About the work
Magic farce with song in four acts by Johann Nestroy, premiered on 19 April 1838 at the Theater an der Wien. Its full title is "Der Kobold oder Staberl im Feendienst"; it was based on Jules Perrot's fairy ballet "Der Kobold," which had been running at the Kärntnertortheater since 3 March 1838. The music was composed by Adolf Müller the Elder.
Plot
The fairy and water-sprite queen Undine protects her daughter Thekla with a prophecy: only as a wife is she safe from the revenge of the evil fire king Brennroth. Brennroth sends his son Folletterl down to earth to seduce Thekla, while Undine magically transforms the umbrella-maker Staberl into Thekla's likeness. After several transformations, Folletterl genuinely falls in love with Thekla and gives up his immortality for an earthly life.
Cultural significance
Written under time pressure, the play received only a lukewarm response from critics and audiences, who found it lacking in humour and satirical bite; a shortened version was already being played from the second performance onward. The work is seen as marking Nestroy's turn away from the old Viennese fairy-tale farce toward sharper parody.