66. “Dorina”

Moral play in three acts by Gerolamo Rovetta. German by Otto Eisenschitz
Performance at the Residenz-Theater, Berlin

'If I were of the opinion that a critic should be ashamed when he becomes an enthusiast, I would have to blush at what I have just written about "Das Käthchen von Heilbronn". But I am not ashamed at all. But I want to pull myself together again and be quite reasonable. The memory of "Dorina" by Rovetta brings me back to my senses. There's nothing in it that gives cause for enthusiasm. At first, Baron Nicki is an immature boy full of passion, a child's head as it is written in the book. He falls in love with Dorina, who is bringing up a granddaughter in his mother's house. The mother chases Dorina out of the house. Now she becomes a singer. She falls into the hands of a couple of swindlers: the maestro Constantini, who teaches her to sing, and his clean-cut wife. These depraved people want to exploit the good Dorina in every possible way. But Dorina is moral, and the Constantinis are immoral. That's why Dorina is sad, crying and whimpering all the time. Nicki, who once loved her, also reappears on the scene. Now, however, he is a blasé bon vivant who has grown out of his childishness in Paris and Monte Carlo. He now regards Dorina as his "dear little girl" and sends her money so that she can pay her debts. Dorina is unhappy that the passionate child has turned into a blasé rouge. She cries, cries, and wants to leave, leave. Then the curtain falls. When it rises again, Dorina is a famous singer, an ingenious Carmen, and lets herself be adored by all kinds of people, even being kept by a duke. Nicki has changed no less. He has become "deep" again. He loves Dorina like himself again. He wants to marry her. She's gotten a little smarter. She lets him fidget a little. But then she marries him after all.

Why am I mocking? Because the play is not so insignificant. There really is psychology in it. Everything that happens is interesting. But no. Not everything. What happens in the open scene is dull. But in the interludes, there are important moments of development. That's where the most important things happen that a poet should portray. But a poet must also keep the audience guessing. In the foyer, while drinking beer and munching on a ham sandwich, people may think the best.