About the work
Der Affe und der Bräutigam (The Ape and the Bridegroom) is a three-act farce with songs that Vienna's Theater an der Wien director Carl commissioned as a vehicle for Eduard Klischnigg, an ape-mime performer making his Viennese debut. Nestroy wrote it in 1836, drawing on the French vaudeville Le Singe et l'adjoint by Duvert and Henry (Paris, 1833); it premiered on 23 July 1836 with music by Georg Ott.
Plot
Wilhelm, rumoured to be a sorcerer, is not supposed to win animal-loving Berta, whose father wants her to marry his friend Mondkalb instead. To win Berta over, Mondkalb disguises himself as an ape — just as a real ape happens to escape from a nearby menagerie. The running confusion between the disguised Mondkalb and the genuine animal is only resolved when the menagerie's owner turns up, clearing the way for the real young lovers.
Cultural significance
Contemporary reviews praised Klischnigg's acrobatic skill in the ape role more than Nestroy's script, though they still called the piece a well-made occasional work. It stayed in the repertoire even once no comparably skilled ape performer was available, remaining one of Nestroy's popular farces well into the later 19th century.