Das Konzert

Premiere at the Akademietheater on October 10, 1963. Recording from the Akademietheater in 1967.

Gustav Heink, an acclaimed pianist and an idol whom his female students adore—and not just platonically—is once again embarking on a “concert tour.” His wife knows the destination of these trips all too well: it’s the romantic mountain cabin, and her husband is likely giving the concert once again for just one of his young admirers. After many years of marriage, loyal and resigned, she knows how long the leash is on which she lets her husband roam. But then Dr. Jura shows up—the newlywed husband of Delfine, the professor’s current traveling companion. And the betrayed spouses decide to turn the tables. They travel to the mountain cabin to propose a peaceful partner swap to the newly enamored couple instead of letting them carry on their secret affair—which throws Heink’s romance completely off course. Susi Nicoletti and Robert Lindner as the Heinks, Johanna Matz and Peter Weck, as well as Gusti Wolf and Hugo Gottschlich (who, as a rural servant couple, add to the confusion because they suddenly no longer know who “the lady” is), make Hermann Bahr’s classic comedy a subtle delight.