Lumpazivagabundus: Salzburg Festival

About the Event

'Lumpazivagabundus' is a extravaganza with songs by Johann Nestroy (1801–1862) and will be presented as a co‐production with the Burgtheater Wien at this year's Salzburg Festival.

A play of incisive topicality. The sons of the magic kingdom are afflicted with the plague of profligacy. Brought before the throne of the fairy king, they cheerfully admit that they’ve already squandered most of their fathers’ inheritance, don’t give a damn about the rest and intend to carry on spending like there’s no tomorrow. The fairy king asks them what they’re going to do when they’ve blown the lot. Then they’ll run up debts. And when they can’t pay their debts? They’ll happily go to prison.

The king proposes a compact: if these wastrels promise to mend their ways, he’ll enlist the aid of Fortuna to restore to them the original amount of their squandered inheritance. Ha ha! cackles the evil spirit Lumpazivagabundus (who’s behind this whole plague of profligacy): “He thinks he’s going to make them rich again, but they’ll just become even worse rogues.” Fortuna has no power over Lumpazivagabundus: “Those who are my real devotees don’t really pay her much heed – if fortune strikes once, they throw it down the drain, and if it strikes twice, they treat it with contempt.” Fortuna is not one to take humiliation like that. So she makes a wager with Amorosa, the goddess of love: she will demonstrate her power on three mortals who have succumbed to gambling, drink and lechery – that is, all the temptations of Lumpazivagabundus. This is where the real heroes of the play make their appearance. Zwirn (= thread) the tailor, Leim (= glue) the carpenter and Knieriem (= knee‐strap) the cobbler: the dissolute “cloverleaf” or trio of the title. Together they buy a shared ticket in the lottery and win 100,000 taler. Now Fortuna’s wager comes into play. Karl Kraus wrote of Johann Nestroy: “How did it come about that such an intellect was buried: […] I believe he writes still. He, Johann Nestroy, cannot support the fact that everything has remained the way it displeased him. Posterity repeats his text and is ignorant of him, […] it disproves and confirms the satire.” (Matthias Hartmann)

Performed in German.

Matthias Hartmann, Director

Stéphane Laimé, Sets

Victoria Behr, Costumes

Andreas Erdmann, Dramaturgy

Karsten Riedel, Music

Peter Bandl, Lighting

Johannes Krisch, Leim

Michael Maertens, Zwirn

Nicholas Ofczarek, Knieriem

and the ensemble of the Burgtheater Wien