Intrigue and Love
Encyclopedia
Intrigue and Love (German
, Kabale und Liebe, literally Cabals and Love), is a five-act play
, written by the German
dramatist and writer
Friedrich Schiller
. It was his third play and shows how cabal
s and their intrigue destroy the love between Ferdinand von Walter, a nobleman's son, and Luise Miller, daughter of a middle-class musician.
Luise tries to get release from her oath by suicide, dying before Ferdinand and restoring their love's innocence, but her father puts a stop to this by putting massive moral and religious pressure on the couple. This means she has only silence and the lie required by the oath to counter the charges against her. Luise is released from her secrecy by death, revealing the intrigue to Ferdinand and forgiving him, and Ferdinand reaches out his hand to his father at the moment of his death, which the President interprets as his son's forgiveness.
In a subplot Lady Milford is shown in a position between the middle and upper classes, in love with Ferdinand. She is confronted with Luise's pure and simple love for Ferdinand. Despite Lady Milford's love for him, they are intent on marriage and withdrawing from the world of the court.
, whose central idea was to present tragedy as a means of theodicy
, with theatre's mission being to show the world God had created the restoration of divine justice onstage. This righteousness is visible in Intrigue and Love, since ultimately its final court of appeal is not secular justice but God himself. Schiller saw education as another function of theatre, to bring the audience to catharsis
to complete their education and so make the theatre a "moral institution". He saw its most important function, however, as to mediate between freedom and necessity, showing an idealised version of the individual's struggle with and victory over social, moral and religious constraints onstage.
Intrigue and Love belongs to the era of Sturm und Drang
and is categorised as a Bourgeois tragedy
, a genre attributable to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
- Lessing's own Emilia Galotti
is a key influence on it. Tragedy had previously been limited to the nobility, through the Ständeklausel
or 'estates clause', but Lessing's genre also opened it to the world of the German middle classes. Intrigue and Love has as its dominant motif the conflict between the middle-classes and the nobility in middle-class pride and aristocratic snobbery, with universal humanity at its centre, charged with open political grievances. In it, individual interests, subjective feelings and the demand for freedom from a class-ridden society's constraints are powerful drivers for the characters and ultimately lead to disaster. Schiller was personally aware of the pain of love across the classes, through his love for Charlotte von Wolzogen (sister in law of Caroline von Wolzogen
- Caroline was sister of Charlotte von Lengefeld
, who would later become Schiller's wife).
Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg had just arrested Schiller and banned his works, in punishment for his unauthorised departure to attend the premiere of his play The Robbers. Thus, in September 1782 Schiller fled the Duke's sphere of influence, moving to Mannheim
and starting work on Intrigue and Love as a response to his arbitrary injustice. This can be seen in some of its themes:
and Hyperbole
s in order to describe the cynical and cold world of the court. The integrated French passages serve the uncovering of the court with its empty conversations and inclination for glamorous appearances. The President's speech is polished, calculated and imperatively arrogant. Secretary Wurm can be understood as a smaller copy of him. Kalb's speech can be seen as parallel to Mrs. Miller's speech. Kalb talks stupidly, unnatural and affected often using the wrong expression.
Schiller contrasts the unnatural speech of the court with the direct and often rough speech of the married couple Miller. Miller is characterized through his speech as the simple man. He emphasizes his opinions with common sayings. Mrs. Miller's speech is also associated with the middle class. Her wrong usage of foreign words, sayings and dialect reveils her middle class origin.
The speech of the lovers Lady Milford, Luise and Ferdinand takes on a special position. Their use of language usually does not display their social standings.
Mrs. Miller holds hopes of social ascendency regarding Luise's relationship to Ferdinand and secretly encourages their love affair. Moreover, she feels flattered by the association of a noble man with her house. That is why she rejects Wurm in a conversation as son-in-law. Nevertheless, owing to her talkativeness and naivety, she passes information about the relationship of Ferdinand and Luise to him, which he knows how to use for his schemes. She can hardly hold her ground against her husband. She also takes on a timid and submissive attitude towards the President and embodies the typical servile spirit.
Miller's 16-year-old daughter Luise is introduced as the “most beautiful example of a blonde”, who “would cut a fine figure next to the first beauty of court.” She is deeply rooted in her family and shares an especially close relationship with her father. This relationship between father and daughter could be strengthened by the fact that she is an only child. Luise grew up protected and was brought up Christianly. Her thoughts and actions are shaped by her faith, the immoral life at court repels her. The encounter with Ferdiand creates a conflict between her love for Ferdinand and the expectations of her father, the social limits willed by God and her religious conviction. This way, the Immanuel Kant's opposition between duty and inclination becomes clear. Luise is very conscious of reality.
Wurm is the secretary and confidante of the President. Dramaturgically seen, he is a spineless schemer who would do anything for wealth and prestige. He is the source of the intrigue of which he also expects a marriage to his desired Luise. He climed the social ladder through his unscrupulousness and steps down and grovels up. Another kind of interpretation would be that only his love for Luise and his desire to marry her compel him to carry on this intrigue.
President von Walter, Ferdinand's father, obtained his position by murdering his predecessor. His whole behavior is adjusted in order to stabilize his position in court – and possibly to extend it – and to secure the duke's favor. He places this calculus of power above other people, values and feelings; he sees love as a foolish rave: a marriage should serve dynastic or political goals alone. Not until the dying Ferdinand forgives him does he recognize his mistakes as such. He realizes that people cannot be moved like chessmen, but follow feelings and values that are not simply subordinate to utilitarian considerations or the pursuit of power. Feeling remorse, he delivers himself up to justice thus quitting his career.
Ferdinand is a typical representative of Sturm und Drang, passionate, with a temper, unrealistic and self-absorbed. Usually, the middle-class Luise would be considered as an unsuitable bride for the President's son. However, Ferdinand cares less about social classes and more about personal qualities of people. In accordance with the tradition of the Enlightenment, he despises the schemes of the courtly world. He complains about injustice, inhumanity and immorality of the absolutist order. He tries to burst the order and appeals to “nature” and “God.” His possessive mentality and his absolute love to Luise (rather self-absorbed), connected with his emotional actions, are distinctive of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's contemporary doctrines and lead, already early in the play, to his unfounded jealousy of Luise. Obsessed by the idea of absolute love, he takes on the role of the avenger and kills an innocent.
Lady Milford, aka Johanna von Norfolk, the Prince's mistress, takes on the middle position between courtly and middle-class value systems. An orphan who fled from England to German exile, she returns the Prince's love out of necessity and becomes his mistress. This position enables her to be a part of society and satisfies her ambition. She is also able to alleviate the injustices in the Principality and influence the Prince. The wedding plans with Ferdinand were also contrived by her, not the President. Lady Milford longs for true love; she wants to leave the country with Ferdinand and start a new chapter in life. When Ferdinand rejects her love, she tries to force him into marriage by all available means knowing that she cannot win over his heart. Lady Milford fears possible humiliation and is not willed to revoke the publicly announced connection. Threatening and making promises, she tries to make Luise give up Ferdinand, but her pretentious mask shatters; struck by Luise's higher virtues, she quits her affair with the Prince and leaves the country. Overall, she appears as a woman who wanted good but got drawn into the wasteful and scheming goings-on of the court. The pursuit of honor and power throws a shadow on her humanity that shows in her behavior towards the people and her servants. In the end, she makes a clear decision, leaves the country and breaks away from the entanglement.
There is also the coward and chatty Hofmarschall von Kalb; dependent on President von Walter, he is a court cringer who personifies the court's lifestyle that is directed at outer appearance. He knows that, as a person without particular qualities, he has no option but to make himself a tool – wittingly or unwittingly.
. It was first performed on 13 April 1784 at the Schauspiel Frankfurt in Frankfurt
, and then two days later on 15 April 1784 in the National Theatre in Mannheim
in Schiller's presence. The play was a massive success, running in Berlin
, and banned in Stuttgart
. It appeared in print in 1784 in Mannheim. It was performed at the Donmar Warehouse
theatre, London, in 2011.
.jpg)
(London, Riverside Studios
, 1989), Intrigue/Love by Daniel Millar and Mark Leipacher (London, Southwark Playhouse
, 2010) and Luise Miller by Mike Poulton
(London, Donmar Warehouse
, 8 June to 30 July 2011)
's opera based on the play was entitled Luisa Miller
. The librettist was Salvatore Cammarano
and the premiere took place in Naples
on 8 December 1849. Another opera, Gottfried von Einem
's Opus 44, used Schiller's original title Kabale und Liebe - it had a libretto by Boris Blacher and Lotte Ingrisch
and premiered on 17 December 1976.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Kabale und Liebe, literally Cabals and Love), is a five-act play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, written by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
dramatist and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
. It was his third play and shows how cabal
Cabal
A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
s and their intrigue destroy the love between Ferdinand von Walter, a nobleman's son, and Luise Miller, daughter of a middle-class musician.
Characters
- President von Walter, at a German prince's court
- Ferdinand, the president's son, an army major
- Hofmarschall von Kalb
- Lady Milford, favourite of the prince
- Wurm, the president's private secretary
- Miller, town-musician or 'Kunstpfeifer'
- Miller's wife
- Luise, Miller's daughter
- Sophie, maid to Lady Milford
- A valet to the prince
- Various minor characters
Plot
Ferdinand is an army major and son of President von Walter, a high-ranking noble in a German duke's court, while Luise Miller is the daughter of a middle-class musician. The couple fall in love with each other, but both their fathers tell them to end their affair. The President instead wants to expand his own influence by marrying Ferdinand to Lady Milford, the duke's mistress, but Ferdinand rebels against his father's plan and tries to persuade Luise to elope with him. The President and his secretary Wurm (Ferdinand's rival) concoct an insidious plot, arresting Luise's parents for no reason. Luise declares in a love letter to the Hofmarschall von Kalb that only by death can she obtain her parents' release. Luise is also forced to swear an oath to God to state she wrote this letter (actually forced on her) of her own free will. This letter is leaked to Ferdinand and deliberately evokes jealousy and vengeful despair in him.Luise tries to get release from her oath by suicide, dying before Ferdinand and restoring their love's innocence, but her father puts a stop to this by putting massive moral and religious pressure on the couple. This means she has only silence and the lie required by the oath to counter the charges against her. Luise is released from her secrecy by death, revealing the intrigue to Ferdinand and forgiving him, and Ferdinand reaches out his hand to his father at the moment of his death, which the President interprets as his son's forgiveness.
In a subplot Lady Milford is shown in a position between the middle and upper classes, in love with Ferdinand. She is confronted with Luise's pure and simple love for Ferdinand. Despite Lady Milford's love for him, they are intent on marriage and withdrawing from the world of the court.
Themes
In 1784 Schiller published his theoretical work The Theatre considered as a Moral InstitutionThe Theatre considered as a Moral Institution
The Theatre considered as a Moral Institution was a paper delivered by the German playwright Friedrich Schiller on 26 June 1784 to the palatine "Deutschen Gesellschaft". It was later published. In it he asked "What can a theatre in good-standing contribute?"....
, whose central idea was to present tragedy as a means of theodicy
Theodicy
Theodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
, with theatre's mission being to show the world God had created the restoration of divine justice onstage. This righteousness is visible in Intrigue and Love, since ultimately its final court of appeal is not secular justice but God himself. Schiller saw education as another function of theatre, to bring the audience to catharsis
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
to complete their education and so make the theatre a "moral institution". He saw its most important function, however, as to mediate between freedom and necessity, showing an idealised version of the individual's struggle with and victory over social, moral and religious constraints onstage.
Intrigue and Love belongs to the era of Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang is a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s, in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism...
and is categorised as a Bourgeois tragedy
Bourgeois tragedy
Bourgeois Tragedy is a form of tragedy that developed in 18th century Europe. It was a fruit of the enlightenment and the emergence of the bourgeois class and its ideals...
, a genre attributable to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
- Lessing's own Emilia Galotti
Emilia Galotti
Emilia Galotti is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Brunswick . The work is a classic example of German bürgerliches Trauerspiel . Other works in this category include Schiller's Kabale und Liebe and Hebbel's Maria Magdalene...
is a key influence on it. Tragedy had previously been limited to the nobility, through the Ständeklausel
Ständeklausel
The Ständeklausel was a principle in poetic theatre, by which attempts were made to transfer the principals of Classicist French drama into German theatre. It is often connected with Johann Christoph Gottsched...
or 'estates clause', but Lessing's genre also opened it to the world of the German middle classes. Intrigue and Love has as its dominant motif the conflict between the middle-classes and the nobility in middle-class pride and aristocratic snobbery, with universal humanity at its centre, charged with open political grievances. In it, individual interests, subjective feelings and the demand for freedom from a class-ridden society's constraints are powerful drivers for the characters and ultimately lead to disaster. Schiller was personally aware of the pain of love across the classes, through his love for Charlotte von Wolzogen (sister in law of Caroline von Wolzogen
Caroline von Wolzogen
Caroline von Wolzogen, born Caroline von Lengefeld , was a German writer in the Weimar Classicism circle...
- Caroline was sister of Charlotte von Lengefeld
Charlotte von Lengefeld
Charlotte Luise Antoinette von Schiller, born Charlotte von Lengefeld was the wife of German poet Friedrich Schiller.-Early life:...
, who would later become Schiller's wife).
Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg had just arrested Schiller and banned his works, in punishment for his unauthorised departure to attend the premiere of his play The Robbers. Thus, in September 1782 Schiller fled the Duke's sphere of influence, moving to Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
and starting work on Intrigue and Love as a response to his arbitrary injustice. This can be seen in some of its themes:
- The extravagance at the ducal court - Although Württemberg was a relatively poor country at the time of Schiller, Charles Eugene lived his life along the lines of the French royal court at the Palace of VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
, financing expensive balls, hunts and festivals by exploiting his people and selling his population as mercenaries. - Trade in soldiers - In Schiller's time one of Charles Eugene's ways of raising money was to 'sell off' farmers', craftsmen's and labourers' sons to serve abroad as mercenaries, such as in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, sometimes by violence, drugging or abduction. - Mistresses - For a long time Charles Eugene ran a system of mistresses, including Franziska von Leutrum (later the Duke's official partner and wife, and the basis for the character Lady Milford, especially in her influence on the duke).
- Intrigues - In Schiller's time the acting minister of the Württemberg court, count Samuel Monmartin, had brought about the downfall of his rivals via forged letters and gained the exclusive confidence of the Prince.
- Despotism - How justified Schiller's critique of the duke's rule was can be seen in the treatment of the journalist and poet Christian Friedrich Daniel SchubartChristian Friedrich Daniel SchubartChristian Friedrich Daniel Schubart , was a German poet, born at Obersontheim in Swabia.He entered the university of Erlangen in 1758 as a student of theology. He led a dissolute life, and after two years' stay was summoned home by his parents...
, who took offence at the appalling conditions in the duchy and was imprisoned without even the verdict of a court.
Language
Schiller makes use of an elevated style, PathosPathos
Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
and Hyperbole
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally....
s in order to describe the cynical and cold world of the court. The integrated French passages serve the uncovering of the court with its empty conversations and inclination for glamorous appearances. The President's speech is polished, calculated and imperatively arrogant. Secretary Wurm can be understood as a smaller copy of him. Kalb's speech can be seen as parallel to Mrs. Miller's speech. Kalb talks stupidly, unnatural and affected often using the wrong expression.
Schiller contrasts the unnatural speech of the court with the direct and often rough speech of the married couple Miller. Miller is characterized through his speech as the simple man. He emphasizes his opinions with common sayings. Mrs. Miller's speech is also associated with the middle class. Her wrong usage of foreign words, sayings and dialect reveils her middle class origin.
The speech of the lovers Lady Milford, Luise and Ferdinand takes on a special position. Their use of language usually does not display their social standings.
Structure
The composition of the play follows a strict system which can be described with terms such as „symmetry“ and „dialectic principle“. Similarity and asimilarity characterize content and style of the play. This becomes especially clear in the sequence of the scenes which switches regularly between the world of the middle class and the absolutist court. The „small“ world is contrasted with the „big world“ dialectically and a symmetry in the sequence of scenes is attained. The composition of the plot is also regarded as principle of symmetry. Examples for this are the three scenes between Ferdinand and Luise at the beginning, the middle and the end. The first one shows the secret opposition of the two lovers, the second one makes it an urgent matter in the turning point and the third one seals it in death.Middle class
“Miller” is a respectable, genuine musician who is deeply religious and has a fixed position in the guild order of the city: one the one hand, confident, fearless and honest, on the other hand, restricted by close limits and not free from the sovereignty. Miller is striclty believes in corporative thinking and thus rejects the marriage of his middle-class-daughter with the noble Ferdinand. However, he gives Luise the freedom to choose a husband within corporative order because he regards the custom of the father to choose his daughter's husband as outdated. Towards his wife, he behaves as the commanding patriarch, while he shared a tender love with his daughter. His middle-class confidence is reflected clearly in his argument with the President: Despite his big respect, he contradicts the President and instists on his householder's rights. He makes it perfectly clear that in his eyes, the corrupt world of nobility is morally beneath the middle-class world. At the same time, he is not immune to the temptation of wealth.When Ferdinand offers him money for the “three months long happy dream of his daughter”, Miller is overwhelmed by the opportunities this wealth offers and behaves very affable and friendly towards him.Mrs. Miller holds hopes of social ascendency regarding Luise's relationship to Ferdinand and secretly encourages their love affair. Moreover, she feels flattered by the association of a noble man with her house. That is why she rejects Wurm in a conversation as son-in-law. Nevertheless, owing to her talkativeness and naivety, she passes information about the relationship of Ferdinand and Luise to him, which he knows how to use for his schemes. She can hardly hold her ground against her husband. She also takes on a timid and submissive attitude towards the President and embodies the typical servile spirit.
Miller's 16-year-old daughter Luise is introduced as the “most beautiful example of a blonde”, who “would cut a fine figure next to the first beauty of court.” She is deeply rooted in her family and shares an especially close relationship with her father. This relationship between father and daughter could be strengthened by the fact that she is an only child. Luise grew up protected and was brought up Christianly. Her thoughts and actions are shaped by her faith, the immoral life at court repels her. The encounter with Ferdiand creates a conflict between her love for Ferdinand and the expectations of her father, the social limits willed by God and her religious conviction. This way, the Immanuel Kant's opposition between duty and inclination becomes clear. Luise is very conscious of reality.
Wurm is the secretary and confidante of the President. Dramaturgically seen, he is a spineless schemer who would do anything for wealth and prestige. He is the source of the intrigue of which he also expects a marriage to his desired Luise. He climed the social ladder through his unscrupulousness and steps down and grovels up. Another kind of interpretation would be that only his love for Luise and his desire to marry her compel him to carry on this intrigue.
Nobility
Invisible but still prominent in the background is the Prince as an absolutist ruler who does not care about his subjects' well-being. He does not appear personally, but his wedding plans, his life in court and his governance influence the lives of all characters.President von Walter, Ferdinand's father, obtained his position by murdering his predecessor. His whole behavior is adjusted in order to stabilize his position in court – and possibly to extend it – and to secure the duke's favor. He places this calculus of power above other people, values and feelings; he sees love as a foolish rave: a marriage should serve dynastic or political goals alone. Not until the dying Ferdinand forgives him does he recognize his mistakes as such. He realizes that people cannot be moved like chessmen, but follow feelings and values that are not simply subordinate to utilitarian considerations or the pursuit of power. Feeling remorse, he delivers himself up to justice thus quitting his career.
Ferdinand is a typical representative of Sturm und Drang, passionate, with a temper, unrealistic and self-absorbed. Usually, the middle-class Luise would be considered as an unsuitable bride for the President's son. However, Ferdinand cares less about social classes and more about personal qualities of people. In accordance with the tradition of the Enlightenment, he despises the schemes of the courtly world. He complains about injustice, inhumanity and immorality of the absolutist order. He tries to burst the order and appeals to “nature” and “God.” His possessive mentality and his absolute love to Luise (rather self-absorbed), connected with his emotional actions, are distinctive of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's contemporary doctrines and lead, already early in the play, to his unfounded jealousy of Luise. Obsessed by the idea of absolute love, he takes on the role of the avenger and kills an innocent.
Lady Milford, aka Johanna von Norfolk, the Prince's mistress, takes on the middle position between courtly and middle-class value systems. An orphan who fled from England to German exile, she returns the Prince's love out of necessity and becomes his mistress. This position enables her to be a part of society and satisfies her ambition. She is also able to alleviate the injustices in the Principality and influence the Prince. The wedding plans with Ferdinand were also contrived by her, not the President. Lady Milford longs for true love; she wants to leave the country with Ferdinand and start a new chapter in life. When Ferdinand rejects her love, she tries to force him into marriage by all available means knowing that she cannot win over his heart. Lady Milford fears possible humiliation and is not willed to revoke the publicly announced connection. Threatening and making promises, she tries to make Luise give up Ferdinand, but her pretentious mask shatters; struck by Luise's higher virtues, she quits her affair with the Prince and leaves the country. Overall, she appears as a woman who wanted good but got drawn into the wasteful and scheming goings-on of the court. The pursuit of honor and power throws a shadow on her humanity that shows in her behavior towards the people and her servants. In the end, she makes a clear decision, leaves the country and breaks away from the entanglement.
There is also the coward and chatty Hofmarschall von Kalb; dependent on President von Walter, he is a court cringer who personifies the court's lifestyle that is directed at outer appearance. He knows that, as a person without particular qualities, he has no option but to make himself a tool – wittingly or unwittingly.
Production history
Schiller began the play in 1782. It at first had the working title Luise Millerin, which was changed to Kabale und Liebe on the suggestion of the actor August Wilhelm IfflandAugust Wilhelm Iffland
August Wilhelm Iffland was a German actor and dramatic author. His father intended him to be a clergyman, but Iffland preferred the stage, and at eighteen ran away to Gotha in order to prepare himself for a theatrical career.He was fortunate enough to receive instruction from Hans Ekhof, and made...
. It was first performed on 13 April 1784 at the Schauspiel Frankfurt in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, and then two days later on 15 April 1784 in the National Theatre in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
in Schiller's presence. The play was a massive success, running in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and banned in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. It appeared in print in 1784 in Mannheim. It was performed at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
theatre, London, in 2011.
Adaptations
Translations
The first English translation was released in 1795, and a French version followed in 1799. Modern English translations include Love and Politics by Christopher WebberChristopher Webber
Christopher Webber is an English actor, dramatist, theatre director, writer and music critic.-Biography :Webber was born in Cheshire and educated at The Manchester Grammar School and the University of Kent at Canterbury...
(London, Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
, 1989), Intrigue/Love by Daniel Millar and Mark Leipacher (London, Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse
-History:Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice, Tom Wilson & Mehmet Ergen. They identified the need for a high quality accessible theatre which would also act as a major resource for the community...
, 2010) and Luise Miller by Mike Poulton
Mike Poulton
Mike Poulton is an English translator and adapter of classic plays for contemporary audiences.Poulton began his career in 1995 with Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Ivan Turgenev's Fortune's Fool, which were staged at the Chichester Festival Theatre, the former with Derek Jacobi, the latter with...
(London, Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, 8 June to 30 July 2011)
Opera
Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's opera based on the play was entitled Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
. The librettist was Salvatore Cammarano
Salvatore Cammarano
Salvadore Cammarano was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of Lucia di Lammermoor for Gaetano Donizetti....
and the premiere took place in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
on 8 December 1849. Another opera, Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.-Biography:...
's Opus 44, used Schiller's original title Kabale und Liebe - it had a libretto by Boris Blacher and Lotte Ingrisch
Lotte Ingrisch
Lotte Ingrisch, birthname Charlotte Gruber , daughter of Emma and Karl Gruber, is a well known Austrian author and playwright.From 1949 to 1965, the author was married to the Austrian philosopher Hugo Ingrisch...
and premiered on 17 December 1976.
TV and film
| Country | Year | Title | Director |
| Germany | 1913 | Kabale und Liebe | Friedrich Fehér |
| Germany | 1922 | Luise Millerin / "Kabale und Liebe" | Carl Froelich Carl Froelich Carl August Froelich was a German film pioneer and film director.-Apparatus builder and cameraman:... |
| West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.... |
1955 | Kabale und Liebe | Curt Goetz-Pflug |
| West Germany | 1959 | Kabale und Liebe (TV) | Harald Braun Harald Braun Harald Braun was a German film director, screenwriter and film producer. He directed 21 films between 1942 and 1960.-Selected filmography:* The Falling Star * No Greater Love... |
| West Germany | 1959 | Kabale und Liebe (TV) | Harald Braun Harald Braun Harald Braun was a German film director, screenwriter and film producer. He directed 21 films between 1942 and 1960.-Selected filmography:* The Falling Star * No Greater Love... |
| East Germany | 1959 | Kabale und Liebe | Martin Hellberg |
| Austria | 1965 | Kabale und Liebe (TV) | Erich Neuberg |
| West Germany | 1967 | Kabale und Liebe (TV) | Gerhard Klingenberg |
| West Germany | 1980 | Kabale und Liebe | Heinz Schirk |
| East Germany | 1982 | Kabale und Liebe (TV) | Piet Drescher |
| Germany | 2001 | Kabale und Liebe | Achim Scherf |
| Germany | 2005 | Kabale und Liebe (TV) | Leander Haußmann Leander Haußmann Leander Haußmann is a German theatre and film director.The son of actor Ezard Haußmann and costume designer Doris Haußmann, he attended the Ernst Busch theatre school in Berlin.... |
| Germany | 2009 | Kabale und Liebe (Film, TV) | Andreas Kriegenburg |
External links
- TV and film adaptations at IMDB