. ISBN 0-231-03717-1.
  • Benedetti, Jean. 1999. Stanislavski: His Life and Art. Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-52520-1.
  • Brockett, Oscar G. and Franklin J. Hildy. 2003. History of the Theatre. Ninth edition, International edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0-205-41050-2.
  • Day, Barry, ed. 2007. The Letters of Noel Coward. London: Methuen. ISBN 1-4081-0675-2.
  • Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. 1983. The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP. ISBN 0-19-211546-4.
  • Morley, Sheridan. 1981. Gertrude Lawrence. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-043149-3.
  • Worrall, Nick. 1996. The Moscow Art Theatre. Theatre Production Studies ser. London and NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-05598-9.

External links[]

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