Der Furchtsame

Der Furchtsame ("The Fear") is a German comedy in three acts by the Austrian playwright Philipp Hafner (1735 -1764)[1].

There are a number of versions of this play in various languages.

The original text

First performed in Vienna at the Kaiserlichen Königlichen privilegirten Theater an der Wien in 1764.

First published in Vienna by Joseph Kurzböcken in 1764.

Translations and adaptations

Adapted as a very successful German musical comedy ("Ein Komisches Singspiel In Zwei Aufzügen") with the title Das Neue Sonntagskind (lit: "The new Sunday's Child") by Wenzel Müller (1767–1835)[2], with libretto by Joachim Perinet (1763-1816)[3]. First performed in the Theater in der Leopoldstadt, Vienna, on 10 October 1793) and published in Leipzig by A. Geers, 1794.

The original three act play (or the two act musical?) was apparently translated into Dutch as De Vreesachtige uit Vooroordeel, wegens zyne Geboorte op Zondag ("The frightening out of prejudice, because of birth on a Sunday") by Gosenwijn Christiaan de Greuve, and published in 1799/1800.

Translated once more into Dutch, and adapted as a musical, under the title De Nachtmerrie ("The mightmare") or De Nachtmerrie, of De Vampyr ("The mightmare, or the vampire") by G. Vreedenberg (1829/1840)[4]

Performance history in South Africa

1822: Performed in Dutch as a three act comedy called De Vreesachtige uit Vooroordeel, wegens zyne Geboorte op Zondag in the African Theatre, Cape Town on 19 October by Tot Nut en Vermaak, alongside Ransdorp (Van der Wart).

1853: Performed in Dutch as De Nachtmerrie, of De Vampyr in Cape Town in August 1853 by Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst, alongside Eleonora van Rosalba, of De Puinhopen van Paluzzi.

1867: Performed in Dutch as De Nachtmerrie in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town on 2 October by Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst.

Sources

https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/BLK%C3%96:Hafner,_Philipp

Facsimile version of the first German edition of Der Furchtsame, Google E-book[5]

Facsimile version of the 1804 German edition of Das Neue Sonntagskind, Google E-book[6]

https://searchworks.stanford.edu/catalog/citation?id=2046441

http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/Dutch/GroteFiles/Ceneton05.html

Giacomo Meyerbeer. 1999. The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: 1791-1839, Volume 1 Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press[7]: p. 306.

Gerd Aage Gillhoff. 2013. The Royal Dutch Theatre at the Hague 1804–1876. Springer.[8]

J. A. Worp. 1907. Geschiedenis van het drama en van het tooneel in Nederland. Grongingen. [9]

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [10]: pp. 234, 458

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